Ukraine

Vindman interview on Ukraine and Putin...

gift article....

Russian troops’ tendency to talk on unsecured lines is proving costly  https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/27/russian-military-unsecured-communications/ 

 Russian troops’ tendency to talk on unsecured lines is proving costly
By Alex Horton and Shane Harris
March 27 at 2:00 AM ET
Russian troops in Ukraine have relied, with surprising frequency, on unsecured communication devices such as smartphones and push-to-talk radios, leaving units vulnerable to targeting, and further underscoring the command-and-control deficiencies that have come to define Moscow’s month-long invasion, observers say.
“We’re seeing them use a lot more unclassified communications because their classified communications capability … for one reason or another, is not as strong as it should be,” a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon, told reporters in a recent news briefing.
The Russian military possesses modern equipment capable of secure transmission, but troops on the battlefield have reached for simpler-to-use but less-secure lines because of uneven discipline across the ranks, an apparent lack of planning for conducting a sustained fight over long distances, and Russian attacks on Ukraine’s communication infrastructure that it, too, has relied on, experts say.
[Russia behind hack of satellite communication devices in Ukraine at war’s outset, U.S. officials say]
A European intelligence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss NATO’s battlefield assessments, said that since the invasion began in late February, there have been multiple instances of Russian commanders confiscating their subordinates’ personal phones for fear they would unwittingly give away a unit’s location.
Similarly, Ukrainian civilians have reported having their phones stolen by Russian troops who use them to speak with one another and with family back home, this official said. Those calls, the official noted, have revealed troops’ frustrations and declining morale as Ukraine’s military has stymied Russia’s advance around key cities, killing thousands of Russians in the process.
[Pentagon: Russians lose full control of Kherson as Ukraine expands offensive]
The Pentagon on Friday said that its latest intelligence showed Russian forces had lost full control of Kherson, a port city along the Black Sea, as Ukraine expands its offensive operations in key parts of the country and Russia appears to be have shifted its emphasis to the separatist Donbas region in the east. Ukrainian forces also have pushed back Russian advances outside the northern city of Chernihiv, with other offensives underway in the western suburbs of Kyiv, the capital, the senior U.S. defense official said.
There is evidence that the United States and other NATO countries have provided Ukrainian forces with electronic warfare equipment capable of interrupting Russian transmissions and allowing them to target Russian command posts, said Kostas Tigkos, a Russian military expert at the defense analysis firm Janes Group. By destroying Russia’s communication nodes, the Ukrainians could pressure their adversaries to use less-secure equipment, he said, increasing the likelihood their conversations will be intercepted or their positions triangulated.
[Russia begins to mobilize military reinforcements for Ukraine as casualties mount]
While the Russian military has overhauled its military technology in the past two decades, with some emphasis on modernizing its communication hardware, Tigkos said equipment is only part of the equation. “It’s one thing,” he said, “to develop a good radio that works well. It’s another thing to deploy that radio, build a network, and conduct a complex military operation with thousands of moving parts, and have them work together like a symphony.”
Russian military transmissions over unsecured lines have been so prevalent, analysts say, that amateur radio enthusiasts have tuned into them online using sites such as Web SDR. Some conversations have revealed troops’ frustrations. In one transmission on March 5, a Russian service member identifies himself as “Blacksmith,” rather than a call sign. “Don’t say the last names on air!” another responds. The transmission was provided to The Washington Post by Shadow Break International, an open-source intelligence consultancy based in Britain.
In another discussion, Russian soldiers appear to confuse one another by mistaking their call signs. One identifies himself as “Exchange.” Another then says that, in fact, that’s his call sign. “You got it all mixed up!” one of them explains.

continues.....

Published 24 minutes ago

Mr Abramovich is said to have been in Kyiv for talks with peace negotiators

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning at talks in Kyiv earlier this month, sources close to him say.


more at
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60904676