President Vladimir Putin today claimed that former Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane was brought down by a hand grenade on-board, and that police discovered 1 million rubles ($10,000 USD) and 5kg of cocaine on the downed plane.
If any of this is true, it seems quite likely that all of these things were placed onboard by the FSB.
@16555d14 It's a fair point. I certainly yadda yadda yadda'd over much of the Soviet era, because the repression of the USSR basically forbade any proper accountability for the crimes committed in Eastern Europe. All we could really control for was our own immigration policies, the Nuremberg courts, and how we worked with these countries when they became independent.
But you're right, I could have written a whole other piece on those questions.
Russian hackers' attempt to target war crimes prosecutors, the SSSCIP says, has ramped up but there's no effort, thus far, that Russia has managed to exfiltrate much data. They've seen no leaks thus far.
"They are hunting what we know about specific people, specific groups, specific actions," an SSSCIP official says. They want to identify informants and spies. The Russians want to know if they need to "hide somebody from prosecution" or if they have to "eliminate the witness."
The SSCIP they face challenges because so many Ukrainian citizens are living under Russian occupation — and are having their internet filtered and monitored by Russian ISPs. But Kyiv tries its best to offer advice on how they can tunnel through the Russian filternet. "We call on them to take all the security measures that are possible, and not to be caught by the Russian Federation."
There is a threat that Russian efforts — both kinetic and cyber — could ramp up against energy and critical infrastructure in the months to come. Moscow will likely trying to replicate its efforts from last year to plunge Ukraine into darkness. But the SSSCIP is now responsible for critical infrastructure protection, and says they've learned a lot over the past year.
Russian hackers' attempt to target war crimes prosecutors, the SSSCIP says, has ramped up but there's no effort, thus far, that Russia has managed to exfiltrate much data. They've seen no leaks thus far.
"They are hunting what we know about specific people, specific groups, specific actions," an SSSCIP official says. They want to identify informants and spies. The Russians want to know if they need to "hide somebody from prosecution" or if they have to "eliminate the witness."
Kyiv attributes this shift to their improved cyber defenses, but also to shifting Russian priorities — they are, less and less, trying to take systems offline and, more and more, trying to collect information. That could be intel on prosecutions (particularly of other cyber criminals) or collecting information to dump online.
There is a threat that Russian efforts — both kinetic and cyber — could ramp up against energy and critical infrastructure in the months to come. Moscow will likely trying to replicate its efforts from last year to plunge Ukraine into darkness. But the SSSCIP is now responsible for critical infrastructure protection, and says they've learned a lot over the past year.
Kyiv attributes this shift to their improved cyber defenses, but also to shifting Russian priorities — they are, less and less, trying to take systems offline and, more and more, trying to collect information. That could be intel on prosecutions (particularly of other cyber criminals) or collecting information to dump online.
Rumors abound that Ramzan Kadyrov, the Putin loyalist and Chechen leader, is sick. Possibly in a coma. It's mostly coming from Ukrainian intelligence sources, it seems.
@78eac2e9 I actually know exactly what you're talking about. One criticism I have of the ADL/SPLC (which, in fairness, I think they're getting better at) is that they did a bad job of recognizing situation and context as a necessary factor. You can be into Wiccan theology, e.g., and use some of the same iconography that's been co-opted by neo-Nazis — and not even know it! (But you're also quite right that some of these communities obsessed with these symbols tend to lean that way anyhow.)
@7e4d5904 I think it's a mix of unbridled arrogance ("I know a Nazi when I see one!!! The left calls EVERYONE Nazis. Can I not criticize a major NGO?") and cynical opportunism. ("Well, these are the people using my platform and attacking my enemies. Oh well.")
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