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"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." --Eden Phillpotts
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
The topic of Taurus missiles is a sensitive one. Let me explain why. This will be both an explanation and an answer to some skeptics who say: “We help Ukraine, but what is Ukraine doing for us?” Here is an example. The IRIS-T air defense system. An excellent German system, and we are grateful to its manufacturers. Every type of defense is important for Ukraine, but it is also important for German industry.
We have made IRIS-T the world’s number one system after the Patriot, which is an anti-ballistic system. Today, it costs somewhere between $600,000 and around $1 million to $1.5 million. That’s the result of this war. We have also helped address all the problem areas, because only in a real war can you truly eliminate the weaknesses of a particular defense system. Germany now has orders backed up for 10 to 20 years. The cost of a missile has gone up severalfold, even by tens of times. And all of this means jobs.
Why do we want to order Taurus missiles? Because when the Americans were unable to supply us with anti-ballistic interceptors for our air defense, we were left with only one option: to destroy Russian launchers. They have built entire launch sites and are killing us, while we have no way to defend ourselves. These are not civilian targets, infrastructure, or energy facilities. That is why we really wanted to order Taurus missiles. And not simply to order them, but, once again, to test them as well. It benefits both sides.
From an interview with ZDF. (3/3)
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
Oleshky evacuation:
🇺🇦 17 big buses to Ukraine
🇷🇺 4 minibuses to Russia, windows covered
Russian vlogger Vladimir Romanov said so. Then he vanished.
Russia caused this suffering. Nobody wants Russia.
#RussiaIsCollapsing #Oleshky #Putin #StandWithUkraine #MakeRussiaSmallAgain
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
A huge caboom detonation of a Russian ammunition depot!
Even the Defenders of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Centre who carried out the strike were very surprised.
📹️️️️️️: 73rd Naval Special Operations Centre
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
NOW IS THE TIME TO REMIND EVERYONE OF THESE FACTS ABOUT DONALD TRUMP.
Donald Trump flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet at least seven times, according to flight logs.
He invoked the Fifth Amendment repeatedly during questioning in a New York civil investigation.
He was convicted on 34 felony counts in New York.
He faced 91 felony charges across four criminal indictments.
More than two dozen women have publicly accused him of sexual misconduct, including assault and harassment.
His businesses went through six corporate bankruptcies.
He received five military draft deferments during the Vietnam War.
He was impeached twice by the House of Representatives and acquitted twice by the Senate.
Two Trump Organization companies were convicted of criminal tax fraud and related offenses.
Trump University faced fraud lawsuits that ended in a $25 million settlement.
The Donald J. Trump Foundation was dissolved following legal action by New York authorities.
A jury awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million after finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
Another jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in a separate defamation case.
A court ordered Trump to pay $2 million in connection with the misuse of charitable foundation funds.
A New York court imposed a civil fraud judgment exceeding $400 million, although the massive financial penalty was later overturned on appeal.
During Trump's first presidential term, the federal budget deficit increased every fiscal year.
The federal debt exceeded 100% of GDP throughout his first term.
The United States recorded a historically large federal budget deficit in fiscal year 2020.
The national debt increased by trillions of dollars during his first term.
Weekly initial unemployment claims reached an unprecedented level during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its largest single-day point decline at the time in March 2020.
Trump lost the national popular vote in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
The 2018–2019 federal government shutdown lasted 35 days, setting a record at the time.
Trump was the first American president to be impeached twice.
His second impeachment trial was the first in which seven senators from his own party voted to convict a president.
Numerous associates and officials connected to his administration faced criminal investigations, indictments, or convictions.
And Donald Trump became the first former president of the United States to have a publicly released criminal booking photograph.
These are documented chapters of American political and legal history.
P.S. I'm gradually moving my writing from X to Substack. Join me there with a free subscription, or become a paid subscriber to support my independent work.
mykhailorohoza.substack.com
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
🔥 Kazakhstan HALTED the Atyrau–Samara pipeline.
Ukraine hit russia’s major oil hub in Samara — Europe’s largest tank farm.
71 tanks. 1.6M m³.
This is how you cut export routes without touching a port.
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
Russian troops tried to bypass Ukraine’s defences in Zaporizhzhia by infiltrating through the Kakhovka Reservoir.
