informnapalm--2020-07-30--Belarus detained group of Russian saboteurs who were preparing to destabilize country before Electio

Belarus detained group of Russian saboteurs who were preparing to destabilize country before Election Day

On July 29 , 33 Russian citizens were detained in Belarus as part of a group of Russian saboteurs preparing to destabilize the situation in the country during the election campaign .
This was reported by Belta with reference to its own sources in the law enforcement agencies of Belarus .
According to the publication , the detained militants belong to the Wagner Private Military Company ( PMC ) .
This is a military proxy formation used by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces ( formerly the Main Intelligence Directorate , GRU ) to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was used by the Russian Federation in the war in Ukraine , Syria , Libya and other military conflicts .
Numerous studies of this proxy formation have been published on the website of the international intelligence community InformNapalm .
Details of the capture of a sabotage group in Belarus It is reported that the detained mercenaries from the Russian Federation are only part of a large group .
The Belarusian law enforcement agencies have received information about the arrival in Belarus of more than 200 militants whose task is to destabilize the situation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minsk on the night of July 24-25 , a group of Russians settled in one of the hotels , and on July 27 left the hotel and moved to one of the resort houses in the Minsk region .
According to the administration of the resort , the visiting Russians drew attention because of the behavior uncharacteristic of Russian tourists , and because of their monotonous military-style clothing .
The men did not consume alcohol , did not attend places of entertainment , and kept separate , trying not to attract attention .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the resort in small groups .
On the night of July 29 , 32 militants were detained by the KGB of Belarus with the support of riot police .
In addition , one other saboteur was identified and detained in southern Belarus .
The Investigative Committee is conducting an inspection of these persons .
The Belta news agency also published a complete list of a group of detained Russian militants , quoted in Russian .
Some of these mercenaries have previously appeared in the materials of the Security Service of Ukraine and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Myrotvorets ( Peacemaker ) Center .
In the list we mark them with links to this database : UPD from July 30 on the list of detainees : On July 30 , the website of the Myrotvorets Center published updated information , according to which all detained militants have Russian passports ; 10 of them , in addition to their Russian citizenship , have Ukrainian citizenship ; all listed persons are entered into the Peacekeeper database with additional data .
It is also reported that 3 people from the list given in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last names .
What is known about the Russian proxy formations of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation In 2018 , the international volunteer community InformNapalm , based on its own OSINT investigations and materials from other researchers , prepared a report on Russian armored personnel carriers ( APCs ) used by the Kremlin for hybrid military aggression abroad .
The report was presented to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly ( PA ) , and in 2019 also provoked a stormy hysterical reaction from Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The report addressed various issues regarding proxy formations controlled by the Kremlin , in particular , the mechanisms of financial benefits that the ruling elite of the Russian Federation receives from the involvement of mercenaries in armed conflicts .
Part of the report was devoted to an analysis of the threats posed by Russian proxies to world security and possible ways to combat Russia ’ s hybrid armies , which are hiding under the brand of “ independent private military companies.
” Translated by George Pinchuk .
Distribution and reprint with reference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter / Telegram

On July 29, 33 Russian citizens were detained in Belarus as part of a group of Russian saboteurs preparing to destabilize the situation in the country during the election campaign. This was reported by Belta with reference to its own sources in the law enforcement agencies of Belarus. According to the publication, the detained militants belong to the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC). This is a military proxy formation used by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (formerly the Main Intelligence Directorate, GRU) to conduct illegal military operations abroad. It was used by the Russian Federation in the war in Ukraine, Syria, Libya and other military conflicts. Numerous studies of this proxy formation have been published on the website of the international intelligence community InformNapalm.
Details of the capture of a sabotage group in Belarus
It is reported that the detained mercenaries from the Russian Federation are only part of a large group. The Belarusian law enforcement agencies have received information about the arrival in Belarus of more than 200 militants whose task is to destabilize the situation in the country. After arriving in Minsk on the night of July 24-25, a group of Russians settled in one of the hotels, and on July 27 left the hotel and moved to one of the resort houses in the Minsk region.
According to the administration of the resort, the visiting Russians drew attention because of the behavior uncharacteristic of Russian tourists, and because of their monotonous military-style clothing. The men did not consume alcohol, did not attend places of entertainment, and kept separate, trying not to attract attention. They carefully studied the territory and surroundings of the resort in small groups.
On the night of July 29, 32 militants were detained by the KGB of Belarus with the support of riot police. In addition, one other saboteur was identified and detained in southern Belarus. The Investigative Committee is conducting an inspection of these persons.
List of detainees
The Belta news agency also published a complete list of a group of detained Russian militants, quoted in Russian. Some of these mercenaries have previously appeared in the materials of the Security Service of Ukraine and are included in the database of the Myrotvorets (Peacemaker) Center. In the list we mark them with links to this database:
Milaev Arem Viktorovich, February 1, 1981;
Bahtigaraev Tahir Minigayanovich, April 18, 1980;
Altukhov Alexander Viktorovich, April 18, 1980;
Lee Vladimir Alexandrovich, July 26, 1989;
Kozhevnikov Andrey Yurievich, January 16, 1980;
Sapronov Alexey Vladimirovich, July 8, 1978;
Shcherbakov Sergej Vladimirovich, July 21, 1981;
Volgin Aleksej Vladimirovich, June 21, 1975;
Driga Oleg Igorevich, June 3, 1986;
Pavlenko Sergey Grigoryevich, June 25, 1976;
Rudenko Aleksandr Svyatoslavovich, December 26, 1984;
Haritonov Denis Yurevich, March 16, 1980;
Sidorov Sergei Alexandrovich, 01.01.1972;
Koshman Maksim Yaroslavovich, September 6, 1981;
Bubnov Sergey Gennadyevich, 08.01.1971;
Nizhnik Pavel Alexandrovich, June 24, 1987;
Selikhov Vladimir Ivanovich, October 4, 1986;
Fetisov Gennadij Evgenevich, October 22, 1986;
Fomin Mikhail Nikolaevich, March 7, 1973;
Ekimov Vladimir Sergeevich, October 19, 1973;
Karimov Rinat Irshatovich, August 15, 1984;
Shubin Aleksandr Igorevich, 15.01.1996;
Shelomentsev Igor Borisovich, August 18, 1975;
Maslov Sergej Alekseevich, September 29, 1988;
Zaidulen Rustem, October 6, 1974;
Tokarenko Andrej Viktorovich, January 24, 1965;
Serdyukov Andrej Viktorovich, August 16, 1975;
Sergeev Fyodor Mikhailovich, May 17, 1987;
Tanov Rafik Kabulovich, April 30, 1975;
Zyablitsev Evgeny Sergeevich, November 23, 1992;
Samarin Pavel Lvovich, 11.11.1981;
Bakunovich Andrej Petrovich, December 30, 1977;
Shatsky Artem, July 30, 1982.
UPD from July 30 on the list of detainees:
On July 30, the website of the Myrotvorets Center published updated information, according to which all detained militants have Russian passports; 10 of them, in addition to their Russian citizenship, have Ukrainian citizenship; all listed persons are entered into the Peacekeeper database with additional data. It is also reported that 3 people from the list given in the Belarusian media had errors in spelling their last names.
What is known about the Russian proxy formations of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
In 2018, the international volunteer community InformNapalm, based on its own OSINT investigations and materials from other researchers, prepared a report on Russian armored personnel carriers (APCs) used by the Kremlin for hybrid military aggression abroad. The report was presented to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA), and in 2019 also provoked a stormy hysterical reaction from Russian MP Elena Serova during the OSCE PA.
The report addressed various issues regarding proxy formations controlled by the Kremlin, in particular, the mechanisms of financial benefits that the ruling elite of the Russian Federation receives from the involvement of mercenaries in armed conflicts. Part of the report was devoted to an analysis of the threats posed by Russian proxies to world security and possible ways to combat Russia’s hybrid armies, which are hiding under the brand of “independent private military companies.”
Translated by George Pinchuk. Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram


