Boris Strecansky

🇪🇺🇺🇦 🇬🇪🇸🇰Institution building and knowledge development for common good. Personal tweeting #civictech #civilsociety #resilience #fundraising #Europe

[František Vávra @frvavra]

Jako chemického technologa mě dost fascinuje, že ruské rafinerie na ty ukrajinské údery vůbec nejsou připraveny. Z toho, jak tam šlehají ty obrovské plameny (teď v Omsku, ale i v Moskvě a jiných zasažených mordorských rafinériích), je zřejmé, že v době dopadu dronů byla technologie v normálním provozu, kolony a trubky byly plné uhlovodíků, v zařízeních byl tlak. Dopad dronu pak způsobí explozi uhlovodíků, rozsáhlý požár a destrukci technologie, která se bude opravovat měsíce nebo i roky.

Přitom by stačilo před dopadem dronů havarijně odstavit technologii.

Standardní odstavení rafinerie trvá dny až týdny, ale nouzově se dá rafinerie odstavit během několika hodin. Musí se uzavřít klíčové ventily, aby se části technologie oddělily, musí se odstavit čerpadla nastřikující uhlovodíky do kolon a dalších aparátů a systém se musí odtlakovat na fléru (polní hořák).

Rafinerie na toto mají vypracované postupy pro případ různých havárií.

Havarijní odstavení může technologii částečně poškodit, ale pokud dron zasáhne takto připravenou technologii, tak způsobí řádově menší škody, než když zasáhne technologii ve standardním provozu.

Našel jsem, že ukrajinské drony Fire Point FP-1 letí rychlostí asi 200 km/h. Takže pokud letěly do Omsku 2500 km od hranice s Ukrajinou, tak nad Ruskem musely strávit přes 12 hodin.

Rusácká protivzdušná obrana je příšerná a nedokáže ubránit ani Moskvu, ale předpokládal bych, že armáda ty drony aspoň detekuje, z trajektorie odhadne jejich cíl a dá rafineriím vědět, aby se připravily.

To, že Rusko, země postavená na ropě, neumí ani ochránit svoje rafinerie, je důkaz toho, že ta země je úplně v prdeli, řídí to tam naprosto neschopní kreténi a celé se to tam brzo zhroutí.

[Anna Gvarishvili @AnnaGvarishvili]

This is one of the most important investigations you’ll read about Georgia this year.

It reveals how Georgian authorities built a mass facial recognition system using technology procured from a Moscow-based company with alleged ties to Russia’s FSB, and how it has been used to identify and punish anti-government protesters.

A must-read.

https://t.co/HRQK1mWAVi

[Maria Drutska 🇺🇦 @maria_drutska]

Another morning starts with both morning coffee and Russian skies an inky black. ☕️

The refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban is burning fiercely with a smoke plume over 100km in length, and the fuel shortages will keep getting worse.

Putin's swansong is getting closer. 🩰🦢🦢🦢🦢

[Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 @IAPonomarenko]

So why are Russians screaming and shrieking in every video now that Ukrainian cruise missiles and massive swarms of drones are finally flying back toward their cities?

Weren't they the ones who spent decades happily consuming kilotons of the Kremlin's warmongering propaganda in everything from the daily news to films, TV series, and even cartoons?

Weren't they the ones who enthusiastically echoed their permanent regime's slogans of "We can do it again!!!" and spent generations indulging in fantasies of a glorious war against the "decadent gay West," provided they could stay comfortably on their couches, consuming triumphant war reports and the sound of military marches on television?

Weren't they the ones dreaming of putting those "stupid khokhol swines" in their place, cheering with delight when Ukrainians were "punished" for their pro-Western democratic revolution through the criminal seizure of Crimea and the unleashing of the bloody war in Donbas?

Weren't they the ones who for years swallowed the revanchist pseudo-historical ravings of their KGB bio-robot in the Kremlin, shouting "On to Washington!!" and "On to Berlin!!" while dressing their own little children in military uniforms and putting them into toy tanks and cardboard missiles?

Weren't they the ones who erupted in euphoria at the launch of the "Kyiv in three days" operation, only to then flock by the hundreds of thousands and millions to kill Ukrainians as mercenaries for peanuts and to work for Russia's military-industrial complex, counting their blood-soaked profits?

