Russia Shows off a Claimed Hypersonic Missile Test

Russia's deputy defense minister has offered new details on the new hypersonic missile announced by President Putin in a recent speech to lawmakers. This reported by Sputnik.

The Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched missile system, capable of rendering useless all existing and prospective anti-missile systems, is also able to destroy large, moving sea-based targets such as aircraft carriers, destroyers and cruisers, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov has confirmed.

"This is a class of precision weapons which has a multifunctional warhead capable of striking at both stationary and moving targets," Borisov said, speaking to Krasnaya Zvezda, the defense ministry's official newspaper.

Confirming that the Kinzhal ('Dagger') system is based on the MiG-31 supersonic interceptor aircraft, the general explained that that plane "takes off into the air, accelerates to a certain speed at a high altitude, and then the missile begins its own autonomous movement."

According to Borisov, the system's capability to reach speeds of about Mach 10 "allows [the missile] to approach its target quickly, in contrast to cruise missiles, which fly at an average cruising speed of about 850-900 km/h."

link.

The Russian Aerospace Forces have conducted the first successful test firing of the air-launched Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missile according to state sponsored media outlets.

The missile, supposedly named Kh-47M2 and referred to as the “Kinzhal”, was fired from a modified MiG-31BM (NATO reporting name “Foxhound”) over Southwest Russia. A report published on Facebook by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said the “unique” MiG-31 that fired the missile had been “modernized”. Rogozin did not specify what modifications or “modernized” meant.

In video and still photos portions of the weapon seen in the test launch are obscured by imaging software, presumably for security purposes.

link.


Note!  This is a missile that is NOT scramjet powered.  There are no inlets.  This is just a traditional missile that goes fast.  That limits its range.  It's also not all that different in some ways than an ATACMS missile: this is a ballistic missile the US Army uses, one that has been used to accelerate our scramjet testbeds up to mach 5+.  The Russian missile is not a huge innovation as such.  The Indian Brahmos-II is more of one, honestly.  Note: the Russians were jointly developing the Brahmos-II with the Indians when they suddenly jacked up the price on the Indians.  The Indians went it alone since.

Ukraine War Update: Большая ложь перед бурей

Putin hints at war with Ukraine.

Putin visited Crimea. 

Putin blamed Ukraine for the peace plan failing.

Kiev is struggling with fighting the Donnie Rebs propaganda war.

If the fighting continues to worsen in the Donbas, Kiev is threatening martial law.

The fighting is increasing in the Donbas. 

Russia is building up an army on the Ukrainian border.

Trump's campaign manager, Manafort, has been named as accepting bribes from the Donnie Rebs to move money into the US.  He has since resigned.

Here's a look at the Crimean Crisis.

Putin Admits Panama Papers are Accurate

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday acknowledged the accuracy of the Panama Papers revelations, but claimed funds had been spent on musical instruments as he blamed the leak on the United States.

The Papers revealed that Putin's associates, notably cellist Sergei Roldugin, "secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies," according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

During Putin's annual phone-in with the nation, a male caller asked the president why he did not react to "slander in Western media and "unreliable information about offshores."

Putin sighed, saying that "strange as it may seem, they are not publishing unreliable information about offshores. The information is accurate."

link.

Putin: Panama Papers Plot to Weaken Russia

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday denied having any links to offshore accounts and described the Panama Papers document leaks scandal as part of a U.S.-led plot to weaken Russia.

Putin also defended a cellist friend named as the alleged owner of an offshore company, describing him as a philanthropist who spent his own funds to buy rare musical instruments for Russian state collections.

Speaking at a media forum in St. Petersburg, Putin said Western media pushed the claims of his involvement in offshore businesses even though his name didn't feature in any of the documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm.

Putin described the allegations as part of the U.S.-led disinformation campaign waged against Russia in order to weaken its government. "They are trying to destabilize us from within in order to make us more compliant," he said.

link.

Xi, Putin Amongst Main Revelations of the Panama Papers

World leaders, aides and families, sports and movie stars are among those named in a huge leak of documents dubbed the Panama Papers, some of which reveal hidden offshore assets.

