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Mike Eckel

@mikeeckel.bsky.social
4.7K followers 1.5K following 1.4K posts

Opponent of Quiet Desperation. Contains Multitudes. In Search Of Meanness Or Sublimity. Former Moscow Correspondent. Vladivostok Fanboy. Chaotic Good. @RFERL

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Reposted by Mike Eckel
Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 21h
The White House accord on AI that was signed by all the big tech oligarchs today misspells United States as “Unites States.”
Document signed by Trump, Sundar Pichai
Google
Dario Amodei
Anthropic
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta

Greg Brockman
OpenAl

Elon Musk
XAI

Jensen Huang
nvidia “Unites States”
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Putin has been invited to attend the G20 summit in Miami in December, per Marco Rubio: "We think it's an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president, but also with other world leaders. we hope that's an invitation he'll accept."
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Come for the overwrought historical allusions to the Revolutionary War, Thoreau, Japanese POW camps and the Strait of Hormuz... stay for the confrontation involving weaponized turkeys. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/17/m...
bostonglobe.com
A Concord man believes he’s a victim of government tyranny. Town Hall says he’s the tyrant. - The Boston Globe
The core of the dispute is about one point of access to the Estabrook Woods — a pristine thousand acres of forest, much of which is privately owned, that can be reached by a trail that passes by Brook...
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Reposted by Mike Eckel
The Barents Observer @thebarentsobserver.com · 21/09/2026
Who is making money from Vostok Oil, the new major project in the Russian Arctic? An investigation by Arctida and Systema points to an alleged relative of Vladimir Putin, a Forbes-listed billionaire, and companies linked to Western oilfield services corporations. Partner story by Arctida
thebarentsobserver.com
Oil for the Inner Circle
Who profits from Vostok Oil — Rosneft’s largest project in the Arctic. An investigation by Arctida and Systema.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
UN-backed experts find “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
ohchr.org
Iran: Civilians trapped between extreme State repression and violations arising from devastating conflict with US, Israel, UN Fact-Finding Mission finds
GENEVA – Civilians in Iran are caught between gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed by their own Government and the nation’s deadly conflict with the United States and Is...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Last September, Donald Trump Jr and his then fiancee Bettina Anderson joined Umar Kremlev 👇at a boxing forum in Istanbul. "I am proud to call Umar not only a leader but a friend." About 8 months later, Kremlev sponsored the Bahamas island after-party for the newlyweds.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"I am proud to call Umar not only a leader but a friend." Donald Trump Jr. September 29, 2025. www.iba.sport/news/a-turni...
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Reposted by Mike Eckel
The Barents Observer @thebarentsobserver.com · 09/09/2026
First known strike against processing plant in Russia's main natural gas production region, Yamalo-Nenets AO, some 2,800 km from the border with Ukraine.
thebarentsobserver.com
Drone strike on Novy Urengoy gas plant
A plant processing gas condensate is on fire in the heart of Russia’s Arctic gas-producing region, more than 2,800 kilometres from the border with Ukraine.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Ukrainian rescuers recovering bodies of victims from a sizable Russian drone/missile strike on Kyiv. Death toll currently stands at 2; at least 10 people wounded, per city mayor. (Pretty clear signal from the Kremlin as to its stance regarding the new US peace effort)
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Putin greeting White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin earlier today. (Kirill Dmitriev also visible greeting Putin.) Witkoff has met Putin at least 6 times prior. The Americans are later scheduled to travel to Kyiv for the first time.
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Reposted by Mike Eckel
The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 28/08/2026
⚡️Warehouses targeted outside Kyiv in all-day drone attack as Russian forces kill at least 10, injure 43 over past day across Ukraine. Russia launched 164 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine, half of them jet-powered, overnight on Aug. 28, according to the Air Force.
kyivindependent.com
Warehouses targeted outside Kyiv in all-day drone attack as Russian forces kill at least 10, injure 43 over past day across Ukraine
Russia launched 164 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine, half of them jet-powered, overnight on Aug. 28, according to the Air Force. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 137 drones, while strikes were re...
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Reposted by Mike Eckel
The Barents Observer @thebarentsobserver.com · 24/08/2026
Russia readies for Burevestnik test season at Novaya Zemlya.
thebarentsobserver.com
Russia readies for Burevestnik test season
Aircraft and ships are now in place around Novaya Zemlya, apparently preparing to monitor test launches of Russia's nuclear-powered cruise missile, which is believed to leave a radioactive trail durin...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Gut-wrenching video showing the horrors being inflicted on Ukrainian civilians by Russian missile attacks. (Video by @radiosvoboda.org.web.brid.gy)
