Almost one MILLION Brits have cancelled their subscriptions to streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ so far this year amid the cost-of-living crisis, report reveals.
Almost one million British people have cancelled their subscriptions to video streaming services so far this year amid the cost-of-living crisis, a new report reveals. According to London analytics firm Kantar, the number of UK homes with at least one paid-for video subscription fell by 937,000 between January and September. In the last quarter alone – between July and September – 234,000 British households have axed there video streaming services..
The public are being forced to cancel subscriptions as they struggle to make ends meet with electric, gas, food, petrol and other more necessary components.. But the public is also a victim of 'content fatigue' – a sense of being overwhelmed by the amount of content available to stream. If you work you will definitely not be able to watch everything available as some series run into hundreds of episodes ranging from 30 minutes to 1 hour in length...
To make matters worse Netflix has announced it's intentions to release its new ad-supported tier which will cost £4.99 per month and be arriving in November. The new plan will cost $7.99/£4.99 per month. European pricing varies by country, with pricing starting from €4.99 per month in Germany. The entire point of an ad-supported plan is to be able to offer a cheaper subscription price, and that ads will not be shown to subscribers on the Basic, Standard or Premium plans. Netflix has stated that there will be four to five minutes of adverts per hour, each lasting between 15 and 30 seconds. I would dislike adverts inbetween a movie and could only remove them by paying for a higher subscription.. There will be a mix of pre-roll and mid-roll ads – although allegedly new Netflix movie releases will only include pre-roll ads. Netflix has not confirmed the frequency of these ads, but in a screenshot we can see that at least two pre-roll ads are stacked.
Despite being the world's biggest streaming service, in the UK, Netflix took just a 2.1 per cent share of new subscribers from July and September.
Netflix has stated that ads will have “broad targeting capabilities by country and genre”, and also be appropriate for the age-rating of the content playing. Following the launch of the Basic with Ads tier, Netflix will upgrade the quality of Basic streaming to 720p/HD – previously this was capped at 480p/SD.
News Article 2
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Police have closed the Dartford Crossing after two people climbed the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at 3.50am
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Essex Police says they are dealing with the incident 'as quickly and as safely' as possible, but there are long delays
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Just Stop Oil has released a statement saying the bridge could be closed for 'at least 24 hours' by the protest:
Just Stop Oil protesters have closed the Dartford Crossing after scaling the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in the eco mob's first activist stunt outside London. Police have closed a major road bridge linking Essex and Kent after a report that two people have "climbed onto the bridge and are currently at height". These were a 33-year-old teacher and a 39-year-old bridge engineer from Just Stop Oil, who vowed to stay up there and keep the bridge closed for 24 hours. This is the first time during the group's October disruption that activists have ventured outside of central London, where their go-to mode of protest has been to glue themselves to the capital's main roads.
Enraged motorists drag Just Stop oil demonstrators from roads as protests continue.
Just Stop Oil give Heinz some free advertising as they campaign against the extraction of fossil fuels. Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting was targeted. Activists of “Just Stop Oil” glue their hands to the wall after throwing soup at van Gogh’s painting “Sunflowers” at the National Gallery in London, Britain October 14, 2022.
Just Stop Oil | Reuters
Activists from the Just Stop Oil group have launched a 15th day of protests by glueing themselves to a road in east London. Shortly after midday 29 supporters of the group blocked traffic at the junction of Shoreditch High Street and Great Eastern Street causing gridlock on the surrounding roads. The activists clashed with a motorist who said he was trying to get his partner to hospital as they blocked the road.
Animal Rebellion protesters poured milk onto shop floors, including at Harrods, Waitrose, and Fortnum & Mason, in a coordinated protest just before noon on Saturday, 15 October. The group organised the action in stores in London, Manchester, Norwich, and Edinburgh. Activists said the protest was carried out to call for a transition to a plant-based food system. “A plant-based future would see a beautiful world for us all, thriving with nature and life," Skylar Sharples, one of the protesters at Harrods said. “The steps to properly support farmers in this transition need to begin now.”
Just Stop Oil activists climb Dartford Crossing QEII Bridge
Just Stop Oil activists climb Dartford Crossing QEII Bridge
Article 3
The A282 Dartford Crossing is currently the only way to cross the Thames east of London by road.
The 2.8km-long (1.7 mile) QEII bridge southbound, and two 1.4km-long (0.8 mile) tunnels northbound link Essex and Kent.