Ukraine’s soldiers were waiting. The Russians were killed & captured. Putin called it a victory, which was bullshit.
I embedded with Kraken, 6km from the front, to show what really happened.
youtu.be/krXK785ZoTE
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
🎃🔥 Russians had an unforgettable Halloween: Ukrainian drones — and even balloons — filled the skies over European Russia.
And Russians kept asking the same question: what happened to our air defence? 👀
Ukraine is already using balloon-assisted systems that can carry strike drones closer to their targets, saving battery power and extending their range. (РБК-Україна)
🇺🇦 Innovation beats the old Soviet war machine. The only working peace plan is to defeat and demilitarize Russia.
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaIsCollapsing #MakeRussiaSmallAgain
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
PUTIN IN PANIC: NO MONEY FOR THE RUSSIAN SOLDIERS
youtu.be/8ijFoHh-oNY
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
🔥 Have you heard the latest from the collapsing Russian economy?
Russia’s Defense Ministry wants to postpone December payments to military personnel until January — for the first time in at least 18 years. (Meduza)
And perhaps this is one of the best illustrations yet of Putin’s economic reality: Russia is spending enormous sums on war while its federal budget deficit keeps growing. (Русская служба The Moscow Times)
Putin promised Russians greatness. Instead, they are getting war, inflation, budget holes — and now even delayed military payments.
Subscribe to witness the collapse of Putin’s regime together — and share to spread the truth. 🇺🇦
#RussiaIsCollapsing #RussiaEconomy #MakeRussiaSmallAgain #StandWithUkraine
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
🔥 Just look at what's happening around the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery!
And now it's hard to know what to make of the WSJ report.
Just yesterday, the newspaper reported that, under pressure from the US, Ukraine had suspended its strikes on Russian oil refineries at least until the US elections.
And this photo is already a strong contender for Photo of the Day.
⚡️ Has Ukraine resumed its strikes on Russian oil refineries?
A major oil refinery owned by Rosneft is on fire in Novokuybyshevsk, in Russia's Samara region.
The facility produces jet fuel for the Russian Armed Forces.
The area is engulfed in smoke, with three spectacular plumes rising into the sky.
Isn't it a beautiful sight, folks?
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
🇷🇺 RUSSIAN GENERAL WHO WARNED AGAINST INVADING UKRAINE NOW SAYS PUTIN IS DESTROYING RUSSIA 🇺🇦
Retired Russian General Leonid Ivashov warned against invading Ukraine before the war began. Nearly four years later, his assessment of Vladimir Putin and the state of Russia is devastating.
Ivashov, a former senior military officer and longtime geopolitical analyst, has accused Putin of living in a fantasy while ordinary Russians struggle with poverty, rising prices and deteriorating public services.
“I saw neither a leader, nor a commander, nor a defender of the people. I saw only a man living in a fairy tale, while the rest of the country is trying to survive on 16,000 rubles a month.”
His criticism extends far beyond Russia’s military performance in Ukraine.
Ivashov argues that the war has exposed serious weaknesses across the Russian state. He points to declining industrial capacity, underfunded healthcare, problems in education and scientific research, and an economy increasingly unable to deliver improvements in ordinary people’s lives.
He is particularly concerned about Russia’s demographic decline. The loss of working-age men, combined with an ageing population and longstanding demographic pressures, could leave consequences that persist long after the fighting ends.
Nor does he share the Kremlin’s confidence in its international partnerships.
Ivashov questions how much Belarus and North Korea can realistically contribute to Russia’s long-term stability. He also rejects the idea that China’s economic relationship with Moscow makes Beijing a dependable military ally.
His most serious warning concerns Russia’s future as a state. Ivashov believes a strategic defeat in Ukraine could eventually threaten the Russian Federation’s political and territorial integrity.
What makes his criticism significant is his background.
Ivashov spent decades within Russia’s military establishment. In February 2022, before the full-scale invasion, he publicly warned that war with Ukraine would damage Russia’s security, international standing and future.
He was not predicting a quick Russian victory. He was warning Putin against starting the war at all.
Now, almost four years later, he sees a country paying an enormous price for the decision he opposed from the beginning.
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
✈️ The situation at Moscow's airports last night — once again, not a damn thing was flying
Moscow Mayor Sobyanin counted more than 800 (!) drones supposedly "successfully shot down" on their approach to the capital.