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Russia pummelled Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight with ballistic missiles and drones; more than 14 people killed; several dozen reported wounded. (Ukraine is desperate for interceptors for its Patriot missile defenses).
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The Trump administration "wants to compartmentalize the two wars"-- Ukraine and Iran, said @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social. Ukraine's strikes on Caspian Sea cargo ships purportedly carrying military cargo between Russia and Iran makes that harder. www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-ir...
rferl.org
Ukraine Hits At Iran. In The Caspian Sea, Things Get Even Messier.
Russia’s Iranian-designed drones have ravaged Ukrainian forces in Moscow’s all-out war. As far as Ukraine is concerned, that means cargo ships plying the Caspian Sea with Iranian military goods are fa...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
During a (highly) televised meeting with naval officers, Putin delivered a stemwinder (for close to an hour) of a history lesson about the beginnings of the war on Ukraine, United Nations, NATO (and many other things):
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
more eyewitness video of one of the St. Petersburg Wildberries warehouses hit by Ukrainian drones overnight.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
🧐
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Ukrainian drones hit THREE more Wildberries facilities/warehouses overnight: in the St. Petersburg region and in occupied Crimea. Eight facilities in total have been hit over the past week. t.me/rwb_press_se... (St. Petersburg region 👇)
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Ukraine has hit two more Wildberries warehouses with drones: in southern Krasnodar and Stavropol regions. It's the third such attack on the Russian online retailer's logistics centers this week. (Source: t.me/ostorozhno_n...)
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Reposted by Mike Eckel
Raphael Satter @raphae.li · 17/07/2026
Nice @mikeeckel.bsky.social investigation here into Denis Obrezko, the alleged Russian government-sponsored hacker being prosecuted in Boston, with details on how he got caught and context around his extradition.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
It's unusual for former FSB employees to be arrested outside of Russia (and extradited) these days. But what's also unusual about Denis Obrezko -- charged with the "Laundry Bear" hack of computers in the U.S. and Europe-- is how careless he appeared to have been online. www.rferl.org/a/russia-hac...
rferl.org
An Alleged Russian FSB Hacker Traveled To Thailand. Now He's Facing 10 Years In A US Prison.
What’s unusual about the arrest of Denis Obrezko is how relatively rare it is for Russian hackers to be detained abroad these days. What’s also unusual: Obrezko used to work for Russia’s FSB. And it a...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham had literally just returned from Ukraine, where he was visiting drone factories and defense tech manufacturers.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Russia pummeled Kyiv yet again overnight; at least 11 people killed, nearly 5 dozen wounded."We just got the windows replaced, and now it's happened again," one woman said. "It's just horrible, my God. There are so many children here. How long does this have to go on?"
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
At least 11 people killed in Kyiv, 5 dozen wounded in a major Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv overnight. Rescuers searching rubble for survivors; death toll expected to climb. Video by @radiosvoboda.org.web.brid.gy
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Putin's approval rating falls to its lowest level in a year, per latest survey (released Friday) by state-affiliated pollster FOM. (might be the lowest level since the launch of the Ukraine war in 2022).
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
A Russian ammunition depot near Belgorod exploded in spectacular fashion today. No casualties yet reported; unclear if was accidental or the result of Ukrainian actions, drone or otherwise. Depot reportedly housed Iskander missiles. (source: t.me/ukrinformator)
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Frederick Flott had a distinguished career in the US government: State Dept diplomat, CIA officer, USArmy officer (also one-time interpreter for Robert F. Kennedy). Was he also a spy for the KGB? A mystery dug up in the Mitrokhin Archive at Cambridge. www.rferl.org/a/russia-kgb...
rferl.org
The KGB's Man At State, Or A Double Agent? A Spy Mystery In A Smuggled Cold War Archive.
Frederick Flott, who died in 2006, was a longtime State Department diplomat around the world, as well as a CIA agent who worked under diplomatic cover. For years, the KGB tried to recruit him. Did it ...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Death toll nationwide from Russia's overnight attack now stands at 18 (11 killed in Dnipro; 5 in Kyiv); more than 100 wounded. Rescuers still searching debris for survivors. Kyiv 👇
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Aftermath of Russian attack on Kyiv; death toll nationwide stands at 13; more than 100 wounded. Photos by Serhii Nuzhnenko
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Russia hammered Ukraine (again) overnight with scores of drones and missile. At least 4 killed in Kyiv and 6 in Dnipro; dozens wounded. Emergency workers searching rubble for survivors. It's the second major attack on Kyiv in less than a month.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed the start of the Russian war on Ukraine, the head of Britain's main signals intelligence agency said.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Russia's Defense Ministry also states the Oreshnik was used in retaliation for "Ukraine's terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure." That's likely reference to an attack last week on a dormitory in Russian-occupied Luhansk. Putin alleged Ukraine attacked it deliberately, calling it "terrorism."