An investigation by more than 100 media groups has shone a light on assets held by some 140 political figures with help from Mossack Fonseca, a law firm based in Panama.

Offshore companies are not in themselves illegal, and there are numerous legitimate reasons for using them. But they can also be used to launder the proceeds of criminal activities or to conceal misappropriated or politically-inconvenient wealth.

Mossack Fonseca has denied any wrongdoing and said it has always complied with relevant laws and regulations.

link.

Russia's Most Syrian Adventure #76: All Done There?

The big news is that Putin has ordered many of the Russian troops out of Syria. There are a couple different stories as to why floating around. There is probably some overlap in reality, but the main driving reason is that Putin feels his mission was a success: Syria, more specifically Assad, will not be falling any time soon. Putin can declare victory and go home.

Other narratives to go with this were that Russia was hurting too much financially to continue and there is some sort of break with Assad. The break is possibly because Assad wanted to retake all of Syria. Russia didn't want to expend more capital it seems (either geopolitical or financial) for this to happen. The ceasefire makes it too dangerous for the narrative for Putin to allow the assault to continue. The finances are well known, but Russia had been using their training budget for operations in Syria. As has been said, in Soviet Russia, wars train for you. The limits of that may have been reached. Russia has even cut its defense budget: something Putin has been loathe to do.

That said, here is the plethora of links for the story at hand.

Foxtrot Alpha.

USNI News with an analysis by the same site.

The Aviationist (with video of what is supposed to be the first aircraft leaving).

Even with the withdrawal, the Russians are still supporting Assad and his attempt to take Palmyra with airstrikes.

The Russians are also accusing Turkey of having ground troops within Syria and conducting artillery strikes on the Kurds. The former is dubious, but the latter is highly likely.

The ceasefire has held, mostly, at least as well as the Ukrainian one.

I can say though Putin will be able to claim a victory.  He got in, did what he said he would to his ally, won a diplomatic coupe and then is withdrawing with minimal blood shed: Russian blood that is.  As far as we can tell.  Those predicting a quagmire were rather wrong.  Those predicting the Russian military breaking down were also wrong.  I was somewhat wrong at least because while there were Russian ground troops, there was not, afaik, major offensives led by the Russians.

It goes to show just how dangerous Putin's Russia is, folks.

Happy New Year, Russia: Putin's Son-in-law Gets Very Cheap $1.75 Billion Loan From Gov

The son-in-law of Vladimir Putin stands to benefit from $1.75 billion in cheap finance from the Russian state, a Reuters examination of public documents shows. The money will help fund a petrochemical project at a company in which Kirill Shamalov, husband of Katerina Tikhonova, the Russian president's younger daughter, has a significant interest.

Shamalov is a major shareholder in Sibur, Russia's largest processor of petrochemicals. This month Sibur obtained $1.75 billion from Russia's National Wealth Fund to help build a huge new plant in Tobolsk, Siberia.

According to corporate documents, Sibur was able to borrow the money at a current interest rate of 2 percent. That is a bargain, according to financial analysts. Artyom Usmanov, an analyst at investment firm BCS, said borrowers on the Russian bond market would expect to pay over 7 percent interest for such a loan. Irina Alizarovskaya, an analyst with Raiffeisenbank called the financing "quite cheap."

link.

Russian Government Officials Given 400 Page Book of PROPHETIC Quotes by...PUTIN

Officials across Russia have been given a 400-page book of "prophetic" quotes by President Vladimir Putin as a new year gift, it's reported.

The collection, entitled Words That Change The World, was sent to as many as 1,000 people by one of Mr Putin's top aides, Vyacheslav Volodin, according to the business newspaper RBK. Recipients include MPs, regional governors and civil society representatives. In an accompanying letter, Mr Volodin says the book should be seen as a guide to the Kremlin's "values and guiding principles". He's also reported to have recommended it to a recent meeting of officials as "required reading for any politician".

The book is said to include the text of 19 speeches by Mr Putin, and highlights key quotes in bold that the introduction says "predicted and preordained" world events. Among the texts are a 2007 speech in Munich in which Mr Putin accused the US of courting disaster by seeking to dominate the global order, and his 2014 address to Russian parliamentarians fiercely defending the annexation of Crimea.

link.

