General Russian foreign entanglements thread

[OutdoorDad]

War with Russia... I'm ok with this

only if we remember to take their oil.

 

[Kutnupe14]

only if we remember to take their oil.

You see the president's tweet today. Lunacy.

 

[T.Lex]

Salisbury poisoning: Russia 'targeted' Yulia Skripal email - BBC News

Yulia Skripal out of the hospital.

UN report supports - in a narrow way - the UK's assessment on the use of novichok.

Although likely covered in another thread, Russia is drawing a line between this and the (alleged) Syrian chemical attack as "provocations" designed to start a war with Russia.

2018: so far, so good.

 

[T.Lex]

Armenia looks interesting.

Armenia crisis: Protesters bring cities to standstill after vote - BBC News

All INGO needs to know:

... the landlocked former Soviet state of 2.9 million people, a close ally of Russia. The southern Caucasus country shares borders with Turkey, Georgia, Iran and Azerbaijan.

 

[AmmoManAaron]

Armenia looks interesting.

Armenia crisis: Protesters bring cities to standstill after vote - BBC News

All INGO needs to know:

Yeah, I've been seeing news of unrest in Armenia for a couple of weeks now. Interestingly, it is a hotbed for hacking/spying/cyberwarfare.

 

[SheepDog4Life]

Mueller's "Show" Russia Indictments Bite Him in the Arse

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/04/mueller-russia-interference-election-case-delay-570627

This tells me Mueller isn't as smart as people give him credit for... The Russian companies and individuals that he made great show of indicting had counsel appear in court, demand a speedy trial, and immediate discovery of the evidence of the criminal charges against them... arraignment next Wednesday, as scheduled.

So, Mueller is back-pedaling and looking for any reason possible in order to delay, bringing up summons technicalities even though the defendants' attorneys appeared in court. He brought indictments he isn't prepared to proceed with and was promptly out-smarted in court at step one.

Amateur epic fail!

Disclaimer: Just to be clear, I have little doubt that these Russian companies and individuals sought to illegally influence American elections. Strategic error on his part to bring these indictments WHEN he did FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS reasons, if he wasn't fully prepared to proceed. He assumed they would be "no-shows" and his office could grandstand unopposed.

Combined with the "perjury trap" indictments and money-laundering charge, tells me he has NUTHIN' relating to the reasons for his special prosecutor charter.

This is an investigation in search of a crime... not a criminal investigation. Commonly know as a "witch hunt".

 

[T.Lex]

Ex-spy Sergei Skripal discharged after poisoning - BBC News

Sergei Skripal released from the hospital.

So that's good.

 

[T.Lex]

These induced a re-calibration of my own personal WTF-o-meter.

Russian spy poisoning: Yulia Skripal hopes to return to Russia - BBC News

In her first filmed public statement since the attack, Ms Skripal told Reuters that her life had been "turned upside down" but she hoped to return to Russia in the future.

(Emphasis added.)

 

[BugI02]

That seems ... overly optimistic

 

[T.Lex]

Recalibrating my WTF-o-meter or her returning to Mother Russia?

 

[BugI02]

Recalibrating my WTF-o-meter or her returning to Mother Russia?

'B', definitely 'B'

I knew they had remade 'Deathwish' but I didn't know she was in it

 

[AmmoManAaron]

These induced a re-calibration of my own personal WTF-o-meter.

Russian spy poisoning: Yulia Skripal hopes to return to Russia - BBC News


(Emphasis added.)

I had this nagging feeling that Skripal had been up to something, but couldn't put my finger on it - see my post in the other thread from this morning. I just had it wrong about what exactly he was up to. And I heard this afternoon through anonymous chatter that it may have been corrupt portions of MI6 that attempted to murder him to cover up MI6 involvement in the whole spying on U.S. citizens/Steele dossier debacle. I guess they thought Skripal was a liability.