Weren't they the ones who descended into complete moral savagery as a people and as a country, watching with their own eyes as horrific war crimes against Ukraine and Ukrainians were committed every single day, from torture and beheadings to the destruction of entire cities and nighttime missile strikes that brought apartment buildings down on top of the people inside?

Weren't they the ones who celebrated every mass killing of Ukrainians on social media, gleefully fantasizing about "leaving Europe without gas" and "freezing the khokhols in the dark this winter"?

Weren't they the very same people who loudly applauded and shouted "THANK YOU!!!" to the Wagner mercenaries in Rostov-on-Don three years ago?

Aren't they still happily consuming nonstop propaganda about the "Kyiv junta," "Ukrainian Nazis," and the "former so-called Ukraine," while listening to state propagandist Solovyov and Putin's officials calling for Odesa, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Lviv to be wiped off the face of the earth with nuclear weapons because they refused to submit and fought back?

So what is it? Do Russians no longer enjoy the "sacred war" now that the time has come to answer for that entire orgy of hatred, chauvinism, revanchism, militarism, the cult of death, totalitarianism, and the cynical exploitation of the memory of World War II to justify new wars of conquest?

Now the Ukraine they despised so deeply and looked down upon as inherently inferior -- has survived this war, rallied the support of the free world, armed itself to the teeth, and is now systematically breaking the very backbone of their inhuman war machine.

[Anna Gvarishvili @AnnaGvarishvili]

To put yesterday’s fight in the Georgian Parliament into perspective:

What you see in this video is more than 20 Georgian Dream MPs attacking a single MP from former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s For Georgia party.

Among the attackers are two of Georgia’s most accomplished athletes.

One is Lasha Talakhadze, arguably the greatest weightlifter in history and the holder of multiple world records.

The other is Geno Petriashvili, an Olympic gold medalist, three-time world champion, and two-time European champion in freestyle wrestling.

In any functioning judicial system, this would be investigated as group violence.

However, we know that none of them will face prosecution.

Meanwhile, journalist and media owner Mzia Amaghlobeli remains in prison after slapping a police officer. What is often omitted is what happened beforehand: she had already been arrested once that day, was released, arrested again, and then, according to her testimony, insulted, threatened, and subjected to degrading treatment for two hours before the slap occurred. Her health has since seriously deteriorated in detention.

At the same time, we have political prisoners from the #GeorgiaProtests, all convicted of organizing or participating in “group violence.” The only thing they have in common is their love for Georgia.

Most of them had never met before. They stood in different locations during the protests, had no connection to one another, and only met for the first time in courtrooms or in prison.

And this is Georgia for you.

[Pavel Macko @PaloMacko]

Prečo Monika Uhlerová dodatočne vymazala tento a mnohé ďalšie proruské a protislovenské príspevky z doby, keď po boku Smeru a rusofilov bojovala proti dohode DCA a za ruské záujmy? To si myslí, že takýmto dodatočným trikom či podvodom (interpretujte si to ako chcete) oklame verejnosť alebo jej pozornú časť? Tu je môj originál printscreen jedného z jej dodatočne spätne vymazaných príspevkov.

P.S.: Ja si totiž po skúsenostiach so zločincami z prokuratúry a polície archivujem všetko, aj podlé útoky smerákov a voličov Republiky.

[Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 @IAPonomarenko]

Moscow this morning.

I was thinking about something: as a result of the severe socio-economic consequences of this catastrophically failed war against Ukraine, Russia is facing a long and painful economic decline, social upheaval, massive disorganization, a huge rise in organized crime, and the shock of defeat -- the new 1990s after the collapse of the USSR.

And the most "amusing" part is that when the reckoning for this barbaric invasion of Ukraine finally comes, and the consequences of their deranged fascist regime in the Kremlin become apparent, Russians will once again be sighing and saying how good life was "under Putin" and how everything needs to be put back the way it was.

[Terje Helland @terjehelland]

🇬🇪🇺🇦Georgian Dream wants one gift from the West: recognition.
GD does not want the gift Kyiv just offered: friendship.
The Yerevan handshake between Zelensky and Georgian PM Kobakhidze was not normalization. It was a strategic trap.
Here's why GD secretly hates this opening.
1/15

[Sergej Michalič @Sergej_Michalic]

Внимание! Москва говорит!
Toto púšťať do zahraničia akože za SK je z rovnakého suda ako splnomocnenec pre covid.

