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VelvetBlade

@velvetblade.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.4K following 113 posts

Writer of written things. Visual biographer of stick figures. Coffee = consciousness. At the cusp of geopolitics &… well… everything. ❤️ UKRAINE ❤️

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Reposted by VelvetBlade
MAKS 26 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
VERY BIG TOP NEWS TODAY 🔝 🔥 BAVOVNA at Ozon logistics hub in Chapayevsk 💥 Drones hit Novokuybyshevsk refinery. 🔥 AFU hit tanks with fuel and lubricants of Yeisk oil-tanking complex in the Krasnodar Krai. 1/3
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The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 22/08/2026
⚡️Ukraine hits Russian oil terminal in Krasnodar Krai, General Staff says. The Yeysk oil terminal supplies fuel to the Russian armed forces, according to the Ukrainian military.
kyivindependent.com
Ukraine hits Russian oil terminal in Krasnodar Krai, General Staff says
The Yeysk oil terminal supplies fuel to the Russian armed forces, according to the Ukrainian military.
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VelvetBlade @velvetblade.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
A cause of fentanyl death decline per Brookings: "It could be that the people who were already ​vulnerable had already died," Felbab-Brown said. This is how absurd things have become. This entire article. www.reuters.com/world/china/...
reuters.com
EXCLUSIVE: Under Patel, FBI forges unprecedented law enforcement ties with China, Russia
FBI Director Kash Patel says he has forged new law enforcement partnerships with China and Russia, two longtime U.S. rivals, over the past year in hopes of gaining allies in combating transnational cr...
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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
The first waves of future amphibious assaults may arrive without a single human aboard. warontherocks.com/the-first-wa...
warontherocks.com
The First Waves of Amphibious Assault Will Be Unmanned
In the Pacific War, the U.S. Navy’s underwater demolition teams prepared the way for U.S. and allied amphibious landings on enemy-held islands. Through
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GeoConfirmed @geoconfirmed.org · 29/07/2026
GeoConfirmed Conflictmap UKR. Did you know you can search on our map? and filter the results to show only what you’re looking for? Below: all GeoConfirmed Ukrainian strikes on substations in Crimea since the beginning of June. More information: geoconfirmed.org/map/ukraine
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BenB 🇺🇦 @benborges.xyz · 29/07/2026
Explosions heard in Kyiv as Russia launches large-scale ballistic missile attack across Ukraine Russia launched a wave of ballistic missile attacks across Ukraine in the early hours of July 30, with multiple explosions reported in Kyiv just hours after President Volodymyr Zele...
kyivindependent.com
Explosions heard in Kyiv as Russia launches large-scale ballistic missile attack across Ukraine
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Tim White @twmcltd.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Another view of the strike on the Perm refinery. Geolocators say the technical overpasses between the critical AVT-4 + AVT-5 units are on fire.
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Tim White @twmcltd.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Ukraine's drones were active and successful again this morning. In Perm, a pinpoint hit on the oil refinery. The LUKOIL-Permnaftoorgsintez is one of the largest refineries in Russia.
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Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
2/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia continues to prepare for involuntary reserve call-ups and is preparing to receive about 30,000 new North Korean troops amid staggeringly high battlefield casualties. Russia is expanding its gasoline export ban until the end of 2026.
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Anton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
More details from the Security Service of Ukraine. 🔹️In the Caspian Sea, drones of the SSU hit: ▪️ an oil production platform of the "Filanovsky" field; ▪️ the cargo vessel Port Olya 2 &the dry cargo ship Begey -both under international sanctions&used to transport military cargo between Iran and Russia
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Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 25/07/2026
Russia’s censorship crackdown is reviving ‘tamizdat’ — a Cold War term for books smuggled out of the Soviet Union for publication abroad.
bloom.bg
Russia’s New Censorship Fuels a Literary Resistance Abroad
As censorship intensifies in Russia, exiled writers and publishers are creating a parallel literary network beyond the Kremlin’s reach.
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Euronews @euronews.com · 25/07/2026
Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruta said "the impact site and the drone wreckage are currently being analysed" but that "the pattern is consistent with previous confirmed flights by Russian drones." #EuropeNews
l.euronews.com
Second drone shot down over Romanian airspace in less than 24 hours
Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruta said "the impact site and the drone wreckage are currently being analysed" but that "the pattern is consistent with previous confirmed flights by Russian drones."
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WIRED @wired.com · 25/07/2026
Plus: Russian hackers are trying to steal US nuclear scientists’ emails, the State Department bans known scammers from entering the United States, and more. www.wired.com/story/securi...
wired.com
The OpenAI Models That Hacked Hugging Face Were ‘Active on the Internet’ for Days
Plus: Russian hackers are trying to steal US nuclear scientists’ emails, the State Department bans known scammers from entering the United States, and more.
