Viara Valtchanova

Risk analyst - FSU, East Europe focus.Due to NATO past & personal relations-involved with Af/Pak. Interested in cyberconflicts,etc.Opinions mine.RT≠endorsement

[Michael Weiss @michaeldweiss]

So this deal is largely Potemkin, but the damage is obvious: the US will give something for nothing to get realignment with Russia and of course — in the long run — to line the pockets of Trump’s friends and family. Let’s assume, based on initial reporting, that Ukraine continues deep strikes with European assistance and even escalates now. Russian refineries burn. Moscow says they can’t satisfy the demands of the deal (which they couldn’t do anyway) because of those deep strikes. Whom do you think Trump will blame when his Potemkin bargain is shown to be just that? The hucksters in Moscow and Miami who sold it to him, or the country he’s sold out? Even in the deal’s inevitable implosion, Russia snags a big strategic victory. I’m guessing they factored that into their design.

[EUvsDisinfo @EUvsDisinfo]

The Kremlin is flooding the information space with AI-generated posts, bot accounts and staged ‘anti-war’ rallies, all pushing the slogan ‘Russia is not my enemy’.

The goal is to undermine support for Ukraine, fuel fear of war among Europeans and falsely portray efforts to strengthen Europe’s defences as acts of aggression against Russia.

[Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM]

The death toll has climbed to 20 civilians killed, including three children, in Russia’s glide bomb attack on Zaporizhzhia.

[Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat]

Historian of fascism here. This is an escalation of an attempt to normalize extreme violence, ritualize violence, militarize the country, and make violence entertaining so when they ask you to commit violence in their name, you will be ready.

[Francis Farrell @francisjfarrell]

The ground drone revolution happening in Ukraine right now is driven not by high technology or autonomous humanoids, but by humans: well-organized and creative teams working in front-line workshops and command posts.

Our explainer, made with @93OMBr1:

https://t.co/EsKc76JGue

[Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM]

Lost count of how many bits of misinformation and completely false claims were made in this short Fox News clip.

[Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 @IAPonomarenko]

These are the famous Golden Gates from the inside, the surviving remains of the once-mighty fortifications of ancient Kyiv.

For almost 1,000 years, this monument has stood on this very spot. Once, it was a magnificent main gateway, crowned by a church above its arch, through which princes, military commanders, and foreign dignitaries would make their ceremonial entrances into Kyiv, proceeding straight toward the city's holiest shrine, Saint Sophia Cathedral, knowing that they were entering a great Christian city.

For many long centuries, the Golden Gates lay in ruins and neglect, having never recovered from the tragedy of the Mongol destruction. Today, after so many reconstructions and restorations, they are among Kyiv's greatest historical treasures.

My upcoming book has an entire chapter dedicated to Yaroslav the Wise, perhaps the greatest ruler in Ukrainian history.

Despite his very slim chances of surviving a fratricidal war for his great father's throne, and despite his physical disability (he walked with a limp), Yaroslav managed to become a great builder of historical marvels, including these very Golden Gates and Saint Sophia Cathedral, a victor on the battlefield, and the father-in-law of kings across Europe, from France and Norway to Hungary.

Ukrainian history is simply full of astonishing and epic stories that you’ll definitely want to discover.

[Sir William Browder KCMG @Billbrowder]

This isn’t a massive amount of oil. It’s 15 hours worth of monthly diesel supply. But this accomplishes three very ugly things:

1) Trump can threaten Ukraine if they bomb any more of Putin’s oil refineries.

2) This can be used as a pretext for why Trump insiders can do dirty business deals with Russia.

3) This can open the door for more sanctions relief for Putin.

[Shashank Joshi @shashj]

Hard to overstate how erratic and bewildering US policy is right now. Trump envoy proposing Russia prisoner release for sanctions relief, Trump announcing diesel purchases and Kash Patel planning an imminent trip to Moscow for no apparent reason (https://t.co/7aE0HZrqJK)

[Jonathan Pie @JonathanPieNews]

American Morality
https://t.co/X899UyBwFB

[Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 @jurgen_nauditt]

Trump planned his diesel betrayal weeks ago, and the diesel deal with Putin yesterday was a staged event.

The MINERVA ZEN departed St. Petersburg as early as September 22 and has since been heading for the US East Coast (destination: Wilmington, NC). Arrival is scheduled for October 11.
Yesterday, October 9, Trump announced the "diesel deal" following a phone call with Putin, and the Treasury Department immediately eased sanctions on Russian diesel. By that time, the vessel had already been underway for nearly three weeks.

Chartering, loading, and the route must therefore have been determined weeks in advance. The public announcement and the context of the phone call appear to be the staging of an operation already in progress.

Whether the cargo is indeed diesel will only become apparent during unloading. In any case, the logistics suggest that the course had been set long before yesterday's "agreement."

[Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM]

A Russian attack with a glide bomb on an apartment building in the city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least eight people including three children overnight, reports Ukraine's human rights ombudsman. This adds to a grim tally of now more than 70 people in Ukraine slaughtered this week by Russian missiles, drones and bombs. Meanwhile, Donald Trump cuts a deal for diesel with Vladimir Putin.

