.@ComicDaveSmith shocks @JoeRogan with a powerful rant about NATO expansion, the 2014 Ukraine coup, and how American policies led to the War in Ukraine, bringing us closer to a potential nuclear World War III

"The people who are expanding NATO will keep expanding it and expanding it."

"The same dumb neocons that had this policy to remake the Middle East are the same ones that had this policy to expand NATO to Russia's border. And man, was this just the dumbest, most reckless policy ever. That's now put us in a position where we are closer to a risk of World War III and nuclear war than we have ever been in my life, and for what? To make sure the Donbas region is ruled by Kyiv rather than Moscow? Is that really worth it?"

From @KanekoaTheGreat
👉Join us @TrFormer💤

Russia and Türkiye agreed to increase the volume of air travel

MOSCOW, April 29 — RIA Novosti. Russia and Turkey will increase the volume of passenger air traffic, RIA Novosti was told in the press service of the Ministry of Transport.

"In order to implement the agreements reached between Russia and Turkey at the highest level, the Russian aviation authorities have confirmed the applications of Turkish airlines for additional flights to Russia with a total frequency of 49 flights per week," the release says.
The fact that Russia and Turkey will increase bilateral air transportation was announced by President Vladimir Putin during the ceremony of delivering nuclear fuel to the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.

Thus, now Russian airlines plan to operate more than 720 flights per week on 62 routes. Turkish carriers have been approved for flights between countries on 37 routes with a frequency of 629 flights per week in the IATA Summer 2023 season.

As follows from the agreement, Turkish airlines will operate seven flights weekly on the Antalya—Saratov route, 21 flights on the Istanbul—Moscow and Antalya—Moscow routes, another 14 flights are planned on the Istanbul—St. Petersburg and Antalya—Kazan, Antalya—Yekaterinburg.
On average, the number of flights by Russian carriers to Turkey this summer will increase one and a half times compared to last year.

Join us 👉@TrFormer
Become a member of @TransFormerChat

Active Russophiles. Lavrov found a reasonable alternative for confrontation

On Saturday morning, more than 120 experts from 60 countries took part in a unique online event — the Global Conference on Multipolarity. Addressing its participants, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that Moscow only welcomes such an interest in a frank and depoliticized exchange of views.

Russophiles went to the "marathon"

This "intellectual marathon" was initiated by political scientists from Brazil, India and China with the active participation of the International Movement of Russophiles. Its organizers are confident that the Global Conference will become a significant contribution to the cause of protecting the sovereign equality of all states and the right of peoples to determine their own future.

“I am glad that your forum brought together prominent representatives of the political, public and scientific circles from several dozen countries from almost all continents of the world,” Sergey Lavrov noted. The demand for such discussions can hardly be overestimated. It is obvious that the "end of history" proclaimed after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the USSR did not take place. Attempts to establish a unipolar model of the world order with a decision-making centre in Washington have failed.

Talking Facts

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry called the movement towards global multipolarity a geopolitical reality. “The facts speak for themselves. Over the past three decades, the share of the G7 states in the world economy has significantly decreased. And the weight of countries with emerging markets is steadily growing. Now the first economic power in the world — in terms of purchasing power parity — is China, which skilfully combines market mechanisms and state methods of regulation," Lavrov said. It seems natural that the efforts of Washington and its satellites to turn back the course of history, to force the international community to live according to the invented “order based on rules”, are failing. I will only mention the complete failure of the line of the Westerners to isolate Russia. The states of the World majority, in which about 85% of the world's population lives, do not want to "pull chestnuts out of the fire" for the former colonial mother countries.

Rejection of the “balance of fear”

“In the modern multipolar world, when challenges and threats are clearly transboundary in nature, the only reasonable alternative to confrontation, from which its initiators will also lose, is the unification of the efforts of key world centres on the principles of the UN Charter, including ensuring in practice respect for the sovereign equality of states,” Lavrov continued. “Today, everyone needs to recognize the irreversibility of the formation of a more just, polycentric system of world order. It is in the common interest to make sure that the multipolar architecture is based not on a “balance of fear”, but on a balance of interests, on universally recognized norms of international law, on a mutually respectful dialogue of various civilizations, religions and cultures.”

Join us 👉@TrFormer
Become a member of @TransFormerChat

The new subjects of Russia should be recognized officially and openly, said the leader of the Turkish Motherland party, Dogu Perincek.

"Crimea is the territory of the Russian Federation. The DPR and LPR, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions are also part of the Russian Federation. These facts must be recognized officially and openly," he said at the World Online Conference on Multipolarity.