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VelvetBlade @velvetblade.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
One of the worst things Twixter did is allow accounts with 300 followers pay to rant endlessly believing Musk will pay them.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 07/07/2026
Public lands grazing is overseen by a system that heavily subsidizes some of the wealthiest Americans but does little to address its harms to the environment, ProPublica and @highcountrynews.org found in a report published last year.
propublica.org
The Biggest Takeaways From Our Investigation Into Grazing on Public Lands
Livestock grazing is allowed across 240 million acres of federal land. Our investigation revealed the subsidies propping up ranching, its impact on the environment and the politics underpinning the sy...
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VelvetBlade @velvetblade.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Moving bison for grazing is a stupid corrupt decision.
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Rapporteur @euractiv.com · 07/07/2026
EXCLUSIVE: OSCE warns against Russia’s ‘weaponisation of Interpol’
dlvr.it
EXCLUSIVE: OSCE warns against Russia’s ‘weaponisation of Interpol’
Russia uses international police cooperation mechanisms to target European officials, according to the resolution
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Nigel Farage was 'slam dunk' to become prime minister until he took on a series of deeply polarising positions and an undeclared £5mn gift.
Kate Forbes
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Guessing Farage will step back from politics until 18 months before the next general election when he'll reappear with a new party, probably called Return or something equally unimaginative.
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VelvetBlade @velvetblade.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
WTF is wrong over at the @theguardian.com ? Calling a LePen anything “gut wrenching” is bias, sensationalist & smacks more like a gossip rag than a respected paper. “Intriguing verdict that poses gut-wrenching personal dilemma for Le Pen”
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🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 @specialkhersoncat.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Ukrainian farmer tractor driver working in his field holding a drone detector next to him
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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
French Rafales rotating through European airfields with nuclear cruise missiles would complicate Russian targeting in ways that didn't exist a year ago. warontherocks.com/macrons-nucl...
warontherocks.com
Macron’s Nuclear Gamble: Building a European Deterrent Faster Than French Politics Can Tear Down
In early March, French President Emmanuel Macron stood at a windswept submarine base on the Breton coast and quietly buried four decades of French nuclear
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Once upon a time, while studying disinfo about the civil war in Syria, I posted my thoughts on Gabbard as a down-the-rabbit-hole serial repeater of Russian-Iranian-Syrian propaganda. Then Jack Dorsey jumped into my DMs telling me I had it all wrong. Strange times. And yet still not as weird as this.
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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Three years of war have taught Ukraine things about combat medicine that no exercise replicates. warontherocks.com/good-medicin...
warontherocks.com
Good Medicine Is Combat Power: Clinical Innovation and the Lessons of the Russo-Ukrainian War
War is a brutal driver of medical innovation. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has forced clinicians and commanders alike to confront a hard truth:
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NOELREPORTS @noelreports.com · 23/06/2026
Updated analysis is shedding light on the damage caused to Bryansk’s Kremniy EL plant following the May 10 attack. The facility was reportedly hit by seven cruise missiles and is a major supplier of microelectronics used across Russia’s defense-industrial sector. #Russia
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ChrisO_wiki @chriso-wiki.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
1/ Dozens of specialist workers were likely killed or wounded in today's Ukrainian strike in Voronezh. Russian warbloggers are dismayed, complain that the Russian government is ignoring it, and call for London to be nuked in retaliation. ⬇️ bsky.app/profile/anto...
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VelvetBlade @velvetblade.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Ukrainian trolling will never get old ❤️
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Dutch_OsintGuy @dutchosintguy.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Taking the new biscuit pro for a (war)drive. Wifi / BLE sniffing is a highly overlooked technique within #osint research and investigations. Nerds gonna nerd 😎
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Ragnar Bjartur Gudmundsson 🇺🇦 @ragnarbjartur.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
⚡️ RUSSIA'S WAR AGAINST UKRAINE — JUN 21, 2026 (1/3) ■ Engagements and casualties below the 7-day average; no territorial changes confirmed ■ ... 📈 See dashboard for full data: datastudio.google.com/s/h-yFUHnouR0
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MAKS 26 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
😡 SBU and police stopped a terrorist attack in the center of Kyiv - two FSB agents were detained Two residents of Kyiv recruited by the FSB planted a homemade incendiary device under a generator near an administrative building in the Shevchenkivskyi district.
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VelvetBlade @velvetblade.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
😐 BBC decided to create a dynamic paywall so they can charge visitors from the US. VPN should get around this BS. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
BBC website in US launches paid subscription service
US-based users will have to pay $49.99 (£36) a year for access to most BBC News content.
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WarTranslated (Dmitri) @wartranslated.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Today in Paris, during the Eurosatory-2026 exhibition, a screen positioned in front of Fire Point missiles displayed footage of strikes on Moscow.
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Ramalina @ramalina.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
bsky.app/profile/wart...
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Tim White @twmcltd.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
1/4 Mospocalypse! Russia's capital city has come under the biggest attack of the war so far. 1,573 days after Putin was told he would be celebrating the capture of Kyiv, it's Moscow which woke up to this reality this morning.
