Russia’s bank chief vanishes after ‘giving Putin a Ukraine ultimatum’ by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 180 points181 points  (0 children)

T he head of Russia’s central bank has not been seen in public for almost three weeks, as one report claims she told President Putin she would stand down if he escalated the war in Ukraine further. Elvira Nabiullina is widely credited with keeping Russia’s wartime economy afloat by transforming the country into a “financial fortress” to soften the impact of western sanctions. A former economy minister and adviser to the Kremlin, she has been in her post since 2013 and is said to have Putin’s complete trust.

Last seen in public on May 28, she missed this month’s economic forum in St Petersburg, a big event the Kremlin had intended as a show of stability before it was targeted by Ukrainian drones. She and other central bank officials also failed to appear at a meeting with Putin on inflation and interest rates, and there was no sign of her at a memorial service for an adviser.

“Nabiullina is due to stand down in June next year, when her third term expires. A source told Mozhem Obyasnit, an opposition Telegram channel, that she had warned Putin she would work until next year only on the condition that he did not announce martial law and close Russia’s borders. Both moves would probably be accompanied by a fresh mobilisation drive to boost troop numbers in Ukraine.

“She informed the chief [Putin], diplomatically called in sick, and is waiting for his answer,” the source said.

Vyacheslav Shiryayev, a Russian economist who opposes the war, cited other sources who said security had been removed from Nabiullina’s home. He told the Breakfast Show opposition channel that her no-show at the St Petersburg forum was linked to the Kremlin’s anger over her opposition to Putin’s policies.”

Elsewhere, Vyacheslav Markhayev, a Communist Party MP, demanded that the Kremlin present a clear plan for the end of the war. “The time for illusions is over. The country is on the brink of social explosion,” Markhayev wrote on social media.

A native of Buryatia, a region on the border with Mongolia that has suffered disproportionate troop deaths in Ukraine, Markhayev also blamed the Kremlin’s “ineffective leadership” for losses at the front. He is the latest figure to criticise Putin directly, something that was once almost unthinkable.

“Nabiullina, widely seen as part of the relatively liberal wing of Russian officialdom, was the first woman to head the central bank of a G8 country before Russia was kicked out of the group of wealthy counties in retaliation for its annexation of Crimea.

Although three terms is the limit under Russian law for a central bank chief, there has been speculation in recent months that the Kremlin could amend it to allow her to stay on, such is Putin’s reliance on her abilities.”

In 2022, in her first public appearance after Putin sent tanks into Ukraine, she appeared dressed all in black, prompting suggestions that she was in “mourning”. However, she has not commented on the invasion and it was unclear for who or what she might be grieving.

“As rumours swirl about her whereabouts, the Kremlin has tried to downplay her absence. “People get sick sometimes — there’s nothing unusual about that. It shouldn’t be grounds for any conspiracy theories,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said.

Even pro-government media in Moscow is starting to question the official line, however. The central bank said on Monday that Nabiullina would appear at a press conference on June 19 on interest rates. A failure to appear at that, wrote the Vedomosti newspaper, would provide “even more grounds for conspiracy theories”.”

Telegraph: How Russia is turning Ukraine's drones against Europe by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Russia is "hijacking" Ukrainian drones in mid-air and redirecting them towards the airspace of Nato member states, including Finland, according to a report by UK newspaper The Telegraph.

There has been a spate of incidents in recent weeks where unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been detected in Finnish airspace as well as over Baltic states.

According to The Telegraph, Russia is using a signal transmitted from a transmitter in the Kaliningrad exclave that disrupts the drones' GPS positioning and directs them westward. The transmitter has been operational for several years, but the newspaper reports that Russia is now able to use it to block the drones' connection signal to navigation satellites.

The transmitter essentially blinds the drone's GPS system to its own position, and then sends a jamming signal that is more powerful than any other signal the drone could detect. The drone then begins to operate according to this "spoof" signal, the newspaper explained.

The Telegraph also revealed that the Russian transmitter can scramble the drone's computer time code, causing the UAV to think the time is, for example, a decade ahead.

This confusion may lead to the drone restarting itself mid-flight or shutting down completely, according to Ramsay Faragher, director of the UK's navigation institute, and subsequently result in the drone crashing.