The A282 also connects directly at both ends with the M25 London Orbital Motorway, one of the busiest motorways in Europe.
SONAR PICTURES 2
The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet (15,166.6 meters). It can carry nuclear or precision guided conventional ordnance with worldwide precision navigation capability.
Features
In a conventional conflict, the B-52 can perform strategic attack, close-air support, air interdiction, offensive counter-air and maritime operations.
During Desert Storm, B-52s delivered 40 percent of all the weapons dropped by coalition forces. It is highly effective when used for ocean surveillance and can assist the U.S. Navy in anti-ship and mine-laying operations. In two hours, two B-52s can monitor 140,000 square miles (364,000 square kilometers) of ocean surface.
US B-52 long-range bombers and up to 60 aircraft will take part in training flights over Belgium, the UK and the North Sea today as part of NATO's annual nuclear exercise 'Steadfast Noon'. The nuclear drills - which do not involve live bombs - come after Vladimir Putin said that a direct clash between NATO and Russian troops would lead to 'global catastrophe'. Belgium is hosting the drills that will involve 14 countries and up to 60 aircraft, including the most advanced fighter jets on the market and U.S. B-52 long-range bombers that will fly in from Minot Air Base in North Dakota.
Satellite images reveal Vladimir Putin has moved 11 Tu-160 bombers close to the Finnish and Norwegian borders. And he has repeatedly warned the West his threats of a nuclear attack are “not a bluff”. NATO’s nuclear arsenal stands at 4,178 weapons and Russia’s at 5,977. Unusually, NATO chose to highlight in advance the fact the exercise was coming up – in a bid to ensure transparency and reduce the risk of any misunderstanding about the top-secret and highly sensitive exercise. After a week of heavy bombing, President Putin has said most designated targets had been hit, adding that it was not his aim to destroy Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the warpath with Ukraine and the whole of the West.
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered by a Connecticut jury Wednesday 12/17/2022 to pay nearly 1 billion dollars to the relatives of eight Sandy Hook victims and a former FBI agent. That's a decision a Connecticut jury reached Wednesday after three weeks of testimony. Families who lost loved ones during the 2012 school shooting filled the gallery each day and took turns recounting how Jones's lies about the mass shooting compounded their grief. In August, a Texas jury ordered Jones to pay more than 45 million in damages for calling the attack that killed 21st graders and six staffers a hoax. He also faces a third trial again in Texas. As Connecticut Public Radio's Frankie Graziano reports, it's the price for a decade of lies.
Alex Jones speaks to the media outside Waterbury Superior Court during his trial in Waterbury, Conn., on Sept. 21.
Photographer: Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images
Memorable moments from the Alex Jones trial
Memorable moments from the Alex Jones trial
All Videos
Alex Jones Ordered to Pay Nearly $1 BILLION to Sandy Hook Families | NBC New York.
Experts say the Sandy Hook families likely face a long fight ahead as they try to collect the $965 million awarded to them by a jury in Connecticut.
But Jones has given no signs of tempering his bluster — a headline on his website Thursday (13/17/2022) blared that the “show trial verdict signals the death of free speech.” And lawyers say it’s not certain that relatives who lost loved ones in the mass shooting will see the full dollar amount after promised appeals and a bankruptcy proceeding play out.
Jones has maintained he doesn’t have the kind of money being sought by the family members suing him. Jones has repeatedly said he doesn’t even have $2 million to his name.
Victims of the deadly shooting are pictured here. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14th, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States..
What’s next?
The judge in Connecticut will soon decide the amounts of punitive damages, which will be added to the $965 million. After that, Jones can formally appeal.
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said on MSNBC after the verdict that they were prepared for the long haul.
“Whatever assets he has,” Mattei said, “these families are going to chase him to ground and enforce every cent of this verdict against him.”
SONAR PICTURES 3
Scotland could have its own CURRENCY in five years: Nicola Sturgeon promises 'Scottish pound' and no passports to visit England with her independence bid - but admits there will be border checks
NICOLA STURGEON
An independent Scotland would keep the pound and move to its own currency when the "time is right".
Nicola Sturgeon outlined the view at a briefing giving updated arguments for what could happen if the country voted for independence.
The first minister said a timetable for creating a Scottish currency would not be set, however, use of sterling would be as "short as practicable".
The UK government has said now is not the time to discuss independence.