Putin Abolishes Russian Space Agency (!), to be Replaced With State Corporation

With the flourish of a pen earlier today, Russian president Vladimir Putin officially put an end to Roscosmos, the country's federal space agency. That decree capped off over a year's worth of organizational despair as the agency saw its ten-year budget cut (again), the loss of a handful of spacecraft and the misuse of over 92 billion rubles (or $1.8 billion) in part thanks to a pervasive culture of corruption. Don't worry about the country's spacebound ambitions, though — Roscosmos will be reborn as a state-run corporation on January 1.

So, what does that actually mean? Well, we're not really sure yet.

link.

Putin Praises Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday described US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump as a talented and outstanding man, welcoming his stance on Russia.

"He is a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented," Putin told journalists after his annual press conference in Moscow.

"It's not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to US voters, but he is the absolute leader of the presidential race," Putin added.

link.

Putin Delusional, Believes European Missile Defense Aimed at Russian Nuclear Arsenal

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday pledged Russia would build weapons that could pierce any anti-missile shield as he accused the United States and its allies of looking to shackle Moscow's nuclear capabilities.

"As we have repeatedly said, we will focus... on offensive systems capable of overcoming any anti-missile defence systems," Putin said at a government meeting on the defence industry in the Black Sea city of Sochi.

Russia has been locked in a feud for years over NATO plans to build a missile-defence system in Europe that it says is aimed against Iran but Moscow says is really directed at Russia.

"References to the Iranian and North Korean nuclear missile threats are a cover-up," Putin said.

The "true intentions" of the missile shield were aimed "at neutralising the strategic nuclear potential" of Russia, he said.

link.

The Russian arsenal is too big to stop entirely.   At best it would stop the ability to fire single nuclear weapons.

Ukraine War Update: Не даже шелест листьев, но звук поступи Дарта Вейдера

It has gotten to be so quiet, its freaking virtually everyone out in Eastern Ukraine.  The line of contact has not been this quiet since the war began.  Period.

[The guns!  They've stopped!]

Putin is in Crimea.  He's says the damnedest things.  It almost makes you think he's Reagan in his latter years. 

FWIW, 2/3s of Ukrainians now want to be part of NATO.  At least 2/3s of the Ukrainians in Ukraine controlled territory.

UPDATE: Probably shouldn't have written its quiet.  Maryinka is now under attack (reportedly ground assault and artillery hell) and Stanytsia Luhanska is getting the crap beaten out of it now, too.  

Ukraine: Patterns Unravelling

Poroshenko did something today which I profoundly do not understand: he declared a unilateral ceasefire.  He stated the Ukrainian forces would not attack for one week and only defend themselves if attacked during that time.  Once the week is up, those of the LGM who still fight are going to get mopped - so sayeth he.  

There are problems and possibilities with his move.

First, the Ukrainians moved a very large force outside of Lugansk and were getting to do a serious smackdown on the People's Republic of Lugansk.  By stalling for a week, this allows the LGM to bring in reinforcements, resupply and rest.  Undoubtedly, this applies to the Ukrainians, too, but the LGM are getting more and more tanks, APCs and artillery, esp rockets, from the Russians. As of now, the Ukrainian armoured forces outnumber the LGM.  In a week?

Second, the Russians are moving more and troops back to the border.  These are tanks, attack helicopters, airborne units, artillery and APCs. (see video just above)  I'd add more, but someone dubbed music over a number which doesn't lend itself to being terribly credible.  However, there's a LOT of it and it might get eaten by American equipment, but its more than enough dealing with the Ukrainians if needs be.

But what are the possibilities?  Poroshenko will have demonstrated he's the good guy: I stopped, they fought.  Straight forward who is the good guy.

He also buys time for the Ukrainian army to sort itself out.  After years of neglect, even active malice against the ukrainian army, I can only imagine how FUBARed the logistics are.

Ukraine: Patterns of Death

Ukraine suffers. There's no other way to put it.  

The bombardment of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk continues.  There are some pretty depressing videos coming out of there about the civvies.  