informnapalm--2020-07-30--Russia gearing up for meddling in elections in Belarus

Detention of Russia ’ s Wagner Group mercenaries in Minsk might speak for the Kremlin ’ s plans to roil in Belarus .
This scenario suggests a bloody massacre of the local opposition amid riots staged by Belarus ’ s security agencies , followed by escalation and Russian troops ’ putting boots on the ground as peacekeepers .
Belarus ’ s security forces detained 33 Russia ’ s Wagner private military company fighters , accommodated at Belorusochka sanitarium on the bank of the Drozdy reservoir near Minsk .
The detention took place just 2 weeks prior to the presidential elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 200 mercenaries , the law enforcement agencies claim , have arrived in Belarus to “ roil the election campaign ” .
They are Russia ’ s citizens .
Everyone carried a small hand luggage .
They all had three large and heavy suitcases .
• Screenshots from the video with Russian passports of mercenaries Russian Telegram channels affiliated with the Kremlin have been trying throughout the day to blast the information that the people detained belonged to Wagner PMC and had to perform their mission within the territory of Belarus .
They argue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hub to redeploy to third countries , Sudan among them .
The video shown by Belarusian television confirms this story implicitly .
Among the items documented during the arrest there is indeed a paper in Arabic , a shemagh scarf and a mobile phone payment card depicting the Khatmiya mosque in the city of Kassala .
Moreover , a 20 Sudanese pound banknote is visible on the detention footage .
Russia ’ s Wagner PMC provided military assistance for the Sudanese Special Forces ( NISS ) and intelligence forces involved in putting down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mission by Wagner Group mercenaries in Sudan might explain their presence in Belarus .
The mercenaries arrested might have really operated in Sudan , but they were transferred to Belarus before their arrest , and were not waiting for being sent to Sudan .
The mercenaries could hardly have purchased mobile top-up cards from a Sudanese operator in Russia .
Thus , these cards could have been purchased in Sudan and the mercenaries had them as they had not been used .
The main route to move Wagner PMC mercenaries , including to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , where mercenaries are delivered at by military transport aircraft or special flights by Russia ’ s Defense Ministry or ChamWings , the Syrian airline .
Therefore , the scenario of using the Minsk airport as a hub to transfer the mercenaries does not hold water .
The presence of Ukrainian citizens among those arrested in Belarus stems from the fact that the unrecognized DPR and LPR are a recruiting base for Wagner PMC , as the economy in Donbas , occupied by Russia , narrows the possibilities for job search by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GNA counter-offensive in Libya , one of the killed Wagner Group mercenaries , who fought on the side of Field Marshal Haftar , was found with the documents that testified he had belonged to the territories controlled by the Russians in Ukraine .
A significant part of those arrested in Minsk took part in the war in Ukraine .
Some of the mercenaries are snipers .
Consequently , the group in Belarus might have had a mission to foul up in the protests by sniper fire at the opposition , staging the actions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Acts of violence expected from the Lukashenko regime make it possible for the Kremlin to shape its own scenario enabling to neutralize the Lukashenko regime under color of bringing repressions against the population of Belarus to a halt .
Consequently , nearly 200 Wagner Group fighters , specialized in quelling protests in Sudan , present – that is quite enough to implement a scenario likely to end with an appeal by an initiative group of citizens to Russia to send troops to the union state .
The Wagner Group , unlike Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war crimes without the risks for the Russian military to be blamed on , one of the IGTDS reports argued .
Read and share more from InformNapalm • • The role of Russian PMCs in armed conflicts [ Report ] • Artillerymen of Wagner PMC in the service of Russia from Donbas to Syria – 20 mercenaries operating 2S1 howitzers identified • Tankmen of Wagner PMC in the service of Russia from Donbas to Syria – 25 mercenaries identified • Identified : more than 300 Wagner PMC mercenaries who took part in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Karpaty company task force : who of the Donbas militants recruited to the Russian Wagner PMC ( PHOTO ) • Proofs of the Russian Aggression : InformNapalm releases extensive database of evidence • Volunteers gathered evidence of 32 Russian military units taking part in the invasion of Crimea Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome !
( Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) Follow InformNapalm on Facebook / Twitter

Detention of Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries in Minsk might speak for the Kremlin’s plans to roil in Belarus. This scenario suggests a bloody massacre of the local opposition amid riots staged by Belarus’s security agencies, followed by escalation and Russian troops’ putting boots on the ground as peacekeepers.
Belarus’s security forces detained 33 Russia’s Wagner private military company fighters, accommodated at Belorusochka sanitarium on the bank of the Drozdy reservoir near Minsk. The detention took place just 2 weeks prior to the presidential elections in the country.
As much as 200 mercenaries, the law enforcement agencies claim, have arrived in Belarus to “roil the election campaign”. They are Russia’s citizens. Everyone carried a small hand luggage. They all had three large and heavy suitcases.
Belarus 1 TV showed Russian passports of mercenaries

Screenshots from the video with Russian passports of mercenaries
Russian Telegram channels affiliated with the Kremlin have been trying throughout the day to blast the information that the people detained belonged to Wagner PMC and had to perform their mission within the territory of Belarus. They argue that these people used Belarus as a hub to redeploy to third countries, Sudan among them.
The video shown by Belarusian television confirms this story implicitly. Among the items documented during the arrest there is indeed a paper in Arabic, a shemagh scarf and a mobile phone payment card depicting the Khatmiya mosque in the city of Kassala. Moreover, a 20 Sudanese pound banknote is visible on the detention footage.
Forgiveness pray text. Belarus TV.
Russia’s Wagner PMC provided military assistance for the Sudanese Special Forces (NISS) and intelligence forces involved in putting down the opposition protests in Sudan. This mission by Wagner Group mercenaries in Sudan might explain their presence in Belarus.
The mercenaries arrested might have really operated in Sudan, but they were transferred to Belarus before their arrest, and were not waiting for being sent to Sudan.
The mercenaries could hardly have purchased mobile top-up cards from a Sudanese operator in Russia. Thus, these cards could have been purchased in Sudan and the mercenaries had them as they had not been used.
Sudanese mobile top-up cards.
The main route to move Wagner PMC mercenaries, including to Sudan, passes through Syria (Damascus), where mercenaries are delivered at by military transport aircraft or special flights by Russia’s Defense Ministry or ChamWings, the Syrian airline. Therefore, the scenario of using the Minsk airport as a hub to transfer the mercenaries does not hold water.
The presence of Ukrainian citizens among those arrested in Belarus stems from the fact that the unrecognized DPR and LPR are a recruiting base for Wagner PMC, as the economy in Donbas, occupied by Russia, narrows the possibilities for job search by service in paramilitary groups. During the GNA counter-offensive in Libya, one of the killed Wagner Group mercenaries, who fought on the side of Field Marshal Haftar, was found with the documents that testified he had belonged to the territories controlled by the Russians in Ukraine. A significant part of those arrested in Minsk took part in the war in Ukraine.
Some of the mercenaries are snipers. Consequently, the group in Belarus might have had a mission to foul up in the protests by sniper fire at the opposition, staging the actions by the law enforcement agencies of Belarus. Acts of violence expected from the Lukashenko regime make it possible for the Kremlin to shape its own scenario enabling to neutralize the Lukashenko regime under color of bringing repressions against the population of Belarus to a halt.
Consequently, nearly 200 Wagner Group fighters, specialized in quelling protests in Sudan, present – that is quite enough to implement a scenario likely to end with an appeal by an initiative group of citizens to Russia to send troops to the union state. The Wagner Group, unlike Russia’s standing army, can commit war crimes without the risks for the Russian military to be blamed on, one of the IGTDS reports argued.
Investigation source: IGTDS.
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informnapalm--2020-08-01--9 facts. What did the Wagner group actually do in Belarus?

