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The War in Ukraine

Reportedly a second Su-30 was shot down by Ukrainian naval drone over Crimea. In both shootdowns, the Magura FrankenSAMs involved were armed with AIM-9 missiles.

Ukraine Naval Drone Shoots Down Two Russian Warplanes in 24 Hours: First-Ever USV Fighter Jet Kills (Updated)
Alt: https://archive.ph/PJqVn

Another source, they were a new larger type of Magura. Previously it was thought that the drones used were Magura-5's. The Magura is quickly becoming a Swiss army knife of naval drones.

www.navalnews.com

First Image Of Ukraine's Sidewinder-Armed Magura V7 Surface Drone - Naval News

Here is the first image of the Sidewinder-Armed Magura V7 USV which Ukraine used to successfully shoot down two Russian jets in the Black Sea
www.navalnews.com www.navalnews.com
Alt: https://archive.ph/5h3Gu
 
Last edited:
CBH99 said:
To be fair, bleeding Ukraine absolutely dry was on the US foreign policy menu long before Trump came on the scene...

The fact that Ukraine is in the absolute dire situation that it's in can't be put on Trump tho.

The 2014 kickoff in Crimea was very well underway before Trump was first elected, and the escalation in 2021 was again outside of Trump years.



Honestly, if Ukraine is going to be bled dry by anyone, it'll probably be Ukraine.

They've been rejected by the EU simply on corruption grounds, and I don't see one wink of effort going into addressing that...if anything it's either stayed the same or even gotten worse.

And if recent reports of the cartels sourcing some heavy weaponry from Ukraine pan out to be true (from weapons donated from the US or allied countries) then any further 'being bled dry' will again be of their own doing.
Click to expand...

All I can say is that you are sorely misinformed on what is happening there. You are starting to sound like a Tankie.
 
Good article on drone AI and targeting
xxtomcooperxx.substack.com

Sarcastosaurus | Substack

Personal Substack by Tom Cooper (from Austria; we've got no Kangaroos... except in a few zoos). Any misuse of the content by the mainstream media - no matter if in the USA, Italy, Germany, Austria on Mars or elsewhere - is strictly prohibited. Click to read Sarcastosaurus, a Substack publication...
xxtomcooperxx.substack.com xxtomcooperxx.substack.com
 
One step closer to Canada handing over an AN-124 to UKR ....
www.insauga.com

Canada takes more legal action to possess huge Russian plane stranded at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga | INsauga

The Canadian government has taken further legal action in seeking to gain full possession of a huge Russian cargo plane that’s been stranded at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga for more than three years. The Russian-owned Antonov An-124 aircraft in dispute, the world’s largest...
www.insauga.com www.insauga.com
www.themoscowtimes.com

Canada Moves to Give Ukraine Stranded Russian Cargo Plane - The Moscow Times

Canada is moving forward with a legal bid to gain full possession of a Russian Antonov An-124 cargo plane and potentially hand it over to Ukraine, the country’s foreign ministry has said.
www.themoscowtimes.com www.themoscowtimes.com

This from the Canada Gazette from end of February, with the DoJ order from last month attached, if you're into the whole regulatory minutiae thing :)

Canada Gazette, Part 2, Volume 159, Number 5: Order Respecting the Seizure of Property Situated in Canada (Aircraft RA-82078)

February 26, 2025, Part 2, Volume 159, Number 5, Canada Gazette
gazette.gc.ca gazette.gc.ca
 

Attachments

I guess he didn't study the part about 'don't get caught' during his training as a Reservist ...

Canadian teen recruited to spy for Russia, now sitting in Polish jail​

B.C. family hopes for early end to 20-month espionage sentence​

As far as Laken Pavan's family knew, he was backpacking around Europe, soaking up the sights.

But the 17-year-old had a different plan when he left Vancouver in April 2024. First he flew to Turkey. Then to Moscow, and on to Russian-occupied Donetsk in Ukraine.

And it was there that he was recruited as a spy.

"This is so absurd," said Andelaine Nelson, his mother. "He's a good kid.… He would have never done this had he not been pushed over the edge."