There is VERY heavy fighting at Shchastya (Schaste). At least 15 Ukrainian soldiers were killed there. 

Just to the south is Metalist, which the Ukrainian army took a few days ago, but there are noises it might still be contested.

There are two tanks in Donetsk.  There are claims these are T-72s again.  There has been a lot more equipment coming across the Russian border.  Whether or not these are really T-72s, I cannot say.  My Russian tank IDing days are about 20 years in the past and the ones which recently crossed from Russia were T-64s, rather than T-72s.  These may, in fact, be the same tanks reported before, but moved south from Gorlovka.  I would NOT be surprised if there was more.

There is a video of a guy walking around a T-64 which is claimed to be a captured Ukrainian army tank.  It seems abandoned as much as anything.

In Gorlovka, there is a report of an Ukrainian Su-25 being shot down.

There are reports the LGM have started quartering their troops in people's houses.  That ended well for the brits here and Ukrainians are just as fierce about their homes, if not more so.

The Russians continue to move more troops to the border.  Its feeling more and more like the earlier withdrawal was a troop rotation.  There are plenty of videos. 

Kiev is increasingly stating they believe the gas line blast was intentional.

Poroshenko is offering a unilateral ceasefire. Iryna Gerashchenko is appointed the peace envoy to the east. Pushilin rejected Poroshenko's peace plan and ceasefire. 

I am increasingly concerned about the Euromaidan activists.  They're protesting, including with the Right Sector, with increasing fervor in Kiev.  I understand their anger and frustration, but...

The Eurasian Union has Been Harmed by Putin's Adventures in Ukraine

t was never meant as a return to the Soviet Union. When Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, first called for a Eurasian Union just over 20 years ago, he envisaged a grouping of individual states with individual interests coming together for the economic benefit of one another. Nazarbayev, an iron-fisted autocrat and the only president an independent Kazakhstan has ever known, cited, seemingly without irony, "the will of the people to integration" as he tried to justify the reintegration of independent states the Soviet Union's demise had left behind.

On May 29, Nazarbayev witnessed this goal finally come to fruition. Sort of. Alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Nazarbayev signed the founding treaty of the Eurasian Union (EEU) in Astana, paving the way for the transition from their current customs union to the full-fledged EEU on Jan. 1, 2015. Putin called the signing an event of "epoch-making significance."

But Putin has a way of mangling rhetoric and reality. While the EEU seeks to rejoin the post-Soviet space in economic agglomeration -- and has even received interested partners from Vietnam to Syria -- it stands far from the goal Nazarbayev once held, and even further from what irredentist Putin would hope.

Rather than launching a wholesale effort at post-Soviet reintegration, the EEU has rapidly morphed into something far more degraded -- and has faced substantive pushback from states watching Putin attempt to shift the EEU into another vehicle for Russia's revanchism, displayed so obviously in Crimea. Where the concerns on the EEU were originally economic -- the benefits are discernibly slanted toward Moscow -- events in Ukraine have displayed that the Kremlin's neo-imperialism is back. "The original purpose of the Eurasian Union was to become a dominant regional economic organization, with a legal architecture controlled by Moscow," said Alexander Cooley, a political science professor at Barnard College. But Crimea ended up illustrating that Putin would much rather have something to "effectively lock countries into Moscow's political and economic orbit."

Modeled on the European Union's economic constructs, the new union will represent a market of 170 million, and will boast a total GDP of nearly $3 trillion. The EEU will serve as the maturation of the current customs union shared by the three nations, and will allow further economic integration -- increased free movement of goods, streamlined trade regulation, unified macroeconomic policy -- between member states. And the EEU has potential to keep growing. If Putin somehow manages to woo the remaining post-Soviet (non-Baltic) nations, the EEU's market could jump to some 300 million members and just under $4 trillion in combined GDP.

But that swell is far from plausible.

link.

Ukraine: a Broken, Chocolate Dawn

Presidential elections took place in Ukraine.  They were flawed due to the fact in the East the Little Green Men ran around smashing voting booths in the Donbass and very few votes were cast from that area.  Poroshenko is president.  Chocolate king wins a broken country.

