Weapons of the war in Ukraine. Russian entities acquired British, Czech, French, German, Spanish, and US-made components for use in the manufacture of these drones.February 28, 2022
Since 2014, the news media and other observers have provided accounts of weapon sourcing to armed formations operating in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. To date, efforts to verify these claims have relied largely on examinations of open-source photos and videos of weapons and ammunition, rather than systematic field-based investigations.
To fill this evidentiary gap, CAR undertook a three-year field investigation of materiel recovered from the self-declared DPR and LPR. This report presents the findings to help shed light on the extent to which these armed formations depend on external supplies.
The evidence confirms that factories based in what is today the Russian Federation produced most of the militias’ ammunition and nearly all their weapons, from assault rifles and precision rifles, grenade launchers, precision-guided munitions, and landmines to anti-tank guided weapons. The findings also indicate that these armed formations field weapons previously captured by Russian forces, such as Polish anti-aircraft missiles seized in Georgia in 2008.
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The United States secretly captured 20 Russian military drones and tracked the entire technology supply chain. The key parts are all imported componentsFebruary 28, 2022
The tough future of Russia’s attack drones
The rapid development of military drones around the world has raised a natural question time and time again-why is Russia so backward in design and production? In most cases, the main reason for this is the lazy thinking of the military and engineers. However, one of the most important and completely unreported problems lies in a completely different level-the technical level. Today we are going to analyze the real reason why Russia has fallen behind in attacking drones.
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Western sanctions cause “huge problems” for Russia’s war sector (but Israel probably still supplies drone parts) – military expertFebruary 28, 2022
Editor’s Note
When we published the key points of the report “Weapons of War in Ukraine” by the UK-based investigative organization Conflict Armament Research, it caught our eye that between 2014 and 2018, the drone manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries supplied a sanctioned Russian defense company with UAV components produced by various European and US manufacturers, thus providing a loophole for sanctions evasion.
To understand whether it is used now, we reached out to military expert Mykhailo Samus, Director of the New Geopolitics Research Network, and found out how exactly Israeli technologies are helping Russia today, when western companies decided that it’s not worth the risk supplying war technologies to Russia, and that, paradoxically, Ukraine is still under an unofficial arms embargo from countries of Western Europe.
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Russian drones shot down over Ukraine were full of Western parts. Can the U.S. cut them off?February 28, 2022
The surveillance drones contained computer chips and components made in the United States and Europe
In early 2017, Ukrainian forces battling Russia-backed separatists shot down a drone conducting surveillance over the eastern flank of Ukraine.
The unmanned aircraft, nearly six feet long with a cone-shaped nose and a shiny gray body, had all the external characteristics of a Russian military drone. When researchers cracked it open, however, they found electronic components manufactured by a half-dozen Western companies.
The engine came from a German company that supplies model-airplane hobbyists. Computer chips for navigation and wireless communication were made by U.S. suppliers. A British company provided a motion-sensing chip. Other parts came from Switzerland and South Korea.
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Russian drones shot down over Ukraine had been filled with Western components. Can the U.S. minimize them off?February 28, 2022
The engine got here from a German firm that provides model-airplane hobbyists. Laptop chips for navigation and wi-fi communication had been made by U.S. suppliers. A British firm offered a motion-sensing chip. Different components got here from Switzerland and South Korea.
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British parts found on downed Russian spy drones in Ukraine and EUFebruary 28, 2022
British components have been found in Russian-made spy drones captured by Ukrainian and Lithuanian forces, a report shows.
The parts are among European kit discovered on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) deployed over Ukraine and neighbouring countries during the conflict in the country’s eastern Donbass region, researchers have found.
Ukraine is under the threat of invasion, with an estimated 130,000 Russian troops massed over the border and in Belarus and Crimea.
The three-year investigation suggests that the Kremlin is using an opaque supply line to circumvent EU and US embargoes preventing it from buying electronic components for military use. The study traced the flow of weapons and military vehicles to Russian-backed separatists in the Donbass, who have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.
One of the drones bearing UK-made parts was captured by Ukrainian defence and security forces near the coastal city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region, where the insurgents have established a self-declared republic.
An autopsy on the equipment by Conflict Armament Research (CAR) found an inertial sensor, a type of measurement unit, made by a British firm named in the report as Silicon Sensing Systems.
