February 6, 2024: Russian Digest
Top stories I'm keeping an eye on!
February 6, 2024
Call to Action for my U.S. subscribers: Please call your Congress representatives and tell them to pass the weapons and aid package to Ukraine and to stop endangering U.S. national security by using domestic weaknesses for political purposes…
Ukraine's Zelenskyy orders creation of separate military force for drones
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday ordered the creation of a separate branch of Ukraine's armed forces devoted to drones, weapons he and military officials say are crucial to fighting the war against Russia.
Zelenskyy signed a decree calling on the government and general staff of the armed forces to "work out issues on the creation within the Ukrainian armed forces of a separate force for drone systems."
"I have just signed a decree which will launch the creation of a separate branch within our armed forces -- a drone systems force," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
"This is not a question for the future. Rather, it must provide concrete results in the very near future. This year must be decisive in a great many aspects. And clearly on the battlefield. Drone systems have shown their effectiveness on land, in the skies and on the seas."
Read More at Reuters
A Russian Bank Account May Offer Clues to a North Korean Arms Deal
Moscow may be trying to help Pyongyang with access to the international financial system in exchange for missiles and ammunition, U.S.-allied intelligence officials suggest.
Russia has allowed the release of millions of dollars in frozen North Korean assets and may be helping its isolated ally with access to international banking networks, assistance that has come after the North’s transfer of weapons to Moscow for use against Ukraine, according to American-allied intelligence officials.
The White House said last month that it had evidence that North Korea had provided ballistic missiles to Russia, and that the North was seeking military hardware in return. Pyongyang also appears to have shipped up to 2.5 million rounds of ammunition, according to an analysis by a British security think tank.
While it is unclear whether Russia has given North Korea the military technology it may want, new banking ties would be another sign of the steady advancement in relations between the two countries. The expanding partnership has most likely emboldened the North, as it has issued a stream of belligerent threats in recent months, U.S. officials say.
Russia has allowed the release of $9 million out of $30 million in frozen North Korean assets deposited in a Russian financial institution, according to the intelligence officials, money that they say the impoverished North will use to buy crude oil.
Read More at NYT
Deep Dive…
Cheating in Italian. How the Fifth Service of the FSB bought politicians from the Northern League
The Insider continues to publish a series of investigations into how the Fifth Service of the FSB recruited European politicians. In this part we will talk about how the leadership of the Northern League party, whose leader Matteo Salvini is a member of the Italian government, negotiated funding with employees of the Fifth Service. The Insider wrote about the very fact of Russian financing of this party and secret meetings in Moscow back in 2019, but now that it has been possible to prove the participation of a current FSB agent in these meetings, the stalled investigation into international corruption may be resumed in Italy.
Read Full Investigation at The Insider
Turkey's drone maker Baykar begins to build plant in Ukraine
Turkish defence company Baykar has started building a factory near Kyiv that will employ around 500 people and where it will manufacture either its TB2 or TB3 drone models, the company's chief executive told Reuters.
Turkish-made Bayraktar drones have gained prominence globally after being used by Ukraine's military to thwart Russian forces by destroying armoured vehicles and artillery systems.
Baykar has said it has signed export deals for its TB2 drone with 30 countries. These include Ukraine, Ethiopia, Libya and Azerbaijan since 2018, according to think tank SIPRI.
Read More at Reuters
Hacker group reveals cost of Iranian drone production
A group of hackers from the Prana Network were able to gain access to the mail servers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) which contained information on the production and cost of Shahed-136 attack drones used by Russia.
Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed drones to indiscriminately attack Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The IRGC operates a shell company known as Sahara Thunder which promotes illegal arms sales between Iran and Russia. A group of hackers from Prana were able to publish internal documents revealing the cost of production of an individual drone as well as the profits Iran made from Shahed-136 sales to Russia.
Documents revealed that one drone costs $375,000 to produce. During negotiations, an agreement was reached establishing that each drone would cost only $193,000 when Russia ordered 6,000 units or $290,000 when ordering 2,000 units.
In total, the Iranian government earned $1.8 billion from the sale of Shahed drones to Russia. At least part of the payments, the documents report, were provided in gold.
Earlier this year, Russian officials announced that the country was in the process of developing a cheaper version of the Iranian-made Shahed drone called the "Hawk."
Via Kyiv Independent
A Russian reconnaissance sonar was discovered on the coast of Lithuania
A Russian hydroacoustic sonar designed to detect and locate submarines was found on the Curonian Spit in Lithuania on Saturday.