[🇩🇪💙💛 Regina Laska @Sunnymica]

Die Briten haben nachgerechnet, was Putins Schattenkrieg sie kostet: 2 bis 2,5 Milliarden Pfund im Jahr. Hacker, Brandstifter, Seekabel. Der Abgeordnete, der das gemacht hat, nennt seine Zahl „den Keller eines Fußbodens“.

Ich habe mir mal angeschaut, wie das für Deutschland aussieht. Und bin auf drei Töpfe gestoßen, die man nicht zusammenschütten darf.

Topf eins, der Schaden: Uniper hat 2022 allein 13,2 Milliarden ausgegeben, um das Gas zu ersetzen, das Gazprom nicht mehr lieferte. Steht in der Bilanz, keine Schätzung.

Topf zwei, die Reaktion: 41,5 Milliarden Preisbremsen allein 2023. 500 Euro pro Kopf. Dazu Bürgergeld, Rettungen, Bundeswehr – alles beziffert, bis auf den Cent.

Topf drei, die Angriffe auf uns: Drohnen über Flughäfen, Brandpakete, Hacker. Und hier wird es seltsam. Das BKA zählt 321 Sabotageverdachtsfälle für 2025 – und keinen Euro. Der einzige Fall, in dem ein deutsches Gericht je einen Schaden beziffert hat, kommt auf 13.000 Euro. Bauschaum in Auspuffen.

Deutschland weiß also genau, was es gegen die Folgen russischer Politik ausgibt. Was Russlands Angriffe auf dieses Land kosten, weiß es nicht. Es hat keine Rechnung.

Über die Kosten der Ukraine-Hilfe streiten wir jeden Tag. Über die Kosten dessen, der sie nötig macht, fast nie. ⤵️

[Dame Melinda Simmons @MelSimmonsFCDO]

Polish TV. The red alert sign and the info in yellow tells viewers that a 🇷🇺 attack on 🇺🇦 is underway and that 🇵🇱 aviation is on defensive alert in 2 border regions. And that information is not unusual to see. It’s not been unusual for months.

[Julian Röpcke 🇩🇪🤝🇺🇦 @JulianRoepcke]

In Wirklichkeit ist Trump unter den westlichen Staats- und Regierungschefs völlig isoliert, und der einzige nennenswerte, der mit Putin paktiert. Und die „großen Mengen“ existieren nur in der Fantasie einiger AfD-Politiker, die von Ökonomie offenbar nicht viel Ahnung haben.

[Def Mon @DefMon3]

I don't get it. I thought Ukraine blew up so much Russian diesel there was a shortage in the world and prices increased as a result. How can now Russia now export enough Diesel to lower the prices?

[Yuri Chornomorets @Y_Chornomorets]

To protect the Warriors of Light from enemy drones, we urgently need:

1. Super shotguns for shooting down FPV drones — long-barreled super Quake Drone Hunters for special forces and assault troops at 33,500 UAH each, and classic Quakes for most fighters at 26,300 UAH each!

2. Dozens of boxes of ammunition for combat use at 6,670 UAH per box of 250 rounds!

3. IWI carbines with 14.5-inch barrels in .223 caliber at 65,000 UAH each!

HELP!!!

Friends, all your support is matched by Ukrainian sponsors and directed toward supporting the very best sniper groups. There are so many requests right now — and everything is needed yesterday!!!

Follow @MapleSyrupF for the TeamYuri Raffle updates!

Monobank accepts 🍏Apple Pay & 🍀Google Pay
https://t.co/WNdd16YccB

*spotfund https://t.co/KDnYxxrVpL
DonorBox https://t.co/3Nz7vEQCHj

🧩Bitcoin
bc1qwcmc2nqz4jnfyeuwx03vn3y8u2lh8zfz4nxkgd

⚡️Lightning Bitcoin
lno1pgtygmmwv96xjmmwwvsxvmmjyp2x2ctdt96hy6gkyypayv3vm0pvalcurfrrmxs9hwr5r9efnspgjmh5d637z736gk2k90c

👕TeamYuri Merch
https://t.co/1FkpMOJRRE

All ways to help (including Swift)
listed here 👉 https://t.co/TVU7GB65LP

[Branislav Slantchev @slantchev]

Ah, but do they have the number to the Vermillion Line exclusively reserved for love trysts?

[Nico Lange @nicolange_]

Entschuldigung, aber ewig dieser Quatsch von „Zugang“ - alle Regierungen haben Putins Nummer, auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen wird offiziell und inoffiziell geredet. Das Problem ist, dass Putin von der Unterwerfung der Ukraine besessen ist und seinen Krieg weiterführen will.

[Branislav Slantchev @slantchev]

Trump can’t provide anything — companies can. And I doubt they will rush to invest in Russia anytime soon. These Russians seem to think that the US works like their country. But it doesn’t. Not yet, anyway. Look at our massive (lack of) investment in Venezuela despite him calling up the CEOs.