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Fears Russian military drones made with British components could target UK soldiersFebruary 28, 2022
Russian-made military drones containing British components are being used by pro-Russian separatist forces in Ukraine and can now be used to target UK soldiers deployed there in the event of an invasion of Moscow, I to learn.
Arms experts said an analysis of Russian-made surveillance planes intercepted over Ukraine showed they were made with electronics and mechanical parts originating from Western countries, including the United Kingdom, which are lined up to oppose the Kremlin’s increasingly aggressive strategy toward Kiev.
It is likely that this equipment will be used against Ukraine in the event of a conflict with Russia in the coming days or weeks. Former military commanders said I They worry that drones could be used against British forces sent to advise Ukraine as they prepare for a possible invasion.
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Fears that Russian military drones built with British components could be used to attack British soldiers during the Ukraine crisis.February 28, 2022
Pro-Russian separatist forces in Ukraine are using Russian-made military drones with British components, which could now be used to attack UK troops stationed there if Moscow invades.i has learned.
An analysis of Russian-built surveillance drones intercepted over Ukraine found that they were built with electronics and mechanical parts from Western countries, including the United Kingdom, which are uniting to oppose the Kremlin’s increasingly belligerent strategy toward Kyiv.
Should a conflict with Russia occur in the coming days or weeks, this equipment is likely to be used against Ukraine. Former military commanders have expressed their dissatisfaction with the current administration’s handlingiThey are concerned that the drones could be used against British forces stationed in Ukraine to advise it as it prepares for a possible invasion.
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Fox-IT in Rusland (samenvatting)February 28, 2022
Het Delftse computer- en beveiligingsbedrijf Fox-IT verkoopt sinds 2010 haar producten in Rusland en is hier na de invoering van de internationale sancties tegen het land in 2014 mee doorgegaan. De Nederlandse overheid is een belangrijke klant van Fox-IT. Het bedrijf verzorgt onder andere de beveiliging van staatsgeheimen.
De Rus Evgeny Gengrinovich speelt een sleutelrol in de handel van Fox-IT met Rusland. Hij werkte in het verleden voor verschillende Russische staatsbedrijven. Vanaf 2011 promoot hij de Fox DataDiode namens het Zwitserse Snitegroup GmbH en het Russische ZAO NPF Simet. Later presenteert hij zich als vertegenwoordiger van Fox-IT en heeft hij een sleutelrol bij het aantrekken van andere tussenhandelaren.
De tussenhandelaren van Fox-IT hebben nauwe banden met Russische staatsbedrijven in de energiesector en de financiële sector, maar ook met het Russische Ministerie van Defensie, defensiebedrijven en de Russische inlichtingendienst FSB. Het Delftse bedrijf heeft in het algemeen weinig zicht op de eindgebruikers aan wie haar producten door tussenhandelaren worden aangeboden en doorverkocht.
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Fox-IT en het Nederlandse exportbeleid voor dual-use goederenFebruary 28, 2022
Sinds de Arabische Lente zijn meerdere westerse computer- en beveiligingsbedrijven in opspraak geraakt vanwege hun leveranties aan repressieve regimes in het Midden-Oosten. Sommige bedrijven zijn daarvoor ook juridisch vervolgd. Ook in Nederland stond de export van Nederlandse bedrijven (waaronder Fox-IT) naar landen in het Midden-Oosten rond 2011 in de politieke en publieke belangstelling.
Het Midden-Oosten was vanaf 2006 een belangrijke afzetmarkt voor het Nederlandse bedrijf Fox-IT, actief op de markt voor de surveillance-industrie in de regio. Volgens Dirk Peeters (toenmalig Vice President Business Development van het bedrijf) maakte Fox-IT in de periode 2008-2011 met de internationale verkoop een totale omzet van 20 miljoen euro. De helft hiervan (10 miljoen euro) betrof de verkoop van producten aan ‘LEA (Law Enforcement Agencies)’, waarvan 4 miljoen euro in het Midden-Oosten.
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Geheime dienst probeerde activist tegen politiegeweld te ronselenFebruary 6, 2022
Op de internationale dag voor de rechten van de mens is een activist die zich inzet voor ‘Justice voor Sammy’ benaderd door de inlichtingendienst, de AIVD. Sammy Baker (Samuel Seewald) is op 13 augustus 2020 door de politie in Amsterdam doodgeschoten. Twee agenten van de geheime dienst zaten in de ochtend van 10 december 2021 bij hem op de bank en wilden hem werven als informant. Daarna hebben ze met behulp van agenten van de Amsterdamse politie op illegale wijze de camerabeelden van het appartementencomplex waar de activist woont in beslag genomen.