Skripal was working with Chris Steele's firm. Now he ends up poisoned with a nerve agent known to be Russian (but one that any chemical scientist could make since the recipe was published by the Czechs in the 1980s. Seems that either the Russians wanted everyone to know it was them who zapped these two or that someone else was dead set on framing the Russians. Perhaps it's the same people who are telling us the Russians are responsible for hacking the Dems?

That of course would be the US spy agencies who we know spoof Russian hackers all across the globe to cover their own tracks (see wikileaks, Snowden). It is an easy line to draw that says it is our own out of control spy agencies who are responsible for all manner of mischief and they always seem to want to blame "Russians".

Way too convenient.

Just saying it again, I don't think it was the Russians...and the Yulia story and quotation you posted seems to corroborate that doesn't it?

 

[T.Lex]

Just saying it again, I don't think it was the Russians...and the Yulia story and quotation you posted seems to corroborate that doesn't it?

No.

I think I asked for sourcing for the notion that Skripal was at all involved in the dossier. Can you provide anything along those lines?

 

[AmmoManAaron]

No.

I think I asked for sourcing for the notion that Skripal was at all involved in the dossier. Can you provide anything along those lines?

Just speculation at this point, but why would Yulia want to return to Russia if it was the Russians who poisoned them?

There are news articles putting Steele and Skripal as working in the same areas, at the same time, on the same subjects. Clandestine work being what it is, it's going to be hard to find anything concrete.

Here are a couple of examples:

Sergei Skripal had links to Russia expert Christopher Steele - Business Insider

Poisoned Russian Spy Linked to Trump-Russia Dossier Author Christopher Steele Through Security Consultant

 

[T.Lex]

Right - that is pure speculation. Dozens, if not hundreds, of intel people overlapped with Steele.

And, in terms of why she would go back, it is her home. Sergei would probably "want" to go back if circumstances allowed. I think that's part of human nature, to want to return to one's homeland.

It doesn't make it a very smart move in some cases.

Apparently she said "some time in the future." That could easily be read to include the implicit "if I can do so without getting killed. Again."

 

[T.Lex]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44299741

Not sure if this will go anywhere.

 

[T.Lex]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...chenko-who-was-reported-killed-is-still-alive

DAAAAANG - thanks to a tip from another INGOer, it looks like dude faked his death to catch the people who wanted to kill him. Which... I'm not sure makes a ton of sense in the real world. But, it might've worked according to the report.

 

[BugI02]

Common in TV dramas, doesn't seem impossible in the real world. Shady people approach someone with a monetary offer to have someone killed. Usually some money up front, the rest on proof of completion. Fake the target's death and arrest everybody you can when they show up to pay off the balance. I would expect a pro like Putin to use cut-outs

 

[T.Lex]

Common in TV dramas, doesn't seem impossible in the real world. Shady people approach someone with a monetary offer to have someone killed. Usually some money up front, the rest on proof of completion. Fake the target's death and arrest everybody you can when they show up to pay off the balance. I would expect a pro like Putin to use cut-outs

Yeah, sounds like they were pretty sure who was targeting the guy, but needed to do something big to draw them out.

Tapped call:
"What do you mean he's dead? Did you do it?"
"No, tovarisch, it wasn't me. Was it you?"
"No, it wasn't me. If it was me, I wouldn't be asking YOU!"

 

[T.Lex]

Common in TV dramas, doesn't seem impossible in the real world. Shady people approach someone with a monetary offer to have someone killed. Usually some money up front, the rest on proof of completion. Fake the target's death and arrest everybody you can when they show up to pay off the balance. I would expect a pro like Putin to use cut-outs

Yeah, additional reporting:

Mr Hrytsak said the operation had begun after Ukrainian security services were informed about a Russian plot to kill the journalist.
He alleged that Russian security forces had recruited a Ukrainian citizen to find hitmen within Ukraine. He said the citizen had approached several acquaintances, including war veterans, offering $30,000 (£22,600) for the contract killing, one of whom revealed the plot to the security services.

There's also supposedly video of a guy being arrested for financing the hit.

Now... the trial will be interesting. If it happens.