A Scottish government paper has set out proposals for key issues, such as currency, trade and border crossings.
Nicola Sturgeon's new prospectus paper for an independent Scotland says it won't be easy path
Nicola Sturgeon's new prospectus paper for an independent Scotland says it won't be easy path.
Article 6
Wheelie bins could be a thing of the past as UK councils are considering whether to roll out European-style 'super-bins' after a successful launch in Liverpool UK.
Already a common feature in European cities such as Amsterdam, the super-bins can hold up to 5,000 litres of waste - equating to a week's worth of rubbish from 20 houses - in containers below the street.
Made from steel or reinforced plastic to reduce odours, the subterranean super-bins are filled by a pedal system at street-level and unloaded into a lorry by a crane-drop mechanism when full.
It is hoped the 'underground revolution', first proposed by Liverpool City Council earlier this year, could eliminate black bin bag waste, known for causing litter and attracting rats, flies and bad smells. I must add having your bins stolen or filled up by other home owners is a nuisance, including bins being blown over in strong winds..
An underground bin system was previously installed in Cambridge city centre, but this is the first in Britain to be installed in a built-up residential area.
The super-bins are now set to be installed at 12 sites in the first phase of a two-year £1.5million rollout across Liverpool.
The city's council said the scheme will 'create a cleaner waste solution for 27,000 terraced households, in hundreds of inner-city streets, which do not have the space to use a wheelie bin'.
Sights such as this could be a thing of the past..
Could this be the future of house hold waste disposal..
Joanne Anderson, mayor of Liverpool, said: 'I want Liverpool to be a zero-waste city and to achieve that we need to be smarter in how we enable people to dispose of what they generate in their homes.
'These subterranean super-bins are going to make a huge difference to the quality of life for thousands of families across huge swathes of our inner-city neighbourhoods.'
90 other counties are also considering super bin technology.. Councillor Liam Robinson added: 'These bins will have an immediate and dramatic impact on the cleanliness of our streets and as an added bonus it will save the council a huge amount of time and money for many years to come.'
Article 7
Glastonbury - 2019
Music lovers have shown there disappointment at Glastonbury organisers for pricing out 'ordinary people' and making it a festival 'exclusively for the wealthy' after ticket prices for 2023 rose by a huge 25% to £340. Standard tickets will cost £335 plus a £5 booking fee, with £50 as a deposit and the balance due by the first week of April. The last time tickets went on general sale was in 2019, when they cost £248 plus a £5 booking fee for the 2019 event, 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to the Coranavirus pandemic. The 2022 festival took place between 22 and 26 June. The three headlining acts were Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar and Paul McCartney, with Diana Ross performing in the legends slot. General admission tickets for the festival cost £280 for the full weekend and sold out.
Emily Eavis
Defending the price hike, festival organizer Emily Eavis posted on Twitter: “We have tried very hard to minimise the increase in price on the ticket but we’re facing enormous rises in the costs of running this vast show, while still recovering from the huge financial impact of two years without a festival because of COVID.”
The U.K. is undergoing severe inflation with prices rising an average of 9.9% compared to 2021, well above the Bank of England’s 2% target. The Bank expects the rate of inflation to peak at 11% in October and then remain above 10% for a few months before starting to come down, but warns that the prices of some things may stay at a high level compared with the past.
Eavis said that the deposit of £50 remains the same as 2022 with the balance not due until April 2023.
“In these incredibly challenging times, we want to continue to bring you the best show in the world and provide our charities with funds which are more vital than ever,” Eavis said. “We are, as always, hugely appreciative of your ongoing support.”
Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis went on social media last night 10/17/22 to defend the price hike, saying it was due to 'enormous rises in the costs of running this vast show'
Fans took to social media after the announcement to express their shock at the new ticket price, with one person saying the hike was "baffling".
@amywott said: "The Glastonbury price hike is baffling they can jog on."
@economysagoner said: "Those Glastonbury prices have me feeling violently ill."
@DudecalledScott added: "Very disappointed in Glastonbury for those new prices. They will start pricing out the working class to these sort of events and it will just become another Coachella. Hope they can reconsider this huge increase."
Fans will be able to purchase coach and ticket packages for the 2023 festival from 6pm on November 3 and standard tickets from 9am on November 6. An additional fee will be charged for the coach transfer if this package is selected.