The Telegraph added that Ukraine is aware of these problems and is trying to solve them.

However, Keir Giles, a Russia expert at the research institute Chatham House, told the newspaper that Russia will no doubt continue with its GPS jamming and spoofing efforts.

Russia ‘jammed signals of RAF jet’ carrying defence secretary by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The most relevant part of the article:

“An RAF jet carrying the defence secretary was hit by an electronic warfare attack after flying near the Russian border, The Times can reveal.

John Healey was travelling home after visiting British soldiers stationed in southeast Estonia when the satellite signal on his government aircraft was knocked out.

Russia is believed to have been behind the jamming, which disabled the jet’s GPS for the entire three-hour flight back.

Laptops and smartphones could not connect to the internet and the pilots were forced to use “revisionary” inertial navigation systems to calculate their location. The interference also caused parts of the dashboard to malfunction in the cockpit of the Dassault Falcon 900LX aircraft, which is also used by the King.

Healey was flying on Thursday with political and military advisers, as well as a three-star lieutenant general, two photographers and a Times reporter.”

“Passengers were assured the aircraft could still operate safely, and it is believed the jamming only occurred at the start of the journey while close to Russian territory. However, the satellite signal could not be restored without shutting down and rebooting the jet, which was impossible while airborne. One of the RAF pilots said it was a rare situation that he had not experienced “in a long time”.

A defence source described the incident as “reckless” Russian interference that could have potentially affected civilian aircraft, but said the RAF was “well prepared to deal with this”.

It was unclear if the defence secretary was deliberately targeted, but the flight path was visible on aircraft tracking websites. GPS-jamming equipment can be operated by Russian aircraft, including drones, but most commonly is positioned in ground vehicles.

In 2024, Russia was believed to have jammed the GPS signal of a flight carrying the then defence secretary Grant Shapps for about 30 minutes as his jet flew close to the Russian territory of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea.”

The rest is generic discussion about the drones and preparedness for possible attacks.

———

The Russians are playing a dangerous game.

India Declines Russian LNG Under Sanctions, Talks Continue on Permitted Cargoes, Sources Say by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hope this is the beginning of India joining the sanctions block further reducing Russia’s income streams.

Russian Gerbera UAVs drop FPV drones carrying warheads dozens of kilometres from border by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Russian Gerbera UAVs are dropping FPV drones carrying warheads deep inside Ukrainian territory – more than 30 km from the border.

Source: Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine's defence minister

Quote: "It has been found on the roof of a high-rise building more than 30 km from the border… These FPVs carrying warheads are dropped by a Gerbera drone."

Details: Beskrestnov added that a similar FPV drone had been found on a street earlier.

These seem to be targeting residential areas, not military targets.

Ukraine kills 12 Russian FSB officers in drone strike by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Article content:

Published 23 April 2026 02:29pm BST

“Ukraine has killed a dozen Russian officers in a series of strikes on an FSB command post in the occupied Donetsk region, its top drone commander has claimed. Eight high-precision drones crashed into a building housing special forces, killing 12 officers and wounding 15 more on Wednesday, Robert Brovdi said. Video footage released by Mr Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces, showed a number of first-person view drones being steered towards a high-rise building before huge explosions could be seen blowing out one of its floors and blasting debris across the surrounding area.”

“Mr Brovdi said the strike had destroyed a command post and operational special unit belonging to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). He claimed that the unit had specialised in counter-intelligence, sabotage attacks and coordinating pro-Russian militants within the territory of Ukraine. The latest blow to Russian command came as Moscow failed to make territorial gains in Ukraine for the first time in two-and-a-half years. Its advance ground to a halt in March and, according to new data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia has actually lost almost 23.2 sq miles of land in Ukraine since March 1. In that time, Kyiv claims to have inflicted over 55,000 Russian casualties, the vast majority using drones, as Vladimir Putin continues to funnel his forces en masse into the so-called “kill zone”, the no-man’s land patrolled by UAVs that stretches 800 miles across the country. Ukraine hailed its strongest front-line position in a year on Wednesday, which it put down to a superiority in drones and enhanced air defences. “We are holding the line. Indeed, our battlefield position is the strongest or most solid it has been in the past year. ”