Fact 1 .
According to media reports , a group of up to 200 people entered Belarus .
This is exactly one full rotation – one infantry company , reinforced by sniper groups and , for urban operations , visual observation and reconnaissance squads .
Fact 2 .
So far , only 32 people living in a single location and one separate person have been detained .
This is close to the typical size of a platoon .
There was at least one sniper group commander ( Andrey Bakunovich ) among the detainees , which also confirms this conclusion .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is attached to each of its 4 platoons , with at least 12 snipers in total .
Fact 3 .
The group entered the territory of Belarus a few weeks before the start of electoral activities in Minsk .
This is similar to how at the end of February 2014 , members of the Wagner group , 5-15 people at a time , entered the Autonomous Republic of Crimea through the Kavkaz-Kerch ferry crossing and quietly checked in in the same groups into local hotels .
Fact 4 .
Russian diplomats and media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Belarus as a transit point .
However , units of the Wagner group , never used regular flights to get to the countries of the Middle East and Africa even before the COVID-19 quarantines , when all Russian airports were fully functional .
All flights were carried out by the 223rd Flight Squadron of the Russian Ministry of Defense or special charters without passing the border control in Russia .
This was documented and proven by the Ukrainian special agencies : Fact 5 .
The Ukrainian SBU reports also contain evidence that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the suppression of democratic protests in Sudan ( operation in an urban setting ) .
The lists of those mercenaries who were there have been published .
And among those Wagner troops who were detained in Minsk , at least two ( Aleksey Volgin and Vladimir Li ) were in Sudan during the suppression of the protests .
Fact 6 .
In the video of the arrest , we can not only a sheet with inscriptions in Arabic , but also a top-up card of a Sudanese telecom operator ’ s mobile phone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city of Kassala ( Sudan ) .
It is very difficult to buy top-up cards of Sudanese mobile operators in Russia or Belarus and then fly to Sudan with them .
This can only mean one thing : they didn ’ t arrive in Belarus to fly to a country like Sudan but , on the opposite , they had come back from Sudan ( Volgin and Li could still have papers in Arabic and Sudanese top-up cards left in their bags after a recent trip there ) .
Fact 7 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ special agencies have been closely cooperating with the intelligence community of NATO member states .
Obviously , every NATO country ( including Turkey , which is especially interested in Russian mercenaries because they kill its soldiers in Libya ) has complete lists of members of the Wagner group , most definitely of people like Volgin , whose names are already listed on the official website of the SBU .
This makes the theory that the Russian mercenaries were planning to fly to Turkey absolutely implausible .
Fact 8 .
The detainees had personal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same M series used by the Wagner group .
Ихтамнет_м0209 wrote about it in more detail earlier .
Fact 9 .
All Telegram channels and “ opposition experts ” controlled by Russian special services , propaganda channels ( RT ) and other controlled media , including the ones based in Ukraine ( Strana.ua ) , as well as officials ( the Russian ambassador in the Republic of Belarus ) , in their characteristic hysterical manner began started making false statements and pushing fake claims trying to vindicate the detained Russian citizens , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just simple guards who had plans to legally fly through Turkey .
Belarusian special services , possibly with the assistance of its Western colleagues , have captured one of several groups employed by Russian military intelligence , which likely planned to provoke violence during the expected electoral protests , including the use of sniper fire on civilians ( similar to the events in Kyiv in February 2014 ) .
These plans were drawn up in Russia and aimed to destabilize the situation in Belarus to the point where Putin would have sufficient grounds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ bring order ” but in reality to annex Belarus .
The significant public outcry will possibly force Russia to cancel these plans and call back the remaining members of the group .
However , if Putin decides to go all in , other scenarios to destabilize the country remain possible .
Translated by Andrii Gryganskyi .
Edited by Max Alginin .
Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome !
( Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter @ @

Fact 1. According to media reports, a group of up to 200 people entered Belarus. This is exactly one full rotation – one infantry company, reinforced by sniper groups and, for urban operations, visual observation and reconnaissance squads.
Fact 2. So far, only 32 people living in a single location and one separate person have been detained. This is close to the typical size of a platoon. There was at least one sniper group commander (Andrey Bakunovich) among the detainees, which also confirms this conclusion. It is likely that one sniper group is attached to each of its 4 platoons, with at least 12 snipers in total.
Fact 3. The group entered the territory of Belarus a few weeks before the start of electoral activities in Minsk. This is similar to how at the end of February 2014, members of the Wagner group, 5-15 people at a time, entered the Autonomous Republic of Crimea through the Kavkaz-Kerch ferry crossing and quietly checked in in the same groups into local hotels.
Fact 4. Russian diplomats and media are claiming that the mercenaries were using Belarus as a transit point. However, units of the Wagner group, never used regular flights to get to the countries of the Middle East and Africa even before the COVID-19 quarantines, when all Russian airports were fully functional. All flights were carried out by the 223rd Flight Squadron of the Russian Ministry of Defense or special charters without passing the border control in Russia. This was documented and proven by the Ukrainian special agencies:
Fact 5. The Ukrainian SBU reports also contain evidence that it was the Wagner group that participated in the suppression of democratic protests in Sudan (operation in an urban setting). The lists of those mercenaries who were there have been published. And among those Wagner troops who were detained in Minsk, at least two (Aleksey Volgin and Vladimir Li) were in Sudan during the suppression of the protests.
Fact 6. In the video of the arrest, we can not only a sheet with inscriptions in Arabic, but also a top-up card of a Sudanese telecom operator’s mobile phone. It depicts the Khatmiyah Mosque in the city of Kassala (Sudan). It is very difficult to buy top-up cards of Sudanese mobile operators in Russia or Belarus and then fly to Sudan with them. This can only mean one thing: they didn’t arrive in Belarus to fly to a country like Sudan but, on the opposite, they had come back from Sudan (Volgin and Li could still have papers in Arabic and Sudanese top-up cards left in their bags after a recent trip there).
Fact 7. For the last 6 years, Ukrainian special agencies have been closely cooperating with the intelligence community of NATO member states. Obviously, every NATO country (including Turkey, which is especially interested in Russian mercenaries because they kill its soldiers in Libya) has complete lists of members of the Wagner group, most definitely of people like Volgin, whose names are already listed on the official website of the SBU. This makes the theory that the Russian mercenaries were planning to fly to Turkey absolutely implausible.
Fact 8. The detainees had personal army tokens with personal numbers, exactly the same M series used by the Wagner group. Ихтамнет_м0209 wrote about it in more detail earlier .
Fact 9. All Telegram channels and “opposition experts” controlled by Russian special services, propaganda channels (RT) and other controlled media, including the ones based in Ukraine (Strana.ua), as well as officials (the Russian ambassador in the Republic of Belarus), in their characteristic hysterical manner began started making false statements and pushing fake claims trying to vindicate the detained Russian citizens, saying that they are airsoft players or just simple guards who had plans to legally fly through Turkey.
Conclusions:
Belarusian special services, possibly with the assistance of its Western colleagues, have captured one of several groups employed by Russian military intelligence, which likely planned to provoke violence during the expected electoral protests, including the use of sniper fire on civilians (similar to the events in Kyiv in February 2014). These plans were drawn up in Russia and aimed to destabilize the situation in Belarus to the point where Putin would have sufficient grounds to deploy “peacemaker” troops to “bring order” but in reality to annex Belarus. The significant public outcry will possibly force Russia to cancel these plans and call back the remaining members of the group. However, if Putin decides to go all in, other scenarios to destabilize the country remain possible.
Original
Translated by Andrii Gryganskyi. Edited by Max Alginin. Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram


