PenguinSix

Moscow was apoplectic the other day when reports filtered in that a Russian soldier had been captured by Georgian forces inside South Ossetia. They demanded his immediate return claiming he was being held against his will.

Geogian forces replied by displaying him at a local McDonalds eating a Big Mac.

“I came to the [...]

Following the Russian invasion of South Ossetia, US military officials headed over to Georgia to do a thorough review of the Georgian military. The report, leaked to the NY Times, paints a rather unflattering picture of the military in Georgia.

Georgia’s armed forces, the report said, are highly centralized, prone to impulsive rather than deliberative [...]

That’s what you get for invading your neighbor.

Regulators halted trading at midday (9am BST) on Russia’s main stock indices – the rouble-denominated Micex and the dollar-denominated RTS – following a similar suspension yesterday.

Russia has been badly affected by the global financial crisis, and has suffered as stocks have sunk in Europe and Asia. But it [...]

Well, that’s what you could say after reading Debka today.

Apparently Russian commandos raided Georgian airbases that were hosting Israeli spy drones, used to look at the nuclear facilities of Iran. This was the result of a secret agreement between Georgia and Israel to allow Georgian military facilities to be used in any attack [...]

The USS Mount Whitney, flagship of the Sixth Fleet (and heavily laden with intelligence gathering gear) has arrived in the city of Poti, despite the presence of Russian forces at checkpoints outside the city.

Humanitarian antennas

The USS Mount Whitney, flagship of the US Sixth Fleet, is the latest of three vessels sent by the US to [...]

The New York Times is reporting that Georgian military officials are already planning for the next war, with a military shopping list that includes some higher technology weapons. Pentagon officials are reviewing the lists but have yet to make any decisions just yet.

Defense officials in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, said that at [...]

You may remember a few years ago a Russian plane crashed because an air traffic controller in Switzerland issued some incorrect orders. You may also remember that a Russian father who lost his children in the crash travelled to the tower later and slashed to death the air traffic controller he found. Victor [...]

Growing up in the KGB you’d expect someone to be a bit paranoid. Hell growing up in Russia you’d be paranoid. But a good intelligence officer usually has the ability to separate fact from fiction, and take the propaganda with a grain of salt.

That’s not the case with Vladimir Putin.

Putin seems to [...]

The original G7 group of industrialized nations, who have an eighth member who is sort of there by default, have called on Russia to pull back their forces from Georgia

We, the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom,condemn the action of our fellow G8 member. Russia’s [...]

The USCGC Dallas will soon be in Georgia

A US Coast Guard cutter will be arriving in the Georgian port city of Poti despite the presence of Russian forces throughout the outskirts of this Georgian city. Russians have called this plan ‘devilish’ and the amount of aid being delivered comparable to what you could buy [...]

Changing her tune?

Der Spiegel is noticing a change in Germany’s relationship with Georgia in light of the Russian invasion last month. Never a warm ally of Georgia and not a fan of NATO membership, it now seems the Russian’s have overplayed their hand such that Angela Merkel is now being forced closer to Georgia [...]

Humanitarian aid ship

By now you’ve probably heard the USS McFaul has arrived in port in Georgia as part of a three ship convoy of humanitarian supply ships. What I didn’t know until checking the website of the vessel is that both the Captain and Executive Officer on the McFaul were graduates of Ohio State. [...]

In response to international pressure to come forward with the truth behind their claims of ‘mass casualties’ in South Ossetia, the Russian government has finally admitted that initial death toll estimates of nearly 2,000 dead were overstated. New figures released today show that 133 civilians died in South Ossetia. South Ossetian officials said [...]

We’ve been questioning the ‘2,000 dead’ claim by Russian media, and to date they haven’t come up with any reliable numbers about just how many were killed in South Ossetia. It does appear clear the Russian media was way out of the ballpark with the claim of 2,000 dead, by a factor of about [...]