Restrictions were imposed at all Moscow airports.
This is far from the first night that Ukrainian forces have shut down the skies and effectively paralyzed air travel in major Russian cities. Airlines are suffering massive losses, while passengers are forced to wait for hours — or even days — for their flights.
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
⚡️❗️BREAKING: As if Russia hadn’t lost enough Sukhoi jets this October, another Su-57 has been completely destroyed, this time without any Ukrainian involvement.
On October 29, a Russian fifth-generation Su-57 fighter reportedly caught fire during engine startup at Akhtubinsk airfield in Astrakhan Oblast and burned out completely.
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
🔥🏙️ Our special correspondents – the mayors of Moscow and St. Petersburg – are reporting another round of major attacks on their cities: airports closed, flights cancelled, and, most importantly, military and strategic targets demilitarized.
Apparently, they do not enjoy the “special military operation” quite as much when it reaches their own cities.
💸 And the criticism from inside Russia is growing. Moscow’s mayor has questioned Putin’s war economy, and now even the head of the Russian Communists is attacking the enormous military spending. Every second ruble is being burned on a war that is increasingly destroying Russia itself.
Putin wanted to be remembered as the “gatherer of Russian lands.” He may instead be remembered as the man who triggered their dissolution.
🔥 Subscribe to witness what happens next – and share to spread the truth.
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaIsCollapsing #MakeRussiaSmallAgain #RussiaEconomy
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
🔥BREAKING: massive fire has broken out at the Omsky Kauchuk petrochemical plant in Omsk, Russia, following a Ukrainian drone attack, nearly 2,500 km from the front line.
The facility is one of Russia’s leading producers of synthetic rubber and industrial chemicals, including phenol, acetone, and isopropyl alcohol. It also manufactures MTBE, a key component used in high-octane gasoline production.
The plant produces approximately 500,000 tonnes of petrochemical products annually.
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
HUGE STRIKES IN RUSSIA: ORYOL MOSCOW VORONEZH OMSK TOLYATTI ROSTOV Vlog 1572: War in Ukraine
youtu.be/d8yoo4Xn64c
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
🔥🇺🇦 These have been very bad days for Russia’s military industry — which means we’re getting another extended Russian geography lesson.
Ukrainian drones and Ukrainian-made missiles hit chemical plants, an optoelectronics factory, logistics hubs and data centers, while flights were cancelled in Moscow and blackouts reached Russian regions.
And this is the important change: Ukraine can answer now.
From Omsk, deep in Siberia, to Orel, our strikes are reaching targets that Russia once believed were safely protected by distance. Russia’s enormous size is turning from an asset into a vulnerability. 🎯
The strike on the optoelectronics plant in Orel matters especially because facilities like this supply components needed for missile production elsewhere. Hit the critical links — and you disrupt the entire chain.
🔥 The war is back on Russian territory. And this is not the moment to appease Putin. It is the moment to keep weakening the regime that started this war.
Subscribe to witness what happens next — and share to spread the truth. 💙💛
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaIsCollapsing #MakeRussiaSmallAgain #Ukraine
🕷❄Paul Blackburn 74%❄🕷🐟💙🇺🇦 retweeted
Since the American President announced the energy ceasefire a week ago, Russia has deliberately attacked Ukraine’s energy and oil and gas sectors 76 times. Last night alone, there were strikes on substations in the Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, and Odesa regions. Tens of thousands of families remain without power. Energy workers and repair crews are working virtually around the clock to restore electricity supply. Overnight, the Russians also struck residential buildings in our regions. As of now, 12 people have been reported injured, including two children. Two people have been killed. My condolences to their families and loved ones. This morning, there was a strike on an agricultural enterprise in Volyn. All necessary services are working at the site.
In total, over this past week, the Russians have attacked Ukraine with almost 2,700 attack drones, 1,700 aerial bombs, and 66 missiles, most of them ballistic. The main targets of these strikes are energy facilities – the Russians are trying to cause a blackout. And America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements. On the contrary, they take every signal of an opportunity to make money as proof that their bet on war is paying off and they can keep fighting. It is because of this position of Russia’s that the war continues, not because Ukraine is rightfully defending itself. It is Russia that must face pressure for peace to have a chance. Thank you to everyone who understands this and helps.