informnapalm--2020-08-01--Russia’s GRU failures in midst of COVID-19 pandemic

Hereby , we publish this information review , which first appeared on the website of the Ukrayinskyy Tyzhden ( The Ukrainian Week ) magazine on July 31 , 2020 .
The review was prepared by the founder of the InformNapalm international volunteer community Roman Burko .
You can also report important information and insiders ’ observations from the occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas to Roman Burko on Facebook ; this can be used in new review materials on this topic .
From cyber-terrorism in the EU to interfering with the elections in Belarus and invading Ukraine The COVID-19 pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The scale of this disease is difficult to overestimate , just as one should not underestimate another , but no less dangerous and insidious aspect that threatens many countries around the world – the hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation .
It has a lot in common with the coronavirus : for some it is almost asymptomatic , but more and more often in different parts of the world “ temperature rises ” and fever begins .
And here , as in the human body , everything depends on the immune system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to overcome the disease or take preventive measures for its rapid localization .
Less than a week has passed since the world was stunned by information about yet another hybrid attack initiated by Russian special services against sovereign states .
The previous review drew attention to the scandal surrounding the alleged involvement of Russian intelligence and the government in the financing of terrorism in Afghanistan and the “ muscle flexing ” near the Ukrainian borders .
Now , two weeks ago , there was a high-profile scandal over cyber-sabotage by Russian hackers working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ research into vaccines and COVID-19 treatment from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world .
This week , there was some follow-up on several of these topics .
On July 30 , the EU imposed sanctions on four Russian hackers working for the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces ( better known by its former name , Main Directorate of Intelligence , or GRU ) .
The sanctions were reported on the pages of the official journal of the European Union .
The Russian GRU officers Alexei Morenets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yevgeny Serebryakov , who were also previously suspected of operations in the United States , the Netherlands , Brazil , Malaysia and Switzerland , were targeted by European penalties .
In addition , the EU imposed sanctions on one of the well-known structures of the GRU – the Main Center for Special Technologies of the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces .
According to the report , both individuals and entire units of Russia ’ s intelligence agencies , which have been subject to new EU sanctions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons , in the WannaCry and Cloud Hopper cyber-attacks , and in the well-known Ukrainian cyberattack using the NotPetya virus .
It might be recalled that in Ukraine in 2017 , financial companies , energy , telecommunications , media and government agencies became victims of the Russian NotPetya virus .
In particular , the victims include Boryspil Airport , Ukrposhta , Ukrtelecom , the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and others .
Here , it is very relevant to mention the interview with the former commander of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expert of the Center for European Policy Analysis ( CEPA ) , Lieutenant General Ben Hodges ( now retired ) , published on the pages of the Week on July 10 .
In this interview , Gen. Hodges stressed that if the Kremlin dares a new offensive against Ukraine , Ukrainians should expect powerful cyber attacks aimed at destroying their country ’ s communications and governance .
( The InformNapalm community website has a reprint of this interview , which was translated by volunteers into 12 languages of the world . )
However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different countries was not the only context in which the members of the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces were mentioned by media this week .
On July 29 , 33 Russian citizens were detained in Belarus as part of a group of Russian saboteurs called the Wagner Armed Private Company , a proxy used by the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces to conduct illegal military operations abroad .
The Wagner APC was actively used by the Russian Federation in the war in Ukraine , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other military conflicts .
Belarus ’ s intelligence services also said it was only part of a group of 200 people who arrived in the country to destabilize the election .
Numerous studies of this hybrid military formation carrying out dirty and bloody tasks of the Kremlin under the leadership of Russian intelligence have been published on the website of the InformNapalm international intelligence community .
Such a failure of the Russian secret services could not be left without attempts to blur the event with a barrage of fakes , misinformation and conspiracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the information space by Russia and the media under its control .
“ Heavy artillery ” was also involved in the excuses : the situation was commented on by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov and the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev .
The latter even laid out his fantastic version of the reason for the Wagnerians ’ stay in the Belorusochka sanatorium near Minsk .
Allegedly , the Russian militants were rank-and-file security guards who made a stop in Minsk while traveling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Turkey and were forced to stay temporarily in the sanatorium .
This version does not stand up to criticism on many points .
One can only imagine how the Turkish secret services would react if a whole platoon of Wagner ’ s APC , the proxy of the GRU of Russia , which had fought both the US military in Syria and the Turkish military in Libya , were actually transferred to their country .
The Turkish military has effectively destroyed these Russian units by drone strikes and considers them their direct enemies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the InformNapalm international intelligence community published two separate studies that completely debunk this version of the Russians : The publication titled , “ TOP 9 facts about what did the Wagner ’ s APC group of Russian militants do in Belarus ” eliminates , step-by-step , all the clumsy attempts of the Russian side to justify the presence of a whole platoon of militants in Belarus .
Among the detainees there are people who have a bloody trail of participation in the war against Ukraine , as well as military missions in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ English-language report , “ Russia gearing up for meddling in elections in Belarus , ” prepared by analysts at The Institute for Global Threats and Democracies Studies ( IGTDS ) , said that the detention of a group of “ Wagnerians , ” which includes snipers with combat experience , may indicate that the Kremlin is preparing a scenario of destabilization with the shooting of peaceful protests , which are likely to take place against the background of the elections in Belarus .
This scenario is very similar to the events during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia ’ s ultimate goal in the event of this scenario is the deployment of a “ military peacekeeping contingent ” ostensibly to stabilize the situation , meaning , in fact , the annexation of Belarus .
Denis Ivashin , the editor of the Belarusian language version of InformNapalm , posted an interesting map on his Facebook page , commenting that the Belorusochka resort , where the Russian saboteurs were detained , is located on the shores of the Drozdy Reservoir , just 5,200 meters from the President ’ s residence in Belarus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ snipers near Lukashenko ’ s courtyard without his consent could also provoke panic in the Belarusian president , and this might also lead to a harsh reaction to the actions of the Russians and the publicity of these events .
And here it is worth emphasizing that in this case Belarus acts quite transparently and surprisingly adequately , which rejects the “ conspiracy theory ” about the alleged joint special operation of Russian and Belarusian special services in order to “ raise the ratings of Alexander Lukashenko on the eve of the election.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help persuade Lukashenko ’ s opponents to support him , and second , it is doubtful that pro-Russian sections of the population will suddenly change their positive attitude toward the so-called “ Russian World , ” given that even among the outspoken leaders of the Belarusian protest movement , there are some Vatniki ( “ Quilted jackets , ” i.e .
those who tow the Russian line ) , who supported the annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea .
The “ Wagnerians ’ Capture ” became a popular theme on Belarus ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already hit the Russian foreign policy narrative quite hard .
It has shown to the world that Russia is an aggressor country a country that can deploy entire platoons of its mercenaries to the territory of sovereign states , including even Russia ’ s closest allies .
Belarusians posted a video of the detention of a whole group of Russian militants ; in it , they showed these men ’ s passports and tokens with personal numbers of “ Wagner ’ s APC , ” and appealed to the ambassadors of Russia and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ invited not because some of the detainees had Ukrainian passports in addition to their Russian passports , but to inform Ukraine about the situation and turn to our country for help .
After all , the detained militants will be checked for involvement in crimes committed in Ukraine during their participation in the war in the Donbas .
But this story has just begun to unfold and there may still be surprises ahead .
Belarus ’ s intelligence services ( possibly thanks to Western counterparts , given that in February 2020 US Secretary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first official visit in which he stressed his support for Belarus ’ sovereignty ) detained a large group of militants working for Russian military intelligence .
The United States closely monitors the actions of this proxy formation of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces , periodically imposes sanctions on individuals and entities that are financially connected with Wagner ’ s APC , and monitors their movement in conflict zones .
NATO countries also probably do not want to have a bridgehead of Russian aggression on their borders , which could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Therefore , this local success of the Belarusian secret services may not be accidental or personal , and the media ’ s high volume is not just a result of Lukashenko ’ s personal fears , but a pragmatically calculated media component of counteracting Russian aggression .
Against the background of this high-profile scandal , will Putin curtail his plans to destabilize the situation in Belarus ?
Will this detention of one of the Wagner groups force the rest of the militants to withdraw and postpone the aggression ?
These issues remain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the capture of Belarus opens for Russia not only space to advance to the West , but also a springboard for attacks of Ukraine from the north , which is why we pay much attention to these events in the neighboring country .
Other scenarios of destabilizing Belarus or aggression against Ukraine when Putin decides to go full force are not ruled out .
But while the issue of aggression in the Donbas is paused for the whole world , the President of Ukraine is once again trying to assure everyone that a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ although he already admits that Russia can not “ just stop firing ” and violations still occur .
Against this background , the news resonates that during the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council , Ukraine informed the international community about the truce that lasted from July 21 , 2019 to July 26 , 2020 .
At that time , the armed forces of the Russian Federation committed 4226 violations of the ceasefire .
This news is very important because the press center of the Joint Forces Operation in Ukraine then reported the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isolated instances of shelling , and this was then noticed by InformNapalm volunteers .
But shelling is not the only mechanism of hybrid aggression .
For now , in the Donbas they really became less frequent , but the likely reason is the expectation of a next replenishment of the stock of arms and ammunition from the Russian Federation .
On July 30 , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine sent a note of protest to Russia over yet another “ humanitarian convoy ” that had invaded the Donbas region .
Such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sometimes without publicity , and sometimes openly under the guise of propaganda about the delivery of “ food or medicine ” to the residents of the Donbas , transferring unspecified cargo to the terrorists of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “ People ’ s Republics.
” It is obvious that they may contain weapons and ammunition .
InformNapalm volunteers have repeatedly found in their research and reported that Russian troops are working under the guise of these “ humanitarian convoys.
” It was established that the soldiers of the 108th Airborne Assault Regiment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carrying the “ humanitarian convoys ” to the Donbas .
Also , one of the servicemen of the 22nd Special Brigade of the GRU of Russia , who took part in the operation to seize Crimea , was later seen as a member of “ humanitarian convoys ” under the cover of the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia .
Therefore , the currently observed reduction of shelling is not a reason for hopes for a gradual resolution of the conflict and the end of the war , but only an opportunity for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ammunition and prepare for another escalation and testing Ukraine for strength .
Translated by George Pinchuk .
Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome !
( Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter / Telegram