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Ukraine's Zelenskyy confirming that Russia fired its new hypersonic missile -- the Oreshnik -- at the Kyiv region. It's the 3rd time Russia has used the missile on Ukraine -- and first time it's been used against the Ukrainian region. Russia's Defense Ministry also confirms. t.me/tass_agency/...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Russia hammered Kyiv overnight with drones and missiles, biggest aerial assault in some time. At least 2 people confirmed killed; 4 dozen wounded, per city mayor. Death toll expected to rise.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
"Right now the general situation for the Ukrainians seems to be better than it has been in several years, though several significant dangers remain." @inkvisiit.bsky.social www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-ru...
rferl.org
On Springtime Battlefield In War's Fifth Year, Ukraine Claws Back Territory
Four-plus years into Russia’s all-out invasion, Ukraine has battled Moscow’s forces to a standstill. In fact, by some accounts, Ukraine has even recaptured territory, offering Kyiv a glimmer of optimi...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Putin now arriving in Beijing on a two-day state visit, for meetings with Xi Jinping (among others). Visit comes less than a week after Trump was in town. (That's Foreign Minister Wang Yi greeting him according to TASS)
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Reposted by Mike Eckel
Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 17/05/2026
Defense Sec Hegseth speaking via video at this event, closing his remarks w/a story about George Washington praying at Valley Forge. Note: Washington was a person of faith, but historians have long dismissed the story of him praying at Valley Forge as a fabrication. religionnews.com/2025/09/29/c...
Hegseth speaks at Rededicate America event.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Moscow and suburbs hit by at least 120 Ukrainian drones-- biggest attack in more than a year, per Mayor Sobyanin. At least 3 reported killed; more than a dozen wounded. In total, more than 550 Ukrainian drones tracked by Russian air defenses. t.me/moscow_tass/...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Death toll from Russia's barrage of Kyiv (and other Ukrainian cities) is up to 24, with 4 dozen wounded, per emergency officials. Kyiv worst hit. The two-day drone-and-missile assault (May13-14) was one of the worst in months.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
👀Russia's prison service says the Russian inmate population has fallen 39 percent since the start of the all-out war on Ukraine, per @istories.bsky.social. The drop is due overwhelmingly to inmates being coerced to sign up to fight in Ukraine. t.me/istories_med...
t.me
Важные истории
ФСИН впервые признала, что число заключенных в России снижается из-за набора контрактников. Ранее это объясняли гуманизацией законодательства Число заключенных в России снизилось на 39,3% за время во...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Russian authorities have formally filed charges of large-scale fraud against Denis Butsaev, per TASS. The former deputy natural resources minister fled Russia shortly after resigning on Apr. 23. Reportedly, he's now hanging out in the United States. tass.ru/proisshestvi...
tass.ru
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Death toll now up to 5 in Kyiv, dozens wounded, per officials.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Aftermath of overnight Russian strikes on Kyiv. Death to stands at 3, rescuers are searching rubble for more survivors.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Andriy Yermak -- the former top advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy -- has been ordered jailed on ~$3 million bail, pending trial in a sweeping corruption case involving luxury real-estate. (Zelenskyy has not been implicated, investigators say). t.me/svoboda_radi...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Kyiv was hammered by Russian drones (and missiles) overnight, at least 1 person killed, dozens wounded, per emergency officials. Authorities say nearly 670 drones (plus ~60 missiles) were fired overnight; a day after a similarly huge barrage.
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Putin's entire speech, published by the Kremlin: kremlin.ru/events/presi...
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Putin name-checks NATO pretty early into his Victory Day speech: The soldiers of the Special Military Operation [a.k.a. the Ukraine war] "are faced with an aggressive force that is armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc, and despite this, our fighters are advancing."
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, on parade wearing civilian clothes, unlike his predecessor, Sergei Shoigu, who always wore a military uniform (despite him not officially being a military officer). Noteworthy only because Shoigu may be in a bit of political hot water these days
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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
The start of the Red Square Victory Day parade. The presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are on the tribunal with Putin as well (their participation was announced at the last minute ... maybe for security concerns)
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