Fans must register before purchasing in a bid by organisers to stop ticket touts. The line-up has yet to be revealed but Roxy Music have been rumoured to be filling the Sunday tea-time legends slot.
Glastonbury 2022... in three minutes
The Killers - Mr Brightside (Glastonbury 2019)
Pulp - Common People (Glastonbury 1995)
Article 8
Russian president Vladimir Putin has continued to escalate fears the Kremlin could resort to using nuclear weapons if its occupied territories are threatened. Vladimir Putin has warned the West that he is not in a position to bluff and means what he say's.. The chances of a devastating nuclear war breaking out between Russia and the United States is now one in six or the same as losing Russian roulette, a leading scientist has warned. Max Tegmark, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, made the horrifying prediction as the Russian leader continues his war against his peaceful Ukrainian neighbour..
Amid a full-scale military assault on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his country’s nuclear forces to move to the heightened alert status of a “special regime of combat duty,” further escalating a catastrophic war in Europe and upending international stability and nuclear arms control and disarmament. “Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly economic actions against our country, but leaders of major NATO countries are making aggressive statements about our country,” Putin said on February 27th 2022 during a meeting with defense officials. “So, I order to move Russia’s deterrence forces to a special regime of combat duty.” Belarus, Russia’s client-state, followed up by agreeing to abandon its status as a non-nuclear weapon country and reaffirming its offer to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons on its territory.
'I'm not bluffing': Putin warns the west over nuclear weapons
Although Putin’s decision raised the risk of nuclear weapons confrontation, it was not entirely unexpected given that a few days earlier the Russian leader threatened any country that tries to interfere in Ukraine with consequences “such as you have never seen in your entire history.”
Speaking on a special "military operation" in the Donbas region, the Russian President warned other nations that any attempt to interrupt the Russian action would result in "consequences". Delivering a speech during an emergency address, Putin further added that the operation had been launched to demilitarise Ukraine and defend those individuals "suffering persecution and genocide" by the Kyiv regime.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Matt Dunham - Pool / Getty Images
Ukraine's President Zelensky sings a national anthem on September 14th, 2022 during a flag rising ceremony in the recently liberated town of Izium in the Kharkiv region. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout/Reuters
Russia’s war against Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin began in 2014
Despite progress in reducing nuclear weapon arsenals since the Cold War, the world’s combined inventory of nuclear warheads remains at a very high level: nine countries possessed roughly 12,700 warheads as of early-2022.
Approximately 90 percent of all nuclear warheads are owned by Russia and the United States, who each have around 4,000 warheads in their military stockpiles; no other nuclear-armed state sees a need for more than a few hundred nuclear weapons for national security.
Globally, the overall inventory of nuclear weapons is declining, but the pace of reductions is slowing compared with the past 30 years. Moreover, these reductions are happening only because the United States and Russia are still dismantling previously retired warheads.
Of the world’s 12,700 nuclear warheads, more than 9,400 are in the military stockpiles for use by missiles, aircraft, ships and submarines. The remaining warheads have been retired but are still relatively intact and are awaiting dismantlement). Of the 9,440 warheads in the military stockpiles, some 3,730 are deployed with operational forces (on missiles or bomber bases). Of those, approximately 2,000 US, Russian, British and French warheads are on high alert, ready for use on short notice
At more than 184 meters (608 feet), the Belgorod is the longest submarine in the ocean today – longer even than the US Navy’s Ohio class ballistic and guided missile submarines, which come in at 171 meters (569 feet).
Displacement
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14,700/17,000 tonnes surfaced
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24,000/30,000 tonnes submerged
Speed32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) surfaced
RangeUnlimited
Endurance120 days
Test depth500 to 520 m (1,640 to 1,710 ft) by various estimates
Complement110 submariners
Propulsion 2 pressurized water reactor OK-650M02 nuclear reactors, 2 × steam turbines delivering 190 MW (250,000 shp) to two shafts
TASS has reported that the sub will carry the in-development Poseidon nuclear-capable torpedoes, which are being designed to be launched from hundreds of miles away and to sneak past coastal defenses by traveling along the sea floor.
Russian TV threatens 'UK's nuclear annihilation with giant radioactive tsunami & Satan-2 missiles'
The Poseidon is not expected to be ready for deployment until the second half of this decade, The CRS said it did not expect the Poseidon torpedoes to be deployed until 2027.