Hereby, we publish this information review, which first appeared on the website of the Ukrayinskyy Tyzhden (The Ukrainian Week) magazine on July 31, 2020. The review was prepared by the founder of the InformNapalm international volunteer community Roman Burko. You can also report important information and insiders’ observations from the occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas to Roman Burko on Facebook; this can be used in new review materials on this topic.
From cyber-terrorism in the EU to interfering with the elections in Belarus and invading Ukraine
The COVID-19 pandemic has become a real test for humanity. The scale of this disease is difficult to overestimate, just as one should not underestimate another, but no less dangerous and insidious aspect that threatens many countries around the world – the hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation. It has a lot in common with the coronavirus: for some it is almost asymptomatic, but more and more often in different parts of the world “temperature rises” and fever begins. And here, as in the human body, everything depends on the immune system, as far as it is able to overcome the disease or take preventive measures for its rapid localization.
Less than a week has passed since the world was stunned by information about yet another hybrid attack initiated by Russian special services against sovereign states. The previous review drew attention to the scandal surrounding the alleged involvement of Russian intelligence and the government in the financing of terrorism in Afghanistan and the “muscle flexing” near the Ukrainian borders. Now, two weeks ago, there was a high-profile scandal over cyber-sabotage by Russian hackers working for Russian intelligence and trying to steal research into vaccines and COVID-19 treatment from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world. This week, there was some follow-up on several of these topics.
EU sanctions against Russian GRU staff
On July 30, the EU imposed sanctions on four Russian hackers working for the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (better known by its former name, Main Directorate of Intelligence, or GRU). The sanctions were reported on the pages of the official journal of the European Union. The Russian GRU officers Alexei Morenets, Alexei Minin, Oleg Sotnikov and Yevgeny Serebryakov, who were also previously suspected of operations in the United States, the Netherlands, Brazil, Malaysia and Switzerland, were targeted by European penalties. In addition, the EU imposed sanctions on one of the well-known structures of the GRU – the Main Center for Special Technologies of the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. According to the report, both individuals and entire units of Russia’s intelligence agencies, which have been subject to new EU sanctions, are involved in attacks against the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, in the WannaCry and Cloud Hopper cyber-attacks, and in the well-known Ukrainian cyberattack using the NotPetya virus. It might be recalled that in Ukraine in 2017, financial companies, energy, telecommunications, media and government agencies became victims of the Russian NotPetya virus. In particular, the victims include Boryspil Airport, Ukrposhta, Ukrtelecom, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and others.
Here, it is very relevant to mention the interview with the former commander of the US Armed Forces in Europe, an expert of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), Lieutenant General Ben Hodges (now retired), published on the pages of the Week on July 10. In this interview, Gen. Hodges stressed that if the Kremlin dares a new offensive against Ukraine, Ukrainians should expect powerful cyber attacks aimed at destroying their country’s communications and governance. (The InformNapalm community website has a reprint of this interview, which was translated by volunteers into 12 languages of the world.)
Belarus becomes a Russian target
However, interfering in the computer systems of different countries was not the only context in which the members of the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces were mentioned by media this week.
On July 29, 33 Russian citizens were detained in Belarus as part of a group of Russian saboteurs called the Wagner Armed Private Company, a proxy used by the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces to conduct illegal military operations abroad. The Wagner APC was actively used by the Russian Federation in the war in Ukraine, as well as in Syria, Libya and other military conflicts. Belarus’s intelligence services also said it was only part of a group of 200 people who arrived in the country to destabilize the election.
Numerous studies of this hybrid military formation carrying out dirty and bloody tasks of the Kremlin under the leadership of Russian intelligence have been published on the website of the InformNapalm international intelligence community. Such a failure of the Russian secret services could not be left without attempts to blur the event with a barrage of fakes, misinformation and conspiracy theories, which were momentarily thrown into the information space by Russia and the media under its control. “Heavy artillery” was also involved in the excuses: the situation was commented on by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov and the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev. The latter even laid out his fantastic version of the reason for the Wagnerians’ stay in the Belorusochka sanatorium near Minsk. Allegedly, the Russian militants were rank-and-file security guards who made a stop in Minsk while traveling, were late for a plane to Turkey and were forced to stay temporarily in the sanatorium. This version does not stand up to criticism on many points. One can only imagine how the Turkish secret services would react if a whole platoon of Wagner’s APC, the proxy of the GRU of Russia, which had fought both the US military in Syria and the Turkish military in Libya, were actually transferred to their country. The Turkish military has effectively destroyed these Russian units by drone strikes and considers them their direct enemies.
On July 30, the website of the InformNapalm international intelligence community published two separate studies that completely debunk this version of the Russians:
The publication titled, “TOP 9 facts about what did the Wagner’s APC group of Russian militants do in Belarus” eliminates, step-by-step, all the clumsy attempts of the Russian side to justify the presence of a whole platoon of militants in Belarus. Among the detainees there are people who have a bloody trail of participation in the war against Ukraine, as well as military missions in the Middle East and Africa.
The English-language report, “Russia gearing up for meddling in elections in Belarus,” prepared by analysts at The Institute for Global Threats and Democracies Studies (IGTDS), said that the detention of a group of “Wagnerians,” which includes snipers with combat experience, may indicate that the Kremlin is preparing a scenario of destabilization with the shooting of peaceful protests, which are likely to take place against the background of the elections in Belarus. This scenario is very similar to the events during the Ukrainian Maidan uprising in February 2014. Russia’s ultimate goal in the event of this scenario is the deployment of a “military peacekeeping contingent” ostensibly to stabilize the situation, meaning, in fact, the annexation of Belarus.
Denis Ivashin, the editor of the Belarusian language version of InformNapalm, posted an interesting map on his Facebook page, commenting that the Belorusochka resort, where the Russian saboteurs were detained, is located on the shores of the Drozdy Reservoir, just 5,200 meters from the President’s residence in Belarus. The placement of Russian mercenaries and snipers near Lukashenko’s courtyard without his consent could also provoke panic in the Belarusian president, and this might also lead to a harsh reaction to the actions of the Russians and the publicity of these events.
And here it is worth emphasizing that in this case Belarus acts quite transparently and surprisingly adequately, which rejects the “conspiracy theory” about the alleged joint special operation of Russian and Belarusian special services in order to “raise the ratings of Alexander Lukashenko on the eve of the election.” First, these events are unlikely to help persuade Lukashenko’s opponents to support him, and second, it is doubtful that pro-Russian sections of the population will suddenly change their positive attitude toward the so-called “Russian World,” given that even among the outspoken leaders of the Belarusian protest movement, there are some Vatniki (“Quilted jackets,” i.e. those who tow the Russian line), who supported the annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea.
The “Wagnerians’ Capture” became a popular theme on Belarus’s central television channels, and it has already hit the Russian foreign policy narrative quite hard. It has shown to the world that Russia is an aggressor country a country that can deploy entire platoons of its mercenaries to the territory of sovereign states, including even Russia’s closest allies. Belarusians posted a video of the detention of a whole group of Russian militants; in it, they showed these men’s passports and tokens with personal numbers of “Wagner’s APC,” and appealed to the ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine. Moreover, Ukrainian diplomats were invited not because some of the detainees had Ukrainian passports in addition to their Russian passports, but to inform Ukraine about the situation and turn to our country for help. After all, the detained militants will be checked for involvement in crimes committed in Ukraine during their participation in the war in the Donbas.
But this story has just begun to unfold and there may still be surprises ahead. Belarus’s intelligence services (possibly thanks to Western counterparts, given that in February 2020 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Belarus for the first official visit in which he stressed his support for Belarus’ sovereignty) detained a large group of militants working for Russian military intelligence. The United States closely monitors the actions of this proxy formation of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, periodically imposes sanctions on individuals and entities that are financially connected with Wagner’s APC, and monitors their movement in conflict zones. NATO countries also probably do not want to have a bridgehead of Russian aggression on their borders, which could spread from Belarus to the Baltic states. Therefore, this local success of the Belarusian secret services may not be accidental or personal, and the media’s high volume is not just a result of Lukashenko’s personal fears, but a pragmatically calculated media component of counteracting Russian aggression. Against the background of this high-profile scandal, will Putin curtail his plans to destabilize the situation in Belarus? Will this detention of one of the Wagner groups force the rest of the militants to withdraw and postpone the aggression? These issues remain open. But we must remember that the capture of Belarus opens for Russia not only space to advance to the West, but also a springboard for attacks of Ukraine from the north, which is why we pay much attention to these events in the neighboring country. Other scenarios of destabilizing Belarus or aggression against Ukraine when Putin decides to go full force are not ruled out.
Donbas: Calm before the storm
But while the issue of aggression in the Donbas is paused for the whole world, the President of Ukraine is once again trying to assure everyone that a “silence regime” is possible, although he already admits that Russia cannot “just stop firing” and violations still occur. Against this background, the news resonates that during the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, Ukraine informed the international community about the truce that lasted from July 21, 2019 to July 26, 2020. At that time, the armed forces of the Russian Federation committed 4226 violations of the ceasefire. This news is very important because the press center of the Joint Forces Operation in Ukraine then reported the complete absence of shelling, or only isolated instances of shelling, and this was then noticed by InformNapalm volunteers.
But shelling is not the only mechanism of hybrid aggression. For now, in the Donbas they really became less frequent, but the likely reason is the expectation of a next replenishment of the stock of arms and ammunition from the Russian Federation. On July 30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine sent a note of protest to Russia over yet another “humanitarian convoy” that had invaded the Donbas region. Such “humanitarian convoys” from Russia arrive sometimes without publicity, and sometimes openly under the guise of propaganda about the delivery of “food or medicine” to the residents of the Donbas, transferring unspecified cargo to the terrorists of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “People’s Republics.” It is obvious that they may contain weapons and ammunition. InformNapalm volunteers have repeatedly found in their research and reported that Russian troops are working under the guise of these “humanitarian convoys.” It was established that the soldiers of the 108th Airborne Assault Regiment of the Russian Federation took part in carrying the “humanitarian convoys” to the Donbas. Also, one of the servicemen of the 22nd Special Brigade of the GRU of Russia, who took part in the operation to seize Crimea, was later seen as a member of “humanitarian convoys” under the cover of the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia.
Therefore, the currently observed reduction of shelling is not a reason for hopes for a gradual resolution of the conflict and the end of the war, but only an opportunity for the Russian Armed Forces to replenish their arms and ammunition and prepare for another escalation and testing Ukraine for strength.
Translated by George Pinchuk. Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram


