International Wagner Claims to Have Shot Down Russian Helicopter, Putin Briefed, Operation Fortress in Play

[Siver!]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-66006142

1. Security in Russia has been tightened following a dramatic escalation of infighting
2. The head of the Wagner mercenary group is being investigated by security services for inciting mutiny
3. Yevgeny Prigozhin claims his forces have crossed the border into Russia from Ukraine, but no evidence of this has emerged so far
4. Earlier, he accused the Russian military of launching a deadly missile strike on his troops on Friday
5. He said the "evil" in the military leadership must be stopped and vowed to "march for justice", but claimed he was not attempting a military coup
6. The Kremlin has denied the missile strike and demanded Prigozhin halt "illegal actions"
7. Vladimir Putin is aware of the situation and is receiving "constant" updates, the Kremlin says
8. Senior Russian generals have called on Wagner fighters to stand down, saying they are playing "into the enemy's hands"

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Well holy shitballs, boys and girls, there's a story brewing of Russian civil war that kinda goes beyond the Ukraine-Russia megathreads.

Ongoing updates:

Wagner has shot down Russian helicopter, Prigozhin claims
The Wagner boss has just posted a fresh entry on the Telegram social media platform claiming that his forces have shot down a Russian helicopter.

And:

Stay indoors, Russian regional governor tells residents
In the last few moments the governor of Russia's Rostov region - which borders Ukraine to the east - has urged citizens to stay indoors.

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[metal7555]

This sounds like a plot out of the Metal Gear series.

Crazy developments though.

 

[Siver!]

Russian TV interrupts regular programming
Earlier, Russia's state-run Channel 1 interrupted regular programming to broadcast an "emergency news bulletin".
The announcement recapped earlier official statements about Prigozhin and Wagner and said that Prigozhin's video of the alleged strike was fake and that the defence ministry denied attacking Wagner.
The emergency announcement also said that FSB - Russia's domestic intelligence agency - had launched a criminal case against Prigozhin and that President Putin was being kept informed.

Meanwhile:

Russian armor in Rostov

Security vehicles outside the Kremlin

Operation Fortress has been activated in Rostov-on-Don

 

[Siver!]

Putin has been briefed, Kremlin says
"President Putin has been briefed on all events around Prigozhin. The necessary measures are being taken," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.
Russia's Tass news agency says a criminal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin - who runs the Wagner group, a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine - has been opened.

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Holy shit.

How much of a force does Prigozhin have right now?

 

[Scheme]

Based Putin destroying all the Nazis he can

 

[panem-et-circenses]

They might’ve let that shit-bird get too big of wings. Going to have to wait for more reporting, though.

 

[The XL]

This is like NWO Hollywood vs NWO Wolfpac

 

[Siver!]

(Can't see any rule-breaking gore on these videos, apologies if missed)

 

[Misfit23]

Civil war in a country with nukes doesn't seem ideal.

 

[Siver!]

Civil war in a country with nukes doesn't seem ideal.

A country with nukes insisting on going to war with the collective West in the first place is far more dangerous than them worrying about which one of them is the Marcus Brutus to Putin's Julius Caesar.

 

[Dan O]

Straight out of a Tom Clancy book. Damn.

Exciting.

 

[National Acrobat]

A country with nukes insisting on going to war with the collective West in the first place is far more dangerous than them worrying about which one of them is the Marcus Brutus to Putin's Julius Caesar.

When did Ukraine become a part of the West?

Seems this whole thing was pretty well foreseen 30 years ago as a likely consequence of unnecessarily cornering Russia in the aftermath of the Cold War.

 

[Err]

 

[Siver!]

When did Ukraine become a part of the West?

Seems this whole thing was pretty well foreseen 30 years ago as a likely consequence of unnecessarily cornering Russia in the aftermath of the Cold War.

I don't understand where you're coming from.

Russia inviting a proxy war with the West due to hostilities in Ukraine doesn't make the Ukraine 'the West'.

It also doesn't make any sense to pretend Ukraine possibly aligning itself with the West is 'cornering' Russia, considering the massive global opportunities Russia claims are still available through China and India and many other super-ties it says it can make at the expense of the West.

 

[Siver!]

Governor of nearby region asks people not to travel south
The governor of Russia's Lipetsk region is asking residents not to travel south, as security in Russia tightens. false
Lipetsk is around 280km (175 miles) to the north-east of the nearest Ukrainian border and more than 500km north of Rostov.
Writing on Telegram, Igor Artamonov says security measures in the region are being tightened, with a particular focus on protecting critical infrastructure facilities.
He also asks people to remain calm and trust information from official sources.

 

[National Acrobat]

I don't understand where you're coming from.

Russia inviting a proxy war with the West due to hostilities in Ukraine doesn't make the Ukraine 'the West'.

It also doesn't make any sense to pretend Ukraine possibly aligning itself with the West is 'cornering' Russia, considering the massive global opportunities Russia claims are still available through China and India and many other super-ties it says it can make at the expense of the West.

In what way is it in US national security interest to bring Ukraine into NATO? or to expand NATO to the east at all?

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

When did Ukraine become a part of the West?

Seems this whole thing was pretty well foreseen 30 years ago as a likely consequence of unnecessarily cornering Russia in the aftermath of the Cold War.

That's literally the whole point of NATO in the first place.

 

[Siver!]

In what way is it in US national security interest to bring Ukraine into NATO? or to expand NATO to the east at all?

Europe is, barring a couple of countries that toss and turn, very Western and extremely productive for the Western world as well as partners.

US national security interest reasons I couldn't really tell you, but if you ask yourself "in what way is it in Europe's national security interests', it should spell it out a little clearer. The US wants whatever Europe wants because Europe is probably the most stable partner the US will ever have.

 

[National Acrobat]

That's literally the whole point of NATO in the first place.

Exactly

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

Europe is, barring a couple of countries that toss and turn, very Western and extremely productive for the Western world as well as partners.

US national security interest reasons I couldn't really tell you, but if you ask yourself "in what way is it in Europe's national security interests', it should spell it out a little clearer. The US wants whatever Europe wants because Europe is probably the most stable partner the US will ever have.

Right but we promised not to integrate former Soviet territories into NATO and then broke our promise.