Explosive weapons that the Belgorod submarine could and probably will carry onboard.. Belgorod will also carry a Klavesin-29-M (Клавесин-2Р-ПМ, also known as Harpsichord) autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).
SHELF is an Automated ATGU (Атомная турбогенераторная установка: Nuclear Turbine Generator). It is 8m diameter by 14m (26ft X 46ft) 335 ton pressure container which can withstand being placed on the sea floor. The arrangement is described as an Energykapsule by the manufacturer. It can also be placed on dry land and has a range of potential military and civilian uses. It can be placed on the seabed to provide power for the Harmony sensor network or other sea floor infrastructure. According to NIKIET the integral reactor allows for a simplified arrangement of the circulation path, reducing flow resistance and providing a relatively high power level when operating on natural circulation (at least 65% of the max). Official sources quote the power output as 6.4 megawatts, which is far more than would be required by a sonar network. Earlier NIKIET sources quoted a smaller low-density figure of 44 kW / l which would fit with the sensor network role. It has moderate heat fluxes and significant reserves of coolant boiling.
Nearly a third of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed by Russian drone and missile attacks in the past eight days, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, as his office warned of a “critical” power situation nationwide. (10/18/22)
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Two “objects of critical infrastructure” were damaged in Kyiv, said the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, and electricity and water supply in “many houses” in west Kyiv was “partially limited”. The mayor appealed to residents to conserve electricity, and said houses experiencing reduced water pressure should use water as “economically as possible”.
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All of Zhytomyr was without electricity and water after a double missile strike on an energy facility, said the mayor, Serhiy Sukhomlyn. Hospitals were running on backup power, he said.
Russia has been targeting Ukraine with a mixture of missiles and, more recently, Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones, rebranded as Geran-2 by the attackers. Iran denies supplying the drones to Russia, while the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said he did not have any information about their origin. “Russian equipment with Russian names is being used,” Peskov said.
A Ukrainian soldier on the front line in the Donbas on Monday. Diego Herrera Carcedo / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images: April 14, 2022, 9:30 AM BST
Russia has so far lost 66,280 military personnel, 2,554 tanks and 269 aircraft in its war of aggression against Ukraine. 10/19/2022 Russian troops have suffered their heaviest losses on the Bakhmut and Kramatorsk fronts.
From 24th February 2022, when the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine started, to 9th October 2022, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 15,592 civilian casualties in the country: 6,221 killed and 9,371 injured. This included:
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a total of 6,221 killed (2,417 men, 1,662 women, 164 girls, and 195 boys, as well as 37 children and 1,746 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
October 19th 2022 - Vladimir Putin has imposed martial law on the four regions of Ukraine that the Kremlin annexed last month.
Martial law hands the military extra powers which the Russian president said were necessary to counter the “security risk” to the regions.
Putin also announced that extra security powers will be granted to the Russian-installed leaders of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
It comes on the same day that Moscow-installed officials in Kherson city told civilians to evacuate in anticipation of a Ukrainian attack.
Meanwhile, the new commander of Russian forces in Ukraine has acknowledged that the military situation there is difficult, particularly around the southern Kherson region. “The situation in the area of the ‘Special Military Operation’ can be described as tense,” Sergei Surovikin told reporters Tuesday, 18/10/2022 - This was according to Russian state news agency Tass.
Members of emergency services respond to a fire after a Russian attack targeted energy infrastructure in Kyiv, Ukraine on Oct. 18, 2022.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
In March of 2004, Surovikin was accused by Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Chibizov of beating him up for voting for the wrong candidate. In April, division deputy commander for armaments Colonel Andrei Shtakal shot himself in the presence of Surovikin and the district deputy commander after being criticized by Surovikin. In both cases, a military prosecutor found no evidence of guilt.
Sergei Vladimirovich Surovikin (Russian: Серге́й Влади́мирович Сурови́кин; born 11th October 1966)
In February of 2022, Surovikin was added to the European Union sanctions list for being "responsible for actively supporting and implementing actions and policies that undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine as well as the stability or security in Ukraine". Surovikin has been awarded the Order of the Red Star, the Order of Military Merit and the Order of Courage three times. He was awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation in December of 2017.
Surovikin is accused of having ordered troops to open fire on pro-democracy protestors in Moscow, during the August 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, when three people were killed. Surovikin was jailed for six months but was later released without trial by order of President Boris Yeltsin. In 1995, Surovikin was found guilty of illegal arms trade. He was sentenced but later let off following allegations that he had been framed. An October 2020 Human Rights Watch report listed Surovikin as one of the commanders "who may bear command responsibility for violations" during the 2019-2020 offensive in Idlib, Syria.