informnapalm--2020-08-02--Fragment of fireworks hits Russian marine in the head on Russian Navy Day

On the night of Monday , July 27 , during to the celebration of the Russian Navy Day in the city of Severomorsk , a fragment from a festive fireworks hit the head of a Russian contract serviceman and seriously wounded him .
Marine Dmitry Chemalin received a severe head injury : fractures of the jaw , temporal lobe and occiput , and also lost a lot of blood .
The serviceman was a combat veteran and was awarded a military medal from the Russian President .
Now the marine is in the Northern Fleet military hospital .
He was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigators have started inquiry into the incident .
This is reported by the Russian media .
Volunteers of InformNapalm international community , using the information reported by the media , decided to check in which military conflicts Dmitry Chemalin participated .
The volunteers analyzed his social media account and determined that he served with the Russian occupation forces in Crimea and also took part in a military operation in Syria .
Dmitry Alexandrovich Chemalin was born on March 26 , 1994 in the town of Syktyvkar , Komi Republic , Russian Federation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ contract in occupied Crimea , in the 810th Separate Marine Brigade ( military unit 13140 , place of permanent deployment : Sevastopol ) .
His account on Russian social media website VK ( archive ) contains numerous photos of his military service in the 810th Marine Brigade ( photo album , archive ) .
We will review some of these photographs in more details .
Here are photos of a Combat Participant Certificate and awards Certificates .
He was awarded the Zhukov medal by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the participant in the military operation in Syria , signed by the commander of the 810th Marine Brigade ( military unit 13140 ) , Colonel Dmitry Uskov who led the brigade from 2015 to 2019 .
Also interesting are other photos from his account dedicated to military service and the occupation of Crimea .
He uses the slogan of the Russian invaders “ Crimea is Ours ” and the hashtag « # Вежливые_Люди » ( “ # Polite People ” ) – the term used by Russian propaganda for Russian military personnel without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facilities in Crimea in 2014 .
There is no direct information that Dmitry Chimalin , in addition to military service in Crimea and Syria , also participated in the war in the Donbas .
But it is worth noting that InformNapalm international intelligence community in its investigations has recorded the participation of servicemen from the 810 Marine Brigade in the war against Ukraine in the occupied Donbas , and 33 servicemen of this brigade were identified as participants in the seizure of Crimea and in the war in Donbass .
This information has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Translated by Svitlana Kemblowski .
Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome !
( Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter / Telegram InformNapalm is a fully independent community that does not receive any financial support from any country ’ s government or large donors .
Our information resources are funded by our volunteers , as well as our readers sponsoring our project with small donations .
You can also support the community by signing up for monthly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Together we will achieve more !

On the night of Monday, July 27, during to the celebration of the Russian Navy Day in the city of Severomorsk, a fragment from a festive fireworks hit the head of a Russian contract serviceman and seriously wounded him. Marine Dmitry Chemalin received a severe head injury: fractures of the jaw, temporal lobe and occiput, and also lost a lot of blood. The serviceman was a combat veteran and was awarded a military medal from the Russian President. Now the marine is in the Northern Fleet military hospital. He was in Severomorsk on an assignment. Military investigators have started inquiry into the incident. This is reported by the Russian media.
Volunteers of InformNapalm international community, using the information reported by the media, decided to check in which military conflicts Dmitry Chemalin participated. The volunteers analyzed his social media account and determined that he served with the Russian occupation forces in Crimea and also took part in a military operation in Syria.
Personal information about the Russian serviceman
Dmitry Alexandrovich Chemalin was born on March 26, 1994 in the town of Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, Russian Federation.
In 2016, he served under a contract in occupied Crimea, in the 810th Separate Marine Brigade (military unit 13140, place of permanent deployment: Sevastopol).
His account on Russian social media website VK ( archive ) contains numerous photos of his military service in the 810th Marine Brigade ( photo album , archive ).
We will review some of these photographs in more details.
Here are photos of a Combat Participant Certificate and awards Certificates. He was awarded the Zhukov medal by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, as well as the medal of the participant in the military operation in Syria, signed by the commander of the 810th Marine Brigade (military unit 13140), Colonel Dmitry Uskov who led the brigade from 2015 to 2019.
Also interesting are other photos from his account dedicated to military service and the occupation of Crimea. He uses the slogan of the Russian invaders “Crimea is Ours” and the hashtag «#Вежливые_Люди» (“#Polite People”) – the term used by Russian propaganda for Russian military personnel without identification marks, seizing infrastructure and government facilities in Crimea in 2014.
There is no direct information that Dmitry Chimalin, in addition to military service in Crimea and Syria, also participated in the war in the Donbas. But it is worth noting that InformNapalm international intelligence community in its investigations has recorded the participation of servicemen from the 810 Marine Brigade in the war against Ukraine in the occupied Donbas, and 33 servicemen of this brigade were identified as participants in the seizure of Crimea and in the war in Donbass. This information has been entered into the InformNapalm database.
Translated by Svitlana Kemblowski. Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram
InformNapalm is a fully independent community that does not receive any financial support from any country’s government or large donors. Our information resources are funded by our volunteers, as well as our readers sponsoring our project with small donations. You can also support the community by signing up for monthly mini-donations through the Patreon charitable platform. Together we will achieve more!


informnapalm--2020-08-06--Leaden Sky: Eyewitness recalls Russian bombardment in September 2014

Before the war , a leaden sky meant for me the one during a gloomy fall with heavy and low clouds .
I could not imagine , even in a nightmare , that I would see a sky filled with real lead , red-striped by the trails of rockets launched by Grad , Smerch , and Uragan MLRSs , multiple launch rocket system designed to create mass destruction across large areas of land .
At 5 a.m. on August 18 , 2014 , our brave and fearless Ukrainian warriors entered the village of Stanytsia Luhanska .
The 13th “ Chernigov @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brigade and the 17th Tank Brigade .
I will definitely write about this day separately , as an eyewitness to the events .
But today , for all who support Russia , I want to remind you of its villainy , cynicism and cruelty .
At the end of August 2014 , we learned that Russia was preparing Operation Leaden Sky .
No one knew what it was and on what day it would happen .
It happened in the first days of September .
One of the terrible days was September 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more precisely , the execution from the Russian territory started at 13:00 and lasted until 21:00 .
Russia hit us with deadly missiles , never pausing , never allowing a moment of silence , with volleys of about 300 missiles at a time , targeting wide areas… The sky everywhere seemed to be covered in blood-red stripes .
On that day , the country of Russia died for me for the second time .
The first time was on an early morning in August 2014 , when long columns of Russian tanks entered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2014 , it was the Armageddon of all Armageddons .
We were shelled from Russia , and , simultaneously , we were fired upon from the Ukrainian territory that Russia had already occupied .
Many residents figured out the counts of step on that day : for a shell coming from the Russian territory , it was necessary to take 8 steps to the shelter , and for one from the “ People ’ s Republic ” – 5 steps… All shells flew over the positions of our brave and fearless ones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It was hell on earth .
The leaden sky with its wide front covered not only Stanytsia Luhanska ; the shells also flew all the way to Verkhnya Vilkhova and to our house in the woods , lifting mounds of earth far up in the sky .
A Smerch missile hit near our dachas , it turned the earth into jelly , so it was difficult even to stand straight on it .
This is not classified information and there is a lot of evidence for my words .
When Grad missiles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whose side you are on .
Russia doesn ’ t give a damn whether you love Russia .
It just destroys human beings .
Just one example : there were two houses on my street .
A pro-Russian family lived lived next to a pro-Ukrainian one .
Pieces of their bodies had to be carried out from the ruins two days apart .
So , when you talk about love or reconciliation with Russia , remember this post of mine… When I was finally able to take care of myself after a spinal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ Leave !
And I ’ ll stay , because I don ’ t want history to be rewritten.
” And this is already being done… The picture shows my inner state .
This is how I feel about everything related to Russia .
And no matter what laws you make , you won ’ t erase memory files .
Don ’ t even try , otherwise everyone will know what # leaden_sky is .
Translated by George Pinchuk .
Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome !
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter / Telegram