I hope he has the wisdom to keep Yatsenyuk.  I am sure he's very aware of what a snake Akmetov is.  Since he is an oligarch, there is a lot of fear from my Ukrainian sources he will simply line his pocket and try handing Ukraine over to Putin like Yanukovich tried to do.  All we can do is sit and wait on that one.

Battles have been taking place as far as the anti LGM ops.  20 soldiers have died this past week.

There have been reports some of the Russian troops have been pulled back.  Putin has claimed he's pulled back a few times, only to be shown not the case by sat imagery.  I have to wonder if he'll pull back a little at a time, to leave the window open to try to snag eastern Ukraine as long as he can.  However, he may be giving up or shifting tactics due to the attempt at forcing the secession from the top down and it not taking.  As for why...

I have been hearing interesting stories out of Eastern Ukraine.  I do NOT know how much weight to place on them: I have railed against the rumor mill in Ukraine before.  I will do so again.  I am plugged into that rumor mill.  I'll let you decide whether you can believe this one.  or not.

There have been cases where folks claimed they were drafted into the "Ukrainian army" only to find out it was the LGM running the show.  The men in question drilled as Ukrainians, thought they were preparing to fight LGM to defend Ukraine.  However, when they went to start fighting, they found they were attacking their neighbors or Ukrainian soldiers, not LGM.  They were horrified and deserted. 

Some version of that would explain why the LGM have been failing to take over.  They lied about what they were doing and the locals, whatever stage they found out, ditched the LGM.  It would also explain the intercepted calls which the LGM spoke disparaging about the local levees.  However, to be deceived to the degree ...

I have stated before I thought Putin had to snag the Donbass and southern Ukraine - the old Wild Fields - prior to the presidential election.  I think his chances of successfully doing so are rapidly dwindling.  His hopes now are likely hinging on the gas and other pressures he can bring without firing shots.  He's hoping the pain will bring the east into his lap.  I sincerely doubt it. 

I will give Putin one thing.  This entire crisis has proven one huge boon for Ukraine in a single way: eastern Ukrainians are no longer viewing Russia as their family, brothers or sisters.  They have come to see the western Ukrainians as their people, not the Russians.  By taking Crimea, Putin has welded Ukraine together as it has never been before.  The actions of the LGM in the east have seen to that.  Putin has become a villain in their eyes.  Russia has become an enemy.

Good job, Herr Putin.

Putin Claims Internet a CIA Project

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called the Internet a CIA project and made comments about Russia's biggest search engine Yandex, sending the company's shares plummeting.

The Kremlin has been anxious to exert greater control over the Internet, which opposition activists — barred from national television — have used to promote their ideas and organize protests.

Russia's parliament this week passed a law requiring social media websites to keep their servers in Russia and save all information about their users for at least half a year. Also, businessmen close to Putin now control Russia's leading social media network, VKontakte.

Speaking Thursday at a media forum in St. Petersburg, Putin said that the Internet originally was a "CIA project" and "is still developing as such."

To resist that influence, Putin said, Russia needs to "fight for its interests" online.

link.

tsk.  its an NSA project, Putty-pie.  ;)

Watch for Yourself: Snowden and Putin on Russian TV

Dig the grave, dude.

Ukraine: Wither, Dither and Boom?

I retired that word, so you will not see me use it.

Aid to Ukraine.  The Euros promised $15 billion.  The US promised $1 billion. The IMF has not decided.  However, the World Bank has stated they will loan $3 billion for infrastructure in Ukraine this year.  That brings the total promised so far to $19 billion and the IMF may give as much as the Euros.  Unfortunately, there are two bits.  The first is that the US House and Senate are at loggerheads over IMF funding.  The Senate passed and attached some IMF reform to the Ukraine aid bill.  The House supports the aid, but not the reform.  This could cause problems.  I hope they realize how damned important this is right now and find a way through this fast.  The second bit, which is more amusing than bad, is Putin has stated it is illegal for the US or West to loan Ukraine money, specifically its against treaties.  *snork*

Ukraine is perilously close to going bankrupt.  They need financial aid immediately.