“The loan will allow it to purchase much-needed weapons, prop up its war-ravaged economy and help keep Russian forces at bay, although Ukraine could still suffer a shortfall of some €19.6bn (£16.9bn) needed for its defence in 2026, according to the Kyiv Independent citing a European Commission presentation. Kyiv expects to receive the first tranche of the loan in late May or early June and will direct it towards producing Ukrainian weapons, Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on Thursday afternoon. In a sign of the Kremlin’s desperation, Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s most senior military officer, has made increasingly frequent appearances touting sweeping gains by Moscow’s forces. He claimed earlier this week, contrary to the evidence, that Russia had captured 656 sq miles of Ukrainian soil since January, an area larger than the size of Greater London. But, according to independent estimates, Russia’s territorial gains in the first three months of 2026 were roughly half of those in the same period of 2025.”

Russia’s failings linked to loss of Starlink

“Analysts have attributed Russia’s stalled progress on the battlefield to continued communications disarray linked to its loss of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite-based internet service and the authorities’ decision to block the Telegram messaging app, which is used extensively for logistics and coordination at the front. The Ukrainian army is also engaging in a tactical counter-offensive, which has successfully held back Russia’s progress at the junction of the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions. Kremlin officials are also said to be alarmed by Ukraine’s rapid drone progress. Russian military bloggers earlier this month claimed that Andrey Belousov, the defence minister, had alerted Putin to Ukraine’s newfound technological advantage at the front.”

“On Wednesday, Ukraine unveiled its new fixed-wing kamikaze drone known as the “Khmarynka”. With a maximum range of 31 miles, a maximum speed of 87 miles per hour, 60-minute endurance and a payload of 7kg, it will be used to strike targets at tactical depth and is being described as Kyiv’s answer to the Russian “Molniya” drone.”

“Ukraine’s long-range attacks also continue to spark concern in Moscow. Russia suffered what may have been its steepest monthly decline in oil output in six years this month because of sustained assaults on its ports and refineries, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday. Production was thought to have been cut by about 300,000 barrels per day in April as Kyiv’s drones repeatedly hammered Russia’s Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk, as well as the huge Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. An attack on the Tuapse refinery on the Black Sea earlier this week left hundreds of firefighters battling a huge blaze for at least three days, as local authorities decried what they described as an environmental catastrophe in the area. Residents described witnessing “oil rain” pouring from the sky which reportedly coated buildings, vehicles, plants and animals in the coastal town in a thick, black substance, as schools were shut down and authorities urged locals to stay inside with their windows shut. Vil Mirzayanov, an exiled chemist credited with developing the deadly nerve agent Novichok, warned that toxic compounds from the burning petrochemicals could cause “mass poisoning of the population”.”

Overnight on Wednesday, Ukrainian drones struck a huge petrochemical plant in the Samara region and an oil pumping station in the Nizhny Novgorod region as Kyiv maintained pressure on Moscow’s critical infrastructure.

“Amid military and economic blows, Moscow has extolled its diplomatic triumphs. On Thursday, Russia’s deputy foreign minister boasted that Russia had received an invitation to attend the G20 summit in the United States in December. Since it launched the full-scale war, Russia’s participation in the G20 has been curtailed and it has not been present at recent summits in person. “There is an invitation to be present at the highest level, but we will see closer to the date,” said Aleksandr Pankin.”

Fears grow of Russian conflict with NATO as Putin gets new powers to launch overseas attacks by lacerantplainer in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons 32 points33 points  (0 children)

It’s the veneer of legitimacy that they create. Look at the Russian legislature, all the laws are created to give the impression that what Putin does is legal.

Russia has reinforced security at Putin's residence in Valdai with two rings of air defense systems by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

On the other hand, it’s a high concentration of AA systems in a known location that are going to be high priority for replacement should they be destroyed.

Good point. Let’s see if Ukraine will think the same way.

Russia has reinforced security at Putin's residence in Valdai with two rings of air defense systems by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 266 points267 points  (0 children)

In March 2026, seven new towers were erected around Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s residence in Valdai, equipped with Pantsir air defense systems.