This was reported by the Lithuanian military, "European Truth" writes.
On February 3, the Naval Forces received a report from a member of the public about the discovery of a device with Russian inscriptions on the Curonian Spit.
Naval experts identified the device as a Russian-made sonar sonar used to gather intelligence and locate submarines.
The device is no longer in use and is currently stored in a Navy warehouse.
The military says the device uses sonar sensors to detect movement and the passage of large underwater objects nearby.
Similar Russian hydroacoustic sonars were detected in 2021 in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Lithuania and the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, the military said.
It will be recalled that last year in February, Norwegian intelligence indicated that for the first time in the last 30 years, Russia began deploying ships armed with tactical nuclear weapons in the Baltic Sea.
And the public broadcasters of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, based on the conclusions of a joint investigation, assumed that Russian warships and civilian "ghost ships" in the Baltic and North Seas were collecting data for sabotage against wind power plants, gas pipelines, and communication cables.
Via European Truth
Bulgaria arrests state security officer for spying for Russia
Interior ministry suspect is believed to have leaked classified information to Russian diplomat.
An employee of Bulgaria’s interior ministry was arrested on Monday on suspicion of spying for Russia, the Mediapool news outlet reported.
The employee, an officer with Bulgaria's General Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime, is believed to have leaked classified information to a diplomat with the Russian Embassy in Sofia.
“Unfortunately, it is about an employee of the Ministry of Interior who is being monitored,” said Interior Ministry Secretary General Zhivko Kotsev. “It is about espionage actions, but at this stage I will refrain from more comments."
Read More at Politico
Defense Ministry: Ukrainian special forces capture Russian equipment from Black Sea drilling platform
“Another successful operation by Ukrainian SOF operators in the Black Sea near the coast of the temporarily occupied Crimea. As a result of Operation "Citadel," important enemy equipment was captured, and a mast with an antenna was blown up. The enemy used the equipment to control part of the Black Sea and adjust fire at the south of Ukraine. Glory to Ukrainian warriors!”
Ukraine's Special Operations Forces conducted an operation on a Russian-occupied drilling platform off the coast of Crimea, the Defense Ministry reported on Feb. 6.
Ukraine frequently claims responsibility for attacks on Russian military assets occupying Crimea and around its coast.
Russian forces used the drilling platform to control part of the Black Sea and adjust fire toward the south of Ukraine, according to a video the Special Operations Forces posted online.
The video showed a group of Special Operations Forces landing on the platform and searching for equipment, including radar and a drone signal enhancing system.
After taking the equipment, the group installed mines on the platform and retreated, according to the video. The antenna mast of the platform was blown up.
Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on Feb. 1 that Ukraine has certain "tools" at its disposal that means it can strike Russian military targets occupying Crimea "methodologically and regularly."
Via Kyiv Independent and Defense Ministry of Ukraine
Deep Dive…
Central Asian Cotton Powers Russia’s Sanctioned Gunpowder Plants
Sanctions have complicated Russia’s effort to secure foreign-made military technology. But when it comes to sourcing the inputs for gunpowder — the explosive powering the army’s relentless artillery fire — Moscow can still rely on two Central Asian neighbors who have ramped up exports of cotton pulp, a key ingredient, since the invasion.
Key Findings
While Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have officially taken a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine, they have increased exports of cotton pulp, a key ingredient in gunpowder, to Russia since the 2022 invasion.
The cotton pulp has been bought by Russian importers who supply it to military factories specialized in producing gunpowder and other propellants, according to documents obtained by reporters. Some Uzbek suppliers have also sent direct shipments to the Russian plants.
The Russian military plants receiving the Central Asian cotton pulp are sanctioned by Ukraine, the U.S., and Switzerland.
Read the Full Investigation at OCCRP
Far-right AfD’s youth wing may be classified as ‘extremist,’ German court rules
A German court has ruled that Germany’s domestic intelligence agency may classify the youth wing of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as extremist, fueling a debate about whether the group should be banned.
The youth group, known as Young Alternative, “continues to engage in massive anti-foreigner and, in particular, anti-Islam and anti-Muslim agitation,” an administrative court in Cologne found, according to German media reports.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, which is tasked with surveilling groups deemed anti-constitutional, classified the Young Alternative as extremist in 2023 after monitoring it for years. The AfD and Young Alternative sought to counter the move in court.
Read More at Politico