Obama says Ukraine has the full backing of the United States.  Prove it!  Get the House and Senate to move their rumps, Mr President.

From what it looks like the build up of Russian forces on the east and northeastern borders continues.

In Crimea, things remain dicey.  The Russians take over small posts.  The Marines and others are left alone.  The former is probably wise for the Russians. More troops continue to move into the Peninsula.  The Russians have shutdown the internet and all Ukrainian language tv channels.  They have also stopped all flights except to Moscow.

The anglophone russian apologists are starting to come round.  They are starting to say both sides are nuts rather than simply claim the West is the source of the problem and Kiev is evil.  Let me say there are NO ANGELS in this.  We have our problems.  The Russians have theirs.  yanukovich was a son of a biscuit though.  50% of a GDP over three years is astounding.  Doug once told a 'joke' about a dictator who took 100%.  Had Yanukovich not been ousted, Ukraine was headed that way.

 The Poles and Ukrainians have planned an air force exercise in May.  I hope this is on Ukrainian soil. The Poles keep reminding me of Stephen.  You can figure out the rest of what I mean.  Good for them, btw.

Yanukovich is not dead.  Oh the travesty of rumors which make us hope.  He's CEARLY delusional though.

The Crimean Tatars are all but saying "Over our dead bodies" that they will be Russian again.  I hope that won't happen.  In either interpretation of that.

Rumors are that TIMOSHENKO'S accounts are being unveiled.  I certainly hope so.  She's a snake.  I keep calling her Ann Coulter with a Ukrainian hairdo.  Her nastiness (and Yuschenko's) were why we are in this mess in the first place.  Its also why Yatsenyuk and Turchynov are handling this so much better: they learned from the idiocy of the Orange Revolution. 

Lots of people are saying there will be a civil war.  If anything it will be the mainland against the twits in Crimea.  

The funny bit for the day is the folks in Odessa.   They made a funny "Putin Go Home" Video.  Now they showed up at the Russian consulate and started draping pasta all over fence.  In Russian, apparently, 'hanging noodles on ears' means lying or you are in the act of lying.

At any rate, my bet is the endgame for Putin is another Frozen conflict.  He has a different way then to manipulate Ukraine and prevent it from getting into the EU and possibly NATO (though doubtful that last any time soon under ANY circumstances).  People smarter than I have concurred.  My only worry is he might pull the trigger and go for south and east Ukraine.

Putin Speaks out on Ukraine

The EU and Russia agreed Tuesday to discuss their sharp differences over Ukraine and eastern Europe as President Vladimir Putin again warned against foreign meddling in former Soviet states.

Putin went into a summit with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso billed as a "clear the air session" only for both sides to come out stressing the positives.

Apparently aiming to calm the waters in Ukraine, Putin also promised not to review crucial aid worth $15 billion (11 billion euros) even if the opposition, hostile to closer ties with Russia, takes power there.

"In direct answer to your question as to whether we will review our agreements on loans and energy if the opposition comes to power -- no we will not," Putin told a press conference after the talks.

"This is not important to us," Putin said, noting that Moscow had had "a very constructive dialogue" with Ukraine when it was led by now-jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

At the same time, "we want to be sure that this money comes back," the president added.

link.

(so did Putin just hang Yanukovich out in the wind???)

and

Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the European Union on Tuesday for sending high-level delegations to Ukraine during its anti-government protests, saying that could be interpreted as political interference.

Speaking at the conclusion of an EU-Russia summit in Brussels, he said: "I can imagine the reaction of our European partners if, in the midst of a crisis in Greece or any other country, our foreign minister would come to an anti-European rally and would urge people to do something."

"The more intermediaries there are, the more problems there are," said Putin. "Considering the specifics of relations between Russia and Ukraine, it is simply unacceptable."

The EU has sent a procession of senior officials, including Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, to meet with government and opposition leaders in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic. Ashton had been scheduled to visit Kiev again later this week, but she decided to fly to Ukraine on Tuesday.

Putin said the EU has been too soft on Ukraine's opposition, claiming some of its members have used racist and xenophobic arguments to win popular support.

link.