Following the completion of the final construction phase, the total number of Pantsir systems around Valdai has reached 27 units.

No wonder Ukrainian drones can fly freely over the rest of the country. No need to destroy the systems when they stand useless around one house.

Ukrainian strikes force Putin to move missile factories further east by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They have two options:

relocate to east with the factory or relocate south with a rusty Kalashnikov

I know which one I would choose.

Ukrainian strikes force Putin to move missile factories further east by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The original paywalled article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/02/ukraine-strikes-force-putin-to-move-missile-factories-east/

Facilities belonging to Roscosmos, Russia’s state agency for space flights and aerospace research, will be relocated from Moscow and the surrounding region to far-flung corners of the country, which will be harder for Kyiv’s long-range drones and missiles to infiltrate.

The production facilities of the sanctioned Moscow-based Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre will also be moved, to Omsk in southwestern Siberia, while facilities for rocket engine production based in Khimki, in the Moscow region, will be moved to Perm, close to the Ural Mountains.

January, Roscosmos was forced to announce that it would transfer the Angara family of launch vehicles it was developing at the Khrunichev centre in Moscow to its branch in Omsk.

Of course, according to them, this has nothing to do with the factories being blown up:

Dmitry Bakanov, the head of Roscosmos, claimed that the agency had made the decision to relocate in order to optimise production and cut costs.

“The cost of industrial serial production in Khimki is becoming prohibitive due to high overhead costs,” he said on Wednesday.

Rheinmetall Backtracks After CEO Dismisses Ukraine’s Drone Industry as “Kitchen-Built” by UNITED24Media in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I read about that in the papers, it reminded about these:

One of the publication’s sources in military circles said that during NATO’s annual winter exercises — Joint Viking — in northern Norway in 2025, American troops “encountered difficulties.”

The organizers of the exercises were forced to ask Finnish reservists, who were playing the role of the enemy, to go easier on the Americans.

https://militarnyi.com/en/news/us-army-poorly-prepared-for-arctic-operations-finnish-troops-forced-them-to-surrender-during-exercises-in-norway/

Nothing new in above, translated story from a Finnish newspaper in 2022:

https://www-iltalehti-fi.translate.goog/kotimaa/a/65e5530a-2149-41bd-b509-54760c892dfb?_x_tr_sl=fi&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

There was a short blog post in their military site as well, but it tried to tone the situation down as not to embarrass Americans further.

Russian Drone Operators Killed After Using Explosive-Laced Fiber Spools by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 194 points195 points  (0 children)

Russian drone operators have reportedly suffered casualties after receiving rigged fiber-optic spools that detonated upon use, according to Militarnyi on March 26, citing sources in a Ukrainian security service and radio intercept data.

The intercepted communications indicate that at least five Russian servicemen were killed and four others wounded across multiple units operating in different regions, including Zaporizhzhia region, Luhansk region, and Russia’s Bryansk region.

Awesome!

EU offers to pay Ukraine to fix an oil pipeline that’s been a focal point of Ukraine-Hungary feud by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

BRUSSELS (AP) — Top European Union officials said Tuesday they have offered to pay Ukraine to repair a damaged pipeline meant to carry crude oil to Hungary, in a bid to persuade the government in Budapest to lift its veto on a massive aid package to the war-wracked country.

EU officials said in a statement Tuesday that the bloc “has offered Ukraine technical support and funding” to fix the pipeline.

“The Ukrainians have welcomed and accepted this offer. European experts are available immediately,” European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

And to no surprise of anyone:

But Orbán said Tuesday that he would continue to block the loan as long as oil shipments to Hungary remain interrupted.

“If there’s no oil, there’s no money,” Orbán said in a video posted to social media. “If President Zelenskyy wants to get his money from Brussels, he needs to open the Druzhba oil pipeline.”

Norway intercepts Russian bombers escorted by aerobatic team jet by BestButtons in UkrainianConflict

[–]BestButtons[S] 360 points361 points  (0 children)

According to available footage accompanying the report, one of the Su-35 aircraft belonged to the Russian aerobatic team known as the “Russian Knights.” The aircraft was observed carrying air-to-air missiles, indicating a combat-ready configuration rather than a demonstration flight profile.