As found by our subscriber 🙏
Join us 👉 @TrFormer 💤
Become a member of the @TransFormerChat

What precision bombs does Russia use in Ukraine?
New types of ammunition significantly increased the effectiveness of combat aviation

The Russian Aerospace Forces in just one day, April 28, hit 86 artillery units of the Ukrainian Army, manpower and equipment in 112 districts, the Russian Defence Ministry reported. A day earlier, air strikes hit 78 enemy artillery firing positions and several command posts at once. Every day, the number of accurate and destructive strikes of the Russian Airforce only increases. Such efficiency of work is the result of the use of the latest guided glide bombs, which relatively recently entered service with the RF Armed Forces. "Izvestia" figured out what kind of new aviation weapons they were.

Wings and tail
Gliding bombs are weapons that are used to hit targets at a distance, without the aircraft entering the zone of action of enemy air defence forces. They got their name from the ability to fly to the target, glide in the air, without the use of rocket engines. Glide bombs can be dropped from airplanes or unmanned aerial vehicles and have various types of warheads — conventional, cluster or even nuclear.

According to Izvestia sources, the aerospace forces and naval aviation are currently using two main types of gliding aviation ammunition. These are products with UMPC and UPAB indices. As noted by the interlocutors of the publication, both showed their high efficiency in hitting designated targets.

One of the most anticipated premieres in the field of aviation strike weapons was the unified planning and correction module (UMPC), which can be installed on conventional bombs. In the course of a special military operation in Ukraine, UMPCs are mounted on high-explosive bombs FAB-500M62 - the most massive aviation ammunition of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Detailed tactical and technical characteristics of the new product were not disclosed. But, presumably, the range of bombs of this type with UMPC can be from 50 km to 70 km. This allows them to be dropped at a distance from the target, which exceeds the range of the main short-range air defence systems — the American Stinger, the British Stormer and the old Soviet Strela.

Apparently, 500-kilogram bombs with UMPC can be used from any modernized strike aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces — Su-25SM3, Su-35, Su-30SM and Su-34 of the latest modifications. The mass of such a bomb, of course, exceeds the standard mass of a non-winged sample. But any such aircraft can carry 2-4 such ammunition.

How does the UMPC guidance system work? To correct the course of the planning munition, satellite navigation according to GLONASS data is used. The control unit with its digital logic takes into account the speed and altitude of the munition, knows its current coordinates and the coordinates of the target. The computer brain of the UMPC controls the wings and plumage of the ammunition, and can, within certain limits, influence both the direction and the speed of flight. The deviation from the aiming point is usually several meters. The damage radius covers this likely inaccuracy. This ensures the highest efficiency of the use of strike aircraft.

Join us 👉 @TrFormer 💤
Become a member of the @TransFormerChat
Continued below ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Continuation from above ⬆️⬆️⬆️
In the case of using conventional bombs when working on small targets taking into account dispersion, it is necessary to carry out several sorties and sometimes spend dozens of ammunition. When using UMPC, there is a chance that the target will be destroyed from the first go. Thus, there is not only savings in shells — the number of sorties is also reduced, the risks of hitting aircraft when they are over the target are reduced. The real combat effectiveness of front-line aviation units with such an arsenal of means increases tenfold.
Probably, such an indisputable advantage of the UMPC has also been realized, such as the low cost of the product, which complements the overall economic effect of using it on the scale of a military operation. Today, UMPCs are being used on 500-kilogram bombs, but it is logical to assume that on large-caliber bombs, for example, on the FAB-1500 — such a technical solution can increase the selectivity of this powerful weapon.

Air glide
For the most effective destruction of especially protected objects, the use of specially designed guided glide bombs is currently justified. The most famous example is UPAB-1500B. The warhead is a concrete-piercing penetrating type with 1,000 kg of explosive. The delayed detonation timer ensures the destruction of bunkers and deep structures — the bomb does not detonate on the surface of the earth, but breaks through the protective layer of concrete and only then explodes.

For gliding flight, the ammunition is equipped with retractable swept wings and can fly from the drop point to a distance of up to 50 km. The guidance system is inertial with a satellite correction unit. The main goals of such weapons are especially durable military infrastructure facilities, protective structures such as in-depth and reinforced concrete command posts.

Its use was noted in 2022 — UPAB-1500B have been not once seen by the television cameras during the Operation. There is evidence of their successful use by front-line aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Gliding bombs specially designed for various carriers are, of course, also produced by the Russian military-industrial complex in smaller calibres. During the SVO, relatively light UPAB-500B were noticed, which also work on targets with known coordinates. This is a planning ammunition weighing 505 kg with a charge of 390 kg of explosives. Flight range — up to 40 km.