[Adam Znasik @adamznasik2]

Zaujal ma graf o prepade opozície, pri ktorom sa predvádzal 🤡, tak som tiež spravil graf.

[Szabolcs Panyi @panyiszabolcs]

‼️Statement on the Orbán Government Accusing Me, an Investigative Journalist, of Espionage‼️

Today, the Hungarian government has filed a complaint against me for espionage. Accusing investigative journalists of espionage is virtually unprecedented in the 21st century for an EU member state. This is typical of Putin’s Russia, Belarus, and similar regimes.

I have spent over a decade documenting how Russian spies and interests have penetrated Hungarian politics, so I am probably the least surprised by this.

Despite growing signs that the Hungarian government acts as a Kremlin ally and copies the Russian model, I still trust that parts of the Hungarian state—and the judiciary—follow the Hungarian constitution, not that of the Russian Federation.

I have never engaged in espionage. I see my work as journalistic counterintelligence—from exposing the hacking of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry by Russian actors to revealing the activities of Hungarian pro-Kremlin propagandists.

Defending myself publicly would be easier if I were not bound by source protection. But that remains my top priority. I cannot reveal who provides me information or what I receive, including from within Hungarian state structures.

If I were not a journalist, I could list many facts proving it is impossible for the Hungarian state to genuinely believe I am spying. Certain meetings, contacts, and information gathering could never have happened otherwise.

This baseless accusation now forces me to share details of a specific investigation, including a conversation with a confidential source that appears to have been wiretapped. Normally, this would appear in a finished article or my upcoming book—not here. (It will appear there as well.)

Since 2023, I have investigated whether the relationship between Péter Szijjártó and Russian officials exceeds legal limits. The published audio, where I’m heard talking to a source, mentions that communication between Szijjártó and Sergey Lavrov is recorded by EU intelligence services. Less attention has gone to my point that this relationship raises strong suspicion of political intelligence activity and influence operations in Russia’s interest.

These are serious claims and hard to prove. As a journalist, I cannot force anyone to speak or hand over documents. That is why gathering this information has taken so long—and why I spoke to that sensitive source (while the conversation was secretly recorded).

Serious claims require serious evidence, and I believe I have gathered some. I have not engaged in espionage.
I have not cooperated with any foreign intelligence service in surveilling Szijjártó. Instead, I tried to verify earlier fragments of information about Szijjártó–Lavrov communication.

I sought to identify the channels and phone numbers used, and whether a secret channel—possibly used by Russian intelligence—exists. In other words, whether Szijjártó uses a hidden device or number unknown even within the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.

This was only one part of my research. The other, more serious topic is this:

Since at least 2016–2017, EU and NATO intelligence services have had indications that large amounts of cash and precious stones may have been transported from Russia on Hungarian government aircraft or private jets used by government figures. Officials from at least six countries made such claims to me.

These signals did not come from monitoring Hungarian targets, but, for example, from intercepting Russian officials discussing or preparing such shipments.

Alongside Szijjártó–Lavrov communication, I examined how baggage screening and handling works on such flights, which officials travel with what luggage, whether more packages arrive from Moscow than depart, and how such shipments could be handled discreetly.

I know how serious this is, and I would not have written even this much—but since I do not know what else may be taken from the edited recording, or what fabricated accusations (like, for example, that I was seeking such details to commit terrorism) may follow, I believe I must share this now.

Why do I investigate all this?

According to many sources familiar with the Hungarian state and counterintelligence, there is no independent body in the Orbán system able to investigate or act if a senior official is suspected of espionage.

Government members direct intelligence services and set expectations. The services lack both tools and authority to investigate a government member.

I knew this would be difficult when I chose to pursue it. But few people in Hungary can or dare to do this, so I felt it was my duty.

We have now reached the point where the Orbán government—of which Szijjártó is still a member—aware of my reporting plans and the risk they pose, has preemptively accused me of espionage.

I am a Hungarian patriot. I serve the public. As an investigative journalist, my job is to hold power accountable. Neither political theater nor legal threats will deter me.

[Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 @jurgen_nauditt]

Hungary immediately leaks all EU talks to Moscow.

Sijjarto “reported” directly to Lavrov about the EU meetings, - The Washington Post.