Nelson had only recently reconnected with her son. They were rebuilding a relationship that had been severed a decade before by divorce and family troubles. And they were in daily contact as he travelled, exchanging messages via WhatsApp and Telegram.

In early May, Laken told her he was in Denmark, working on a farm with some friends. A couple of weeks later, he asked for some money in order to buy a plane ticket to Warsaw. The last time they messaged was on May 22, shortly after he landed in Poland. A few hours later, he was in jail.

"I was told that Laken had been arrested and charged with espionage against the Polish government," said Nelson. "It was devastating. Like your heart sinks. It's your child and you can't do anything. I can't help him."

Laken comes from a military family, and his father Kevin Pavan, a retired master corporal, served in Bosnia and Afghanistan. The teenager was a longtime Canadian Forces cadet, and then reservist, and had planned to join the army full time after his 18th birthday.

 
daftandbarmy said:
I guess he didn't study the part about 'don't get caught' during his training as a Reservist ...

Canadian teen recruited to spy for Russia, now sitting in Polish jail​

B.C. family hopes for early end to 20-month espionage sentence​

As far as Laken Pavan's family knew, he was backpacking around Europe, soaking up the sights.

But the 17-year-old had a different plan when he left Vancouver in April 2024. First he flew to Turkey. Then to Moscow, and on to Russian-occupied Donetsk in Ukraine.

And it was there that he was recruited as a spy.

"This is so absurd," said Andelaine Nelson, his mother. "He's a good kid.… He would have never done this had he not been pushed over the edge."

Nelson had only recently reconnected with her son. They were rebuilding a relationship that had been severed a decade before by divorce and family troubles. And they were in daily contact as he travelled, exchanging messages via WhatsApp and Telegram.

In early May, Laken told her he was in Denmark, working on a farm with some friends. A couple of weeks later, he asked for some money in order to buy a plane ticket to Warsaw. The last time they messaged was on May 22, shortly after he landed in Poland. A few hours later, he was in jail.

"I was told that Laken had been arrested and charged with espionage against the Polish government," said Nelson. "It was devastating. Like your heart sinks. It's your child and you can't do anything. I can't help him."

Laken comes from a military family, and his father Kevin Pavan, a retired master corporal, served in Bosnia and Afghanistan. The teenager was a longtime Canadian Forces cadet, and then reservist, and had planned to join the army full time after his 18th birthday.

Click to expand...
Hey he’s alive. That is better than 99% of the other idiots who went to Russia.
 
daftandbarmy said:
I guess he didn't study the part about 'don't get caught' during his training as a Reservist ...

Canadian teen recruited to spy for Russia, now sitting in Polish jail​

B.C. family hopes for early end to 20-month espionage sentence​

As far as Laken Pavan's family knew, he was backpacking around Europe, soaking up the sights.

But the 17-year-old had a different plan when he left Vancouver in April 2024. First he flew to Turkey. Then to Moscow, and on to Russian-occupied Donetsk in Ukraine.

And it was there that he was recruited as a spy.

"This is so absurd," said Andelaine Nelson, his mother. "He's a good kid.… He would have never done this had he not been pushed over the edge."

Nelson had only recently reconnected with her son. They were rebuilding a relationship that had been severed a decade before by divorce and family troubles. And they were in daily contact as he travelled, exchanging messages via WhatsApp and Telegram.

In early May, Laken told her he was in Denmark, working on a farm with some friends. A couple of weeks later, he asked for some money in order to buy a plane ticket to Warsaw. The last time they messaged was on May 22, shortly after he landed in Poland. A few hours later, he was in jail.

"I was told that Laken had been arrested and charged with espionage against the Polish government," said Nelson. "It was devastating. Like your heart sinks. It's your child and you can't do anything. I can't help him."

Laken comes from a military family, and his father Kevin Pavan, a retired master corporal, served in Bosnia and Afghanistan. The teenager was a longtime Canadian Forces cadet, and then reservist, and had planned to join the army full time after his 18th birthday.

Click to expand...