Modular planning bomb "Thunder" is produced, probably in a small series, but was also seen during the SVO. It weighs about 600 kg (of which 480 kg is explosive). Due to the streamlined shape and developed wing, its flight range can reach 65 km. Guidance is already traditional for ammunition of this type — inertial with satellite navigation.

With the use of high-precision guided bombs, the strike aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces significantly increases the effectiveness of each sortie. And the main task of the industry now is to ensure the mass production of such unitary ammunition and universal kits for equipping conventional bombs.

Join us 👉 @TrFormer 💤
Become a member of the @TransFormerChat

Moscow rejected Kyiv's conditions for launching an ammonia pipeline to Odessa

Russia rejects Ukraine's attempts to put forward political conditions for the launch of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline. This was announced on Saturday, April 29, by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin.

He emphasized that Moscow has always viewed ammonia as a mutually beneficial commercial project, and not as “something related to the possibility of putting forward political conditions.”

“Unfortunately, all this time, relatively speaking, since September, various political demands from the Ukrainian side reached us through intermediaries, through the UN. They were diverse, we rejected them all, and today we reject them,” Vershinin told reporters.

Earlier, in mid-February, the Russian Foreign Ministry already indicated that the work of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline was blocked by Ukraine for political reasons. Meanwhile, as noted in the statement of the ministry, its launch is clearly spelled out in the "Black Sea initiative" for the supply of grain, signed by the parties in Istanbul.

The ministry also reported that the price for ammonia, which is a key raw material for the production of fertilizers, has now reached a record high of $ 1,100 per 1 cubic meter. m. This has already led not only to a "crisis of its price inaccessibility", but also to the emerging shortage of this substance.

On February 10, State Duma deputy Yevgeny Nifantyev told Izvestia that by interfering with the supply of Russian fertilizers and grain under the grain deal, Ukraine and the West are provoking famine in countries that are in dire need of these products.

#TransFormatorBuzzes : 💤
I still can not fully understand this — for some people it is a war, frontline, death; for others — business as usual (well, almost)...
Join us 👉 @TrFormer 💤
Become a member of the @TransFormerChat

Sevastopol, Sevastopol, the city of Russian sailors. The United States, using UAVs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, attacked the Cossack Bay of Sevastopol, blew up an oil depot. Now it's on fire. Looks like a harbinger of the apocalypse. But we will still win.

Translated from Markov's Logic

Join us 👉@TrFormer
Become a member of @TransFormerChat

More from Markov's Logic:*
The explosion of an oil depot in the Cossack Bay of Sevastopol shocked many. Badly. But there is no need to panic. In Ukraine, there are ten times more such explosions. But you cannot see them, because in Ukraine it is forbidden to film and show such explosions and fires. And in Russia it is possible, freedom in Russia.
1. Russia compared to Ukraine is a much freer country.
2. Russia, compared to Ukraine, is a much more peaceful country.
3. Russia is a much safer country compared to Ukraine.
4. Russia, compared to Ukraine, is a much more modern country.
5. The same as Russia, soon there will be Russian cities of Kharkov, Odessa, Dnipro, Nikolaev, Kherson, Zaporozhye, Kyiv, as part of Russia — peaceful, calm, free, modern.

#TransFormatorBuzzes : 💤
* I like his simple positive optimism 👍

Donetsk now. Armed forces of Ukraine are shelling civilians.
Video from Svodki
Join us 👉@TrFormer

This is a translation from Ukrainian propaganda channel:
________________________________________________________
The Russians shelled the centre of Donetsk. Arrival was in a minibus in the middle of the road. 7 people died.

The propagandists have already started blaming Ukraine for everything and sculpting plots. However, we all remember that every time after the terror in Ukraine (shelling of residential buildings / shopping centres with a large number of victims), the Russians shell Donetsk to shift the focus.
________________________________________________________
#TransFormatorBuzzes : 💤
It is hard to believe, but there are people (and a lot) in Ukraine, who continue believing it... It is really "beyond good and evil"... 😭🤯😡
Join us 👉 @TrFormer 💤
Become a member of the @TransFormerChat

Attention! The girls are coming!
Victory day (9th of May) parade rehearsal in Moscow at the Red Square.