Before the war, a leaden sky meant for me the one during a gloomy fall with heavy and low clouds. I could not imagine, even in a nightmare, that I would see a sky filled with real lead, red-striped by the trails of rockets launched by Grad, Smerch, and Uragan MLRSs, multiple launch rocket system designed to create mass destruction across large areas of land. At 5 a.m. on August 18, 2014, our brave and fearless Ukrainian warriors entered the village of Stanytsia Luhanska. The 13th “Chernigov” Territorial Defense Battalion, the 26th Brigade and the 17th Tank Brigade. I will definitely write about this day separately, as an eyewitness to the events.But today, for all who support Russia, I want to remind you of its villainy, cynicism and cruelty.
At the end of August 2014, we learned that Russia was preparing Operation Leaden Sky. No one knew what it was and on what day it would happen. It happened in the first days of September. One of the terrible days was September 2, 2014. The shelling, or more precisely, the execution from the Russian territory started at 13:00 and lasted until 21:00. Russia hit us with deadly missiles, never pausing, never allowing a moment of silence, with volleys of about 300 missiles at a time, targeting wide areas… The sky everywhere seemed to be covered in blood-red stripes. On that day, the country of Russia died for me for the second time. The first time was on an early morning in August 2014, when long columns of Russian tanks entered Luhansk.
Now, on September 2, 2014, it was the Armageddon of all Armageddons. We were shelled from Russia, and, simultaneously, we were fired upon from the Ukrainian territory that Russia had already occupied. Many residents figured out the counts of step on that day: for a shell coming from the Russian territory, it was necessary to take 8 steps to the shelter, and for one from the “People’s Republic” – 5 steps… All shells flew over the positions of our brave and fearless ones and landed right on the civilian population. It was hell on earth.
The leaden sky with its wide front covered not only Stanytsia Luhanska; the shells also flew all the way to Verkhnya Vilkhova and to our house in the woods, lifting mounds of earth far up in the sky. A Smerch missile hit near our dachas, it turned the earth into jelly, so it was difficult even to stand straight on it. This is not classified information and there is a lot of evidence for my words. When Grad missiles fly, they do not ask you whose side you are on.
Russia doesn’t give a damn whether you love Russia. It just destroys human beings. Just one example: there were two houses on my street. A pro-Russian family lived lived next to a pro-Ukrainian one. Pieces of their bodies had to be carried out from the ruins two days apart. So, when you talk about love or reconciliation with Russia, remember this post of mine… When I was finally able to take care of myself after a spinal injury, I said to my children: “Leave! And I’ll stay, because I don’t want history to be rewritten.” And this is already being done… The picture shows my inner state. This is how I feel about everything related to Russia. And no matter what laws you make, you won’t erase memory files. Don’t even try, otherwise everyone will know what #leaden_sky is.
By Sveta Svetikova
Translated by George Pinchuk. Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram


informnapalm--2020-08-06--Russia is using ceasefire to prepare for escalation of fighting in Donbas

It is obvious , as InformNapalm volunteers pointed out last week , that the current reduction of shelling in the Donbas is not a reason to hope for a gradual resolution of the conflict and an end to the war , but only an opportunity for the Russian Armed Forces to replenish its ammunition and prepare forces for another escalation against Ukraine .
During the August 4 briefing , Defense Ministry of Ukraine spokesman Maksym Prauta , citing information from the Defense Intelligence Agency , said that last week Russia had delivered at least 10 armored combat vehicles and about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the uncontrolled part of the border to the occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts .
We will remind that on July 30 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine sent to Russia a note of protest because of the another “ humanitarian convoy ” arrived to the Donbas .
Such “ humanitarian convoys ” from Russia , sometimes , covertly without too much publicity , and sometimes openly under the guise of propaganda about the delivery of “ food or medicine ” to the residents of the Donbas , deliver to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unidentified goods that may be weapons and ammunition .
InformNapalm volunteers have repeatedly exposed in their research that Russian troops are working under the guise of the “ humanitarian convoys ” .
It was established that the soldiers of the Russian 108th Airborne Assault Regiment took part in “ humanitarian convoys ” to the Donbas .
Also , one of the servicemen of the 22nd Special Brigade of the GRU of Russia , who took part in the operation to capture Crimea , was later seen as a member of “ humanitarian convoys @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ministry of Emergence Situations .
Translated by Svitlana Kemblowski .
Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome !
( Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter / Telegram InformNapalm is a fully independent community that does not receive any financial support from any country ’ s government or large donors .
Our information resources are funded by our volunteers , as well as our readers sponsoring our project with small donations .
You can also support the community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Patreon charitable platform .
Together we will achieve more !

It is obvious, as InformNapalm volunteers pointed out last week, that the current reduction of shelling in the Donbas is not a reason to hope for a gradual resolution of the conflict and an end to the war, but only an opportunity for the Russian Armed Forces to replenish its ammunition and prepare forces for another escalation against Ukraine.
During the August 4 briefing, Defense Ministry of Ukraine spokesman Maksym Prauta, citing information from the Defense Intelligence Agency, said that last week Russia had delivered at least 10 armored combat vehicles and about 30 trucks loaded with small arms across the uncontrolled part of the border to the occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
We will remind that on July 30 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine sent to Russia a note of protest because of the another “humanitarian convoy” arrived to the Donbas. Such “humanitarian convoys” from Russia, sometimes, covertly without too much publicity, and sometimes openly under the guise of propaganda about the delivery of “food or medicine” to the residents of the Donbas, deliver to the occupied parts of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts unidentified goods that may be weapons and ammunition.
InformNapalm volunteers have repeatedly exposed in their research that Russian troops are working under the guise of the “humanitarian convoys”. It was established that the soldiers of the Russian 108th Airborne Assault Regiment took part in “humanitarian convoys” to the Donbas. Also, one of the servicemen of the 22nd Special Brigade of the GRU of Russia, who took part in the operation to capture Crimea, was later seen as a member of “humanitarian convoys” under the cover of the Russian Ministry of Emergence Situations.
Translated by Svitlana Kemblowski. Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram
InformNapalm is a fully independent community that does not receive any financial support from any country’s government or large donors. Our information resources are funded by our volunteers, as well as our readers sponsoring our project with small donations. You can also support the community by signing up for monthly mini-donations through the Patreon charitable platform. Together we will achieve more!


informnapalm--2020-08-08--Anniversary of Russian aggression and occupation of Georgia