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BenB 🇺🇦 @benborges.xyz · 12/06/2026
'High probability' of Russian missile launch from Oreshnik site over next day, Ukraine's Air Force warns The launch is expected to come from the Kapustin Yar launch site in southern Russia, the Air Force said on Telegram.
kyivindependent.com
'High probability' of Russian missile launch from Oreshnik site over next day, Ukraine's Air Force warns
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The Insider @theins.press · 29/05/2026
“Pashinyan’s illness,” “looming war with Russia,” and “gas chambers on Mount Ararat”: Moscow floods Armenia with disinfo ahead of elections The Insider identifies the people spreading the falsehoods on behalf of the Kremlin before the June 7 vote.
theins.press
“Pashinyan’s illness,” “looming war with Russia,” and “gas chambers on Mount Ararat”: Moscow floods Armenia with disinfo ahead of elections
Ahead of Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections, the country has faced an unprecedented wave of Kremlin-backed disinformation. The Insider has identified the…
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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
What happens when an AI agent can order synthetic DNA, send it to a cloud lab, and assemble something without a human ever touching it? Listen here: pod.link/1818133762/e...
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The Insider @theins.press · 25/05/2026
Strong Armenia party leader Samvel Karapetyan revealed as nominal owner of villa on French Riviera used by Putin’s partner Alina Kabaeva The billionaire's party is running in Armenia’s upcoming June 7 parliamentary elections with the Kremlin’s backing.
theins.press
Strong Armenia party leader Samvel Karapetyan revealed as nominal owner of villa on French Riviera used by Putin’s partner Alina Kabaeva
The Insider’s latest investigation has found that Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, whose Strong Armenia party is competing in the country’s…
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Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
3/ The Russian government’s accusations that Ukrainian forces violated international law are an attempt to distract from Russian forces’ systematic violations of international law. Russian forces launched 262 drones toward Ukraine overnight.
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Euronews @euronews.com · 26/05/2026
Spain's National Police found 286,070 euros in cash at the home of businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, a friend of former prime minister Rodríguez Zapatero and alleged front man in the court investigation. #EuropeNews
l.euronews.com
Jewelry, watches and cash in golf bags seized in Zapatero case
Spain's National Police found 286,070 euros in cash at the home of businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, a friend of former prime minister Rodríguez Zapatero and alleged front man in the court investigation.
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Jason Avant @jasonavant.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
"How do you know she's a witch?" "She turned me into a drone!" "A drone?" "I got better..."
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Mick Ryan @warinthefuture.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
“U.S. pressure on Ukraine is encouraging Putin to keep fighting and refrain from making compromises necessary for an enduring peace….The way to end this war is not to rescue Putin from a failing campaign, but to help Ukraine make it fail faster.” wapo.st/4rS0tF6
wapo.st
Opinion | Putin is failing. These charts prove it.
Data from the battlefield show Ukraine is holding its own.
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The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 06/03/2026
⚡️Fox News mislabels Ukrainian Shahed-drone intercept footage as part of American ‘high-tech arsenal’ destroying Iranian drones. According to Ukrainian drone manufacturer Wild Hornets, the footage used by Fox featured STING — a Ukrainian interceptor drone used to destroy Shahed-type drones.
kyivindependent.com
Fox News mislabels Ukrainian Shahed-drone intercept footage as part of American ‘high-tech arsenal’ destroying Iranian drones
U.S. media outlet Fox News aired footage of a Ukrainian interceptor drone destroying a Shahed-type drone but presented the video as showing American drones countering Iranian drones in the Middle East...
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C.R. Gill Art @catalyst-artworks.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Finished another from last year. Oil paint on canvas. #sciart #oilpainting #fungi #mushrooms #skull #stilllife
Oil painting of a dog skull in profile with chestnut mushrooms on a green cloth against a brown background.  There is a big cluster of orange-brown mushrooms at the back of the skull where the brain would be. One mushroom is stocking up through the eye socket. A small bundle of the same mushrooms peek out from under the jaw.
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BenB 🇺🇦 @benborges.xyz · 22/01/2026
Exclusive: American, European microchips found in Russia's latest missile-like drone On one of the first days of 2026, the Ukrainian military downed a Russian drone of a new type. It was identified as Geran-5, a fast and long-range drone. It shares the name with the Russian co...
kyivindependent.com
Exclusive: American, European microchips found in Russia's latest missile-like drone
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OSINTtechnical @osinttechnical.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Overnight, Ukrainian attack drones and missiles successfully hit Russia's Taman port on the Black Sea, setting the massive LPG and coal shipment facility ablaze.
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Brooke @brooklynmarie.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Oh man I got this air quality analyzer thing and wow I'm not sure this was a good idea
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
This guy went to work today, put a mask on, kidnapped a 5 year old child, and then used him as bait so both he and his father could be sent behind bars
A masked ICE officials with a 5 year old child
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Robert Shrimsley @robertshrimsley.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
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Debbie Hairy Fella 🎗️🔔🇺🇦 🇮🇱 🇨🇦 @mimchinchilla.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Poland is so based
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