Het voorval illustreert eens te meer dat de AIVD er niet is om de rechtstaat te beschermen, maar om politiegeweld te vergoelijken. Dat is ongepast in een democratische rechtstaat. Politie en openbaar ministerie behoren transparant te zijn over de gebeurtenissen rond de dood van Sammy en de stappen die de overheid neemt in het kader van gedegen opsporingsonderzoek en vervolging van betrokken politiefunctionarissen. Mensen die politiegeweld aan de kaak stellen, intimideren en bespioneren zorgen voor een verdere erosie van het vertrouwen in de rechtstaat. lees meer
Ouders activist lastiggevallen over twitterbericht dat niet van de activist isJanuary 30, 2022
In 2021 kregen mijn ouders tot drie keer toe bezoek van steeds twee agenten al dan niet in uniform. Volgens de agenten willen ze mij spreken over een twitterbericht over een ‘internationale bijeenkomst’ in de huiskroeg van Johnboy Willemse ‘De Nationalist’ in Ravenstein. Het bericht is niet van mij, maar de agenten zijn naar alle waarschijnlijk bij mij terecht gekomen omdat ik politiek actief ben binnen Antifa.
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Preventief fouilleren in Amsterdam, een evaluatieJanuary 6, 2022
Recent openbaar gemaakte documenten over preventief fouilleren in Amsterdam leveren een beeld op van een gemeentelijke organisatie gericht op beeldvorming in plaats van het formuleren van goed beleid. De openbaar gemaakte documenten (onderaan dit verhaal) zijn samen met andere beschikbare informatie gebruikt voor het onderzoek “Preventief fouilleren in Amsterdam, een evaluatie”.
Lang voordat het laatste debat met de raad had plaatsgevonden stond het besluit van de burgemeester om preventief fouilleren weer in te zetten al vast. Het Afdelingshoofd Beleid & strategie van het Openbaar Ministerie geeft in september 2020, een jaar voor de pilot, aan preventief fouilleren vooral “voor de bühne” te vinden en krijgt daarop als antwoord van een ambtenaar dat die discussie een “gepasseerd station” is. In april 2021 is in ambtelijke e-mails te
lezen: “Hoewel de BM bereid is (begrijp ik) om de proef ook zonder een meerderheid door te zetten, vind ik dat we nog een laatste handreiking moeten doen. De coalitiepartijen zullen weliswaar onvermurwbaar blijven, maar voor de beeldvorming is dit wel van belang.”
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Operation Whistle Pig: Inside the secret CBP unit with no rules that investigates AmericansDecember 30, 2021
It was almost 10 p.m. on a Thursday night, and Ali Watkins was walking around the capital following instructions texted by a stranger. One message instructed her to walk through an abandoned parking lot near Washington, D.C.’s Dupont Circle, and then wait at a laundromat. Then came a final cryptic instruction: She was to enter an unmarked door on Connecticut Avenue leading to a hidden bar.
The Sheppard, an upscale speakeasy, was so dimly lit it was sometimes hard to see the menu, let alone a stranger at the bar. But amid the red velvet upholstery, Watkins, then a reporter at Politico, almost immediately spotted the man she was supposed to meet: He was wearing a corduroy blazer and jeans and had a distinctive gap between his teeth.
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How the recent CAIR spy scandal unveils an Islamophobic Informant Industrial Complex in US surveillance (2021)December 30, 2021
The recent discovery of two informants within the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reveals one of the most nefarious dimensions of Islamophobic surveillance in the US: the informant industrial complex, writes Khaled A. Beydoun.
This past September marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. It also marked two decades of state-sponsored surveillance that pierced deep into the most intimate spaces of Muslim American life. Students and civic organizations, homes and the very electronic devices lodged within them – and more recently – those we carry in our very palms.
If anything, the past twenty years revealed that surveillance – the enterprise of monitoring people on account of their ethnic or spiritual identity – is the touchstone of structural Islamophobia. The system whereby the state conflates Muslim identity with “terror suspects” and justifies strident measures of policing that violate foundational constitutional safeguards.
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