Order of the Red Star
Marshal Ivan S, Koniev, Commander of the 1st Ukrainian Army Group (left), presents the Soviet Order of Suvorov to General Omar N, Bradley, Commander of the 12th US Army Group, May 17, 1945 at Bad Wildungen (Germany).
Getty Images
With over twenty years of service as Minister of Emergency Situations, Shoigu established a close relationship with Vladimir Putin, and was rewarded by being appointed Governor of Moscow Oblast in 2012, taking office on 11 May of that year. As defence minister, Shoigu on multiple occasions has accompanied Putin during weekend breaks that the pair would spend at undisclosed locations in the Siberian countryside.
In July 2014, Ukraine opened a criminal case against Shoigu. He was accused of helping to form "illegal military groups" in Eastern Ukraine who at the time fought against the Ukrainian army. The Ukrainian authorities alleged that Shoigu coordinated all of DPR Supreme Commander Igor Girkin's actions, supplying him and "other terrorist leaders" with "the most destructive weapons" since May and instructing him directly, with Putin's approval.
In July 2016 Shoigu said that he had "deployed more air defense systems in the southwest [of Russia]" and "also deployed a 'self-sufficient' contingent of troops in Crimea", adding "Since 2013 ... we have formed four divisions, nine brigades and 22 regiments. They include two missile brigades armed with Iskander missile complexes, which has allowed to boost fire power to destroy the potential adversary." In July of 2018 Shoigu warned that the Poroshenko administration of Ukraine was not fulfilling the Minsk agreements which were signed in order to end the war in Donbas.
General Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, has been spoken of as a potential successor to Vladimir Putin CREDIT: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Russian president Vladimir Putin (L) and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu confer during a visit to a shipyard in St. Petersburg, Russia, April 23rd, 2019. (AP Photo) Hero of the Russian Federation - General of the Army
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
In this Sept. 16, 2015, photo, US Central Command Commander Gen. Lloyd Austin III, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Biden will nominate retired four-star Army general Lloyd J. Austin to be secretary of defense. That's according to three people familiar with the decision who spoke on condition of anonymity because the selection hadn't been formally announced. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
Image Above - Orion Laser Target Chamber. AWE The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence research facility responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the UK's nuclear weapons.
On 11 February 2022, Shoigu met UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. Shoigu denied that Russia was planning an invasion of Ukraine. Wallace agreed at the meeting which also included General Valery Gerasimov that it was important to implement the Minsk agreements "as a clear way forward". On 24th February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine. Shoigu said the purpose of the invasion "is to protect the Russian Federation from the military threat posed by Western countries, who are trying to use the Ukrainian people in the fight against our country." The sources say the decision to invade Ukraine was made by Putin and a small group of war hawks in Putin's inner circle, including Sergei Shoigu and Putin's national security adviser Nikolai Patrushev. In a 11 March video conference with Putin, Shoigu claimed that "everything is going to plan."
On 13 May 2022 U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin initiated a telephone conversation with Shoigu, the first call since 18th February. The call lasted about an hour with Austin urging an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. Also on 13 May, former FSB officer and former DPR Supreme Commander Igor Girkin harshly criticized Shoigu, accusing him of "criminal negligence" in conducting the invasion. On 16th August, Shoigu said that Russia does not need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, as "its main purpose is to deter a nuclear attack. Its use is limited to extraordinary circumstances." After large Ukrainian counteroffensives in September, Igor Girkin said that Shoigu should be executed by firing squad.
Shoigu collects Indian, Chinese, and Japanese swords and daggers. He enjoys bard songs and plays the guitar. He does water color paintings and graphics. He enjoys carpentry, and has shown some of his work to Putin..
Orion plays a key role in AWE’s core mission to support the safety, reliability and performance of nuclear warheads throughout their lifecycle under the UK’s ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bans live testing. It can replicate the extreme temperatures, pressures and densities found at the heart of a nuclear explosion for the study and understand the physics phenomena that occur in these environments. Orion also dedicates a proportion of its time for collaborative academic research in the UK and internationally, research ranges from the conditions relevant to inertial fusion energy, planetary and solar physics, high-energy particle acceleration, black holes and much more.