In 2008 , Russia attacked Georgia and unleashed the first in the 21st century war against another country in Europe .
It began on the night of August 8 , when Russian troops crossed the Georgian border .
Since then , a bloody date has been engraved in history : 08.08.08 .
This day can be considered the first open military aggression in a series of subsequent wars led by Putin ’ s Russia in the 21st century to which the world community did not respond properly and in a timely manner .
Therefore , new adventures of the Kremlin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conquest of the Ukrainian Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine .
The preconditions for Russia ’ s aggression against Georgia were laid in the 1990s , when the Moscow-backed separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared “ independence ” from Georgia .
After the local wars , Russia imposed a truce on Georgia and placed its “ peacekeepers ” in the conflict zone .
But Moscow did not adhere to the principle of neutrality , ignoring systematic ceasefire violations by South Ossetian “ militia ” .
In addition , Russian passports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Abkhazia and South Ossetia .
On the eve of the invasion of Georgia , Russia conducted large-scale military exercises Caucasus-2008 .
Increasing the intensity of provocations , Moscow was waiting for a good excuse for open aggression .
Their excuse was the Georgian army ’ s attempt to put an end to the Ossetian shelling and the creeping occupation of the border territories .
Photo from InformNapalm ’ s OSINT research on the participation of the 417th separate reconnaissance battalion of the Russian Armed Forces in the occupation of the cities of Gori @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Russia announced the protection of “ its citizens ” in Georgia .
Russian military aircraft attacked Georgian positions .
By Kremlin ’ s order , the Russian army bombed towns , ports and military facilities throughout Georgia .
Russia launched an offensive from the territory of Abkhazia .
In addition to the two separatist regions , the adjacent Georgian territories were occupied .
The Russians almost completely destroyed the Georgian navy on the Black Sea .
Though the Georgians had some success , such as the defeat of the staff convoy of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Tu-22M bomber , the forces of the parties were too unequal .
As Russian troops advanced and threatened the capital city of Tbilisi , Georgian authorities declared a unilateral ceasefire .
Georgia had launched peace initiatives , but Russian shelling continued .
Five days of war claimed hundreds of lives .
Thousands were left homeless .
Almost 20 % of the sovereign country is still occupied by Russian troops and Kremlin-controlled forces .
The political outcome of the war was Moscow ’ s de jure recognition of the “ independence ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ curtailment of previous peacekeeping formats , and the further militarization of the occupied territories .
Map of Georgia .
The occupied regions are marked in red / Source : Georgian Foreign Ministry .
But Russia has not stopped there , and today the “ creeping occupation ” continues : Russian border guards periodically move their positions deeper into Georgia , expanding the occupied territory .
Also , Russian special services and Russian-controlled gangs in the surrounding areas kidnap Georgian citizens who are sometimes returned for ransom , and sometimes brutally tortured and killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Georgia as hubs for aggression against Ukraine .
Volunteers of InformNapalm international intelligence community have collected a significant amount of information about servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces who took part in the aggression against Georgia or serve in the occupation forces .
In particular , data on soldiers and officers of the 7th Russian Military Base ( military unit 09332 ) based near Gudauta , and the 4th Military Base ( military unit 66431 ) based in Tskhinvali and Java .
Servicemen of these Russian military bases also took an active @ @ @ @ @ @ @ List of studies on aggression against Georgia List 672 – Identification data of Russians Involved in the Aggression against Georgia in August 2008 Personal Data Disclosed 140 Officers and Sergeants 4th Military Base of Russia in Georgia 22 Russian servicemen who participated in the war against Georgia 21 of 35 : Russian artillerymen of the 7th Military Base involved in shelling of Ukraine identified Service record of contract soldier from the 7th military base : Crimea , Donbas , Abkhazia Russia ’ s unpunished armed aggression against the sovereign state of Georgia in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world community laid the groundwork for the Kremlin ’ s further military adventures in Europe , the Middle East and Africa .
Russia ’ s appetites are growing and more and more countries are falling victim to a hybrid war involving both regular Russian forces and armed proxy groups .
For many years , Ukraine has remained the target of Russian aggression which potentially can also spread to Belarus and the Baltic states .
Only a consolidated reaction from the world community , the strengthening of economic sanctions and the support for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the aggressor to abandon its further plans .
The price of aggression must become unaffordable for Russia , and the top military-political leadership and war criminals must be punished fairly .
Because unpunished evil grows .
Translated by Svitlana Kemblowski .
Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome !
( Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter / Telegram InformNapalm is a fully independent community that does not receive any financial support from any country ’ s government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are funded by our volunteers , as well as our readers sponsoring our project with small donations .
You can also support the community by signing up for monthly mini-donations through the Patreon charitable platform .
Together we will achieve more !

In 2008, Russia attacked Georgia and unleashed the first in the 21st century war against another country in Europe. It began on the night of August 8, when Russian troops crossed the Georgian border. Since then, a bloody date has been engraved in history: 08.08.08. This day can be considered the first open military aggression in a series of subsequent wars led by Putin’s Russia in the 21st century to which the world community did not respond properly and in a timely manner. Therefore, new adventures of the Kremlin were realized in the future: the conquest of the Ukrainian Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine.
Prerequisites
The preconditions for Russia’s aggression against Georgia were laid in the 1990s, when the Moscow-backed separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared “independence” from Georgia. After the local wars, Russia imposed a truce on Georgia and placed its “peacekeepers” in the conflict zone. But Moscow did not adhere to the principle of neutrality, ignoring systematic ceasefire violations by South Ossetian “militia”. In addition, Russian passports were issued en masse to residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
On the eve of the invasion of Georgia, Russia conducted large-scale military exercises Caucasus-2008. Increasing the intensity of provocations, Moscow was waiting for a good excuse for open aggression. Their excuse was the Georgian army’s attempt to put an end to the Ossetian shelling and the creeping occupation of the border territories.
Photo from InformNapalm’s OSINT research on the participation of the 417th separate reconnaissance battalion of the Russian Armed Forces in the occupation of the cities of Gori and Tskhinvali in 2008
On August 8, Russia announced the protection of “its citizens” in Georgia. Russian military aircraft attacked Georgian positions. By Kremlin’s order, the Russian army bombed towns, ports and military facilities throughout Georgia. Russia launched an offensive from the territory of Abkhazia. In addition to the two separatist regions, the adjacent Georgian territories were occupied. The Russians almost completely destroyed the Georgian navy on the Black Sea.
Though the Georgians had some success, such as the defeat of the staff convoy of the Russian 58th Army and the destruction of the Tu-22M bomber, the forces of the parties were too unequal. As Russian troops advanced and threatened the capital city of Tbilisi, Georgian authorities declared a unilateral ceasefire. Georgia had launched peace initiatives, but Russian shelling continued.
Five days of war claimed hundreds of lives. Thousands were left homeless. Almost 20% of the sovereign country is still occupied by Russian troops and Kremlin-controlled forces. The political outcome of the war was Moscow’s de jure recognition of the “independence” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the curtailment of previous peacekeeping formats, and the further militarization of the occupied territories.
Map of Georgia. The occupied regions are marked in red / Source: Georgian Foreign Ministry.
“Creeping occupation” and kidnapping
But Russia has not stopped there, and today the “creeping occupation” continues: Russian border guards periodically move their positions deeper into Georgia, expanding the occupied territory. Also, Russian special services and Russian-controlled gangs in the surrounding areas kidnap Georgian citizens who are sometimes returned for ransom, and sometimes brutally tortured and killed.
Russia also uses the occupied territories of Georgia as hubs for aggression against Ukraine.
OSINT research of occupation
Volunteers of InformNapalm international intelligence community have collected a significant amount of information about servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces who took part in the aggression against Georgia or serve in the occupation forces. In particular, data on soldiers and officers of the 7th Russian Military Base (military unit 09332) based near Gudauta, and the 4th Military Base (military unit 66431) based in Tskhinvali and Java.
Servicemen of these Russian military bases also took an active part in the aggression against Ukraine.
List of studies on aggression against Georgia
List 672 – Identification data of Russians Involved in the Aggression against Georgia in August 2008
Personal Data Disclosed 140 Officers and Sergeants 4th Military Base of Russia in Georgia
22 Russian servicemen who participated in the war against Georgia
21 of 35: Russian artillerymen of the 7th Military Base involved in shelling of Ukraine identified
Service record of contract soldier from the 7th military base: Crimea, Donbas, Abkhazia
Journey of Russian Occupant: Gudauta – Rostov – Donbas – Khmeimim
Conclusions
Russia’s unpunished armed aggression against the sovereign state of Georgia in 2008 and the sluggish reaction of the world community laid the groundwork for the Kremlin’s further military adventures in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Russia’s appetites are growing and more and more countries are falling victim to a hybrid war involving both regular Russian forces and armed proxy groups. For many years, Ukraine has remained the target of Russian aggression which potentially can also spread to Belarus and the Baltic states. Only a consolidated reaction from the world community, the strengthening of economic sanctions and the support for the liberation of the occupied territories can force the aggressor to abandon its further plans. The price of aggression must become unaffordable for Russia, and the top military-political leadership and war criminals must be punished fairly. Because unpunished evil grows.
Translated by Svitlana Kemblowski. Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram
InformNapalm is a fully independent community that does not receive any financial support from any country’s government or large donors. Our information resources are funded by our volunteers, as well as our readers sponsoring our project with small donations. You can also support the community by signing up for monthly mini-donations through the Patreon charitable platform. Together we will achieve more!