According to the newspaper, the Hungarian Foreign Minister called Moscow directly during the EU meetings and relayed details of the discussions to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Sources say this communication allowed Russia to stay informed about the internal discussions of the European Union.

Sijjarto himself has not commented on the situation. However, he has visited Moscow several times since 2022 and met with the Russian leadership.

[European Democrats @democrats_eu]

Two headlines. Same newspaper. Just days apart.

According to the *Financial Times*, the Kremlin has backed covert efforts to keep Viktor Orbán in power. Around the same time, voices in Washington described Orbán’s leadership as “essential” for US interests. Different capitals. Same conclusion.

When Moscow and Washington unexpectedly align around the same European leader, Europe cannot afford naïveté. Our democracy, sovereignty and unity must never depend on external agendas.

[Sergej Michalič @Sergej_Michalic]

Sú veci, ktoré patria k základnému rozhľadu

[Sir William Browder KCMG @Billbrowder]

This is absolutely brilliant. Take two minutes to watch this clip about how @christogrozev exposed a Russian sleeper agent in Europe via her cat. One of the best counterintelligence stories I’ve ever heard.

[Michael McFaul @McFaul]

There you go. To those who believe that Putins threats to European sovereignty end in Donbas, please adjust your assumptions.

[Yigal Levin @YigalLevin]

The situation on the front of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2023 and today - the strategic level.

There is a certain method, one of the first we were taught: for an objective analysis, put yourself in the shoes of a completely external (but competent) observer.

For example, if 50 years from now a Japanese historian — or even better, a Chilean one (Japan, after all, was on Ukraine’s side) — sees this map, a knowledgeable and competent historian, and also sees the figures showing what Russia spent and lost for such “gains,” he will unequivocally call it a military failure, a collapse, an act of glaring incompetence, and national impotence.

Yes, for Ukrainian soldiers who lost their friends, their health, and their nerves in those endless tree lines and villages, this offers no comfort. But the strategic level is not about the soldier; in fact, it is not about people at all.

Strategy and politics are always about big numbers, capacities, processes, potential, and capabilities.

A person, in strategy, is only the sum of sets — a resource. And in military language that is exactly what it is called: human resources.

And yes, attention: I am not going to write disclaimers here with caveats that Ukraine also has everything going badly or even worse. Any Ukrainian already knows and understands this better than you or I do; I show this map to point to something entirely different.

These virtually zero gains, achieved despite more than one million total Russian Armed Forces casualties — several hundred thousand of them killed (these are already documented facts) — along with thousands of destroyed pieces of military equipment, a wrecked Russian economy and finances, and other losses Moscow has suffered, all while Ukraine has: hundreds of thousands of deserters, “teaspoon-per-day” aid from partners, mobilization failures, organizational problems in the army, and so on.

This is what Moscow managed to achieve while fighting the Ukrainian Defense Forces in such conditions.

And what would the picture look like if the situation were improved even slightly: boosted a bit, shut down Russian information-ops, replaced the “help” from partners (especially the Americans) with actual assistance, and fixed at least 20% of the problems with desertion, mobilization, and organization?

Do you think the United States doesn’t understand this (and Europeans as well, though that’s its own story)? They absolutely do. Right now, with the situation exactly as you see it on the map, they are pressuring Ukraine into an agreement that is close in form and substance to a capitulation.

They pressure not because Ukraine is weak. If it were weak, you would be looking at a completely different map. They pressure because Russia is catastrophically weak and incompetent.

That is the essence of this pressure: at Ukraine’s expense, so that Ukrainians pay for Russian stupidity and bloody idiocy.

It seems to me that this is precisely what Kyiv’s diplomats will need to point out this week in their negotiations with the US and Europe.

Not in the sense of “look, Russia is weak, let’s finish it off” — no one planned or plans to finish Russia off (on the contrary). But in the sense of: we understand everything, thank you, but do not take us for fools.

That is the core. Everything else is dust.

[Peter Tkačenko @PeterTkacenko]

Až teraz som sa dostal k návrhu na skrátené legislatívne konanie pri zrušení úradu na ochranu oznamovateľov.
Ako dôvod uviedli ochranu základných ľudských práv, konkrétne, že ľudia majú tých práv priveľa a treba ich vyvážiť s ochranou "základných práv zamestnávateľa".
Naozaj.

[Sergej Michalič @Sergej_Michalic]

Внимание! Говорит Москва!