Staff maintaining the UK's nuclear weapons are to vote on strike action - amid fears an energised Putin could deploy one of his own bombs..Union Prospect said it will ballot its members working at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) amid an ongoing dispute with the company over pay.
The move by the workers, who are key to Britain's nuclear deterrent, comes as speculation grows that Putin could be preparing a nuclear show of force, including the first open-air detonation of an atomic weapon since the 1960s - potentially over the Black Sea.
VLADIMIR Putin could go nuclear by launching a low-yield device in Ukraine, dropping a bomb over the Black Sea or test firing a Poseidon drone off the US coast, experts warn.
AWE, headquartered in Aldermaston, Berkshire, supports and maintains Trident, the UK's nuclear programme which is based at HMNB Clyde in Faslane, Argyll and Bute.
Prospect said the atomic weapons company recently became 'an arms-length body of the MoD' with the associated freedoms on pay awards, but has offered an increase of 5 per cent, which members have formally rejected.
An additional lump sum payment averaging £780 has also been offered.
'Safely maintaining the UK's nuclear deterrent is a complex and highly stressful operation that requires an extremely high level of dedication and training at all levels.
'It should attract a commensurate level of pay and respect, for these staff who keep the country safe. Staff are struggling with the basic costs of living which is unacceptable in the context of this employer and its funding.
'This is not a workforce that can bear a high level of churn while safely functioning - the jobs simply require too high a degree of training.
'If the MoD and AWE don't think again and make a pay offer that reflects the rocketing cost of living, there is a real risk that AWE will struggle to recruit and retain the skills that it needs.'
In this photo taken from undated footage distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, an intercontinental ballistic missile lifts off from a truck-mounted launcher somewhere in Russia. The Russian military said the Avangard hypersonic weapon entered combat duty. Little on the Pentagon’s drawing board illustrates more clearly the Trump administration’s worry about China and Russia than its work on hypersonic weapons. These missiles and aerial vehicles fly at speeds of a mile a second or faster and maneuver in ways that make them extra difficult to detect and destroy in flight. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
The Prime Minister's spokesman told reporters that any potential industrial action remained a 'hypothetical' but insisted that the nuclear deterrent would not be affected.
Putin likely has three realistic choices - a detonation over the sea, a blast beneath the sea, or potentially blowing up a remote island. Nuclear weapons have not been tested in former Soviet Union territory since October 24, 1990. It is believed however that any nuclear test by Russia would be a low yield "tactical nuke" rather than a colossal city-destroying device.
Censorship, detention, deportation, restricted rights of assembly, seizure of property, forced labour; terrible atrocities are happening in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
In fact it is doing a lot worse. Take deportation alone. The US government estimates between 900,000 and 1.5 million Ukrainians have disappeared through filtration camps and into Russia, their whereabouts unknown.
Now that martial law nas been called on these territories Ukranian citizens will have to comply.. Putin said the order will come into effect from midnight 20th October 2022 in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions - giving him sweeping powers to curtail the freedoms of civilians, repurpose industries, and press-gang Ukrainians into his armed forces to fight their fellow countrymen, though it is unclear if all these powers will be used. The order also affects occupied Crimea and Krasnodar, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Rostov, all of which are on Russia's own territory bordering Ukraine. It is unclear exactly what measures will come into force here, though Putin's order stops short of calling it full martial law.
Entrepreneur Elon Musk..
Tesla CEO, Space X founder and world's richest man Elon Musk said the he is certain that Russia will use nuclear weapons and triggering the third world war over Ukraine. The tech billionaire with a net worth of $241 billion was talking about the importance of Crimea to Russia, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Elon Musk answered a question in response to a Twitter user who asked his oppinion on the possibility of a nuclear war and World War III breaking out. Musk responded by saying that Russia has been sanctioned by the West in every possible way as a deterence to this sort of thing and to end the war in Ukraine.. "If Russia is faced with the choice of losing Crimea or using battlefield nukes, they will choose the latter. Russia is already prepared to cut off all ties with the Western world as an act of defiance and power.. Russia has nothing to lose and if we nuke Russia back, they will nuke us and then we have WW3," Musk tweeted. The co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI also added that since Crimea is considered a core part of Russia and is also of critical national security importance to the country, losing Crimea would be like the USA losing Hawaii and Pearl Harbor. "Whether one likes it or not, it is there Southern navy base from there standpoint and must be protected..