As found by our subscriber 🙏
Join us 👉 @TrFormer 💤
Become a member of the @TransFormerChat

Pentagon Concerned Ukraine’s Air Defences Will Likely Run Out Within a Month: Russian Air Force May Finally Begin to Dominate

Recent leaks of secret documents from the U.S. Department of Defence have shown that there are rising concerns within the Pentagon regarding the state of the Ukrainian Air Force’s surface to air missile network. These have played a central role in its ongoing war effort with Russia but are increasingly at risk of becoming depleted beyond hopes of replenishment. While Ukraine’s air defences have successfully achieved air denial, preventing the Russian Air Force from playing a central role in the war effort, documents show that a depletion of these assets could have a pivotal impact on the war effort and allow Russia to massively escalate operations by its fixed wing aircraft deep into its neighbour’s airspace. Pentagon officials assessed that Ukrainian air defences assigned to protect forces on the frontlines would “be completely reduced” by May 23, allowing Russian air power to play a much greater role on the battlefield in support of its ground forces and potentially facilitating major advances by the Russian Army and allied paramilitaries. Ukraine’s air defences are comprised primarily of variants of the S-300 and Buk systems inherited from the Soviet Union, which provided the country with by far Europe’s greatest surface to air missile network due to the massive concentration of Soviet forces and arsenals on its territory. Although dating back to the 1980s these systems were considered far ahead of their time technologically, and have proven effective in keeping the Russian Air Force at bay. Very limited Russian investments in advanced air defence suppression capabilities have also been a major factor.

Reports that Ukraine’s air defence network could finally be at breaking point come as the United States has reportedly begun to consider options to respond to a major defeat, with Politico reporting that a plan for withdrawing U.S. forces and assistance from the country was being considered. Beyond facilitating a major escalation in air attacks on Ukrainian frontline positions, depletion of air defences could also allow air defence suppression efforts to become much more focused on neutralising the networks protecting major Ukrainian cities. This could also have a pivotal impact on the war effort following warnings that destruction of critical infrastructure could quickly make major population centres unviable. Although Western countries have moved to quickly provide their own air defence assets, with the first Patriot missile batteries from the Netherlands reportedly arriving in Ukraine on April 18, these are available in extremely small numbers compared to S-300 and Buk batteries due primarily to NATO’s much lower emphasis on surface to air capabilities compared to the Soviet Union or Russia. The Patriot also lacks the mobility of even older Soviet systems which could make it much more vulnerable to air defence suppression efforts, and much less well suited to protecting frontline positions meaning it will most likely be reserved for the defence of major cities and arms depots to the rear. The considerable time it takes to train Ukrainian personnel on systems such as the Patriot means they are expected to almost certainly be manned by Western contractors at least until 2024, with the U.S. having assured Russia that active duty American personnel will not be manning the systems in what was widely seen as a green light for strikes on the assets.

Join us 👉 @TrFormer 💤
Become a member of the @TransFormerChat

In Bakhmut/Artemovsk, the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in chemical protection suits installed containers with chemical substances, but were destroyed

In the west of Bakhmut, enemy specialists in full chemical protection and gas masks installed containers with unidentified chemicals in front of the front line. This group was completely destroyed.

Translated from RVvoenkor

Join us 👉 @TrFormer 💤
Become a member of the @TransFormerChat

The enemy may try to capture Mariupol during the counter-offensive — Khodakovsky

Alexander Khodakovsky (Skif), deputy head of the National Guard’s department for the DPR, commander of the legendary Vostok battalion and first-wave militiaman, said in his author’s Telegram channel that the enemy could try to capture Mariupol during a counteroffensive.

“In the place of the enemy, assuming to attack, I would focus on Mariupol. Climbing into the canonical Russian territories, hoping to arrange a “barter” is, among other things, to get a population that, for the most part, will meet the occupiers not with bread and salt. Yes, and in the minds of everyone who is able to hold a weapon in their hands, everything will immediately fall into place: the special operation will quickly turn into a Patriotic War with all the consequences.

But Mariupol, if you reach it somewhere from Volnovakha, is both an instant threat to Donetsk, and an inestimable political effect, and cutting off the land corridor to the Crimea ...

They know the city, the population remembers them, they know how to gain a foothold quickly, and we may not quickly find offensive forces to re-take Mariupol ... Can you imagine the picture of how we storm the once taken city for the second time?

The unfortunate Pavlovka, who left us in half a day, then cost us unreasonably dear ... So I would strengthen this direction, if possible. Of course, I’m still a strategist, but now, in principle, there are not a lot of strategists.”

Translated from Skif

Join us 👉 @TrFormer 💤
Become a member of the @TransFormerChat

Powerful fotage: an attempt by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to storm the Russian position "Cyclops" near Bakhmut/Artemovsk

▪️An enemy drone recorded the failure of the assault group of the 54th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was trying to capture the positions of Russian fighters.
▪️The footage shows close combat in the trenches. At 01:38 a militant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the left receives a bullet exactly in the head and remains lying down.
▪️At 01:43, the Russian fighter was obviously born lucky. Having used up all the hand grenades, the Ukrainian military retreated, having lost at least one killed.

Translated from RVvoenkor

Join us 👉 @TrFormer 💤
Become a member of the @TransFormerChat