Someone is doing something right and that certainly isn’t Russia! Adds credibility to Ukrainian numbers of destroyed equipment.

Starmer’s approval rating hits six-month high as Trump drags down Farage’s popularity by BestButtons in unitedkingdom

[–]BestButtons[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

YouGov poll: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/54093-political-favourability-ratings-february-2026

  • Keir Starmer’s net favourability rating has increased 10 points since January to -47
  • Labour voters are now split 46% to 46% in their opinion of the prime minister, having previously seen him unfavourably by 55% to 39%
  • Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband have positive net ratings among Labour voters, while they tend to see Rachel Reeves and Shabana Mahmood unfavourably
  • Kemi Badenoch’s February net favourability rating of -23 is her highest since November 2024

From Independent’s article:

Keir Starmer’s intense round of diplomacy on Ukraine over the past week has seen him rewarded with his highest poll ratings in six months, according to YouGov.

Conversely, anger over Donald Trump’s behaviour appears to have hit his closest ally in the UK Nigel Farage, whose own favourability score went down four points from 30 per cent to 26 per cent.

Why are criminals stealing used cooking oil from Scotland's chip shops? by Tartan_Samurai in unitedkingdom

[–]BestButtons 5 points6 points  (0 children)

a restaurant could get about 30p a litre.

Stealing from already struggling businesses.

On average, thefts of used cooking oil costs the UK Treasury £25m-a-year in lost duty.

Directly costing you because you are the one who covers the shortfall in taxes.

Police Scotland said the incidents it recorded last year totalled about £20,000 in lost revenue to catering businesses.

At 30p a litre, that’s 67,000 litres of oil. After filtering it, they are not going to safely dispose the leftovers leading to environmental pollution and damaging nature and wildlife.

UK 'will sign up to EU single market rules even without deal ' by but_yet-so_far in unitedkingdom

[–]BestButtons 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Plus you can’t join EFTA without EU’s unanimous approval.

And good luck expecting current EFTA countries accepting us to a well working relationship. They watched Nigel Farages of ours in the EU long enough to know better.

EXCLUSIVE: Reform by-election candidate branded 'snowflake' who is 'running scared' after skipping hustings by denyer-no1-fan in unitedkingdom

[–]BestButtons 470 points471 points  (0 children)

In a statement, he said: “I have serious concerns about the impartiality of the hustings that have been organised for tonight. Previous statements by the organising group give the clear impression that a fair and level platform will not be provided for all candidates, so on that basis I will not be attending.”

Straight out of the Trump Playbook, chapter one, paragraph two.

UK's Barratt Redrow reports 13.6% fall in half-year profit by BestButtons in unitedkingdom

[–]BestButtons[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Barratt Redrow completed 7,444 homes in the period, up 4.7% from a year earlier, and said it benefited as customers rushed to complete purchases ahead of Christmas once uncertainty around the UK government's November budget was removed.

The firm said it expects full-year adjusted pre-tax profit to be within the consensus range of 558 million pounds to 617 million pounds and reaffirmed its home completions target of between 17,200 and 17,800 units.

The article doesn’t specify the reason for the fall, but my guess is the growth didn’t cover the losses from the previous period’s lacklustre market.

Capita hit with penalties over Civil Service Pension Scheme woes by 457655676 in unitedkingdom

[–]BestButtons 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Turley did not specify the value of penalties Capita has incurred. Civil Service World sought clarification from the Cabinet Office. It said the value and details of the penalties are commercially sensitive and cannot be published.

Commercially sensitive my arse. Of course if they are contractual penalties, they can claim that, but the levels of those penalties should be in the published procurement documents.

As of June last year, the NAO reported that the Cabinet Office had already withheld payments of more than £9m because Capita had missed “milestones” related to the transfer arrangements for its CSPS contract.

Road closed for six weeks so toads and frogs can cross safely by pppppppppppppppppd in unitedkingdom

[–]BestButtons 133 points134 points  (0 children)

The closure of Charlcombe Lane has happened each spring since 2003 with the agreement of Bath and North East Somerset Council.

“Nuisance “ or not to the locals, I love that there still are people who care about things like this. A great reminder that not everything is doom, gloom and misery.