I'm assuming whoever was his guardian the last 10 years wasn't interviewed because they're a little busy answering a mountain of questions from the RCMP and CSIS.
 
The Bread Guy said:
One step closer to Canada handing over an AN-124 to UKR ....
www.insauga.com

Canada takes more legal action to possess huge Russian plane stranded at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga | INsauga

The Canadian government has taken further legal action in seeking to gain full possession of a huge Russian cargo plane that’s been stranded at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga for more than three years. The Russian-owned Antonov An-124 aircraft in dispute, the world’s largest...
www.insauga.com www.insauga.com
www.themoscowtimes.com

Canada Moves to Give Ukraine Stranded Russian Cargo Plane - The Moscow Times

Canada is moving forward with a legal bid to gain full possession of a Russian Antonov An-124 cargo plane and potentially hand it over to Ukraine, the country’s foreign ministry has said.
www.themoscowtimes.com www.themoscowtimes.com

This from the Canada Gazette from end of February, with the DoJ order from last month attached, if you're into the whole regulatory minutiae thing :)

Canada Gazette, Part 2, Volume 159, Number 5: Order Respecting the Seizure of Property Situated in Canada (Aircraft RA-82078)

February 26, 2025, Part 2, Volume 159, Number 5, Canada Gazette
gazette.gc.ca gazette.gc.ca
Click to expand...
has someone been maintaining the plane this whole time or has it just been sitting there?
 
daftandbarmy said:
I guess he didn't study the part about 'don't get caught' during his training as a Reservist ...

Canadian teen recruited to spy for Russia, now sitting in Polish jail​

B.C. family hopes for early end to 20-month espionage sentence​

As far as Laken Pavan's family knew, he was backpacking around Europe, soaking up the sights.

But the 17-year-old had a different plan when he left Vancouver in April 2024. First he flew to Turkey. Then to Moscow, and on to Russian-occupied Donetsk in Ukraine.

And it was there that he was recruited as a spy.

"This is so absurd," said Andelaine Nelson, his mother. "He's a good kid.… He would have never done this had he not been pushed over the edge."

Nelson had only recently reconnected with her son. They were rebuilding a relationship that had been severed a decade before by divorce and family troubles. And they were in daily contact as he travelled, exchanging messages via WhatsApp and Telegram.

In early May, Laken told her he was in Denmark, working on a farm with some friends. A couple of weeks later, he asked for some money in order to buy a plane ticket to Warsaw. The last time they messaged was on May 22, shortly after he landed in Poland. A few hours later, he was in jail.

"I was told that Laken had been arrested and charged with espionage against the Polish government," said Nelson. "It was devastating. Like your heart sinks. It's your child and you can't do anything. I can't help him."

Laken comes from a military family, and his father Kevin Pavan, a retired master corporal, served in Bosnia and Afghanistan. The teenager was a longtime Canadian Forces cadet, and then reservist, and had planned to join the army full time after his 18th birthday.

Click to expand...

Here’s my take at the time this story broke:


RangerRay said:
If I could go back to the original post in this thread about this young guy getting caught spying for Russia…

I’m guessing that either he had poor judgment or was recruited here in Canada, possibly initially through Russian misinformation. Signing up to do “humanitarian” work in Russian-occupied Donbas strikes as poor decision making or being in the thrall of Kremlin propaganda. Then flying to Turkey and lying to his mum about where he was actually going appears as further evidence of being dodgy and not naive.

I’m guessing a few alphabet soup agencies are going to want to talk to this kid.
Click to expand...
 
RangerRay said:
They’re a long ways from where they were and the situation has been improving.

Getting into the EU is a big motivator.
Click to expand...
Getting into the EU is why carbon pricing provisions are in our FTA with Ukraine. They need that if they want to join. Our conservatives missed that detail when the cried wolf over it.
 
suffolkowner said:
has someone been maintaining the plane this whole time or has it just been sitting there?
Click to expand...
As far as I know, no. It been sitting, sinking into the tarmac for over three years (I think it was moved once).

I'm sure a gift they'd love to have. 'It yours - free. Maybe need some work - bring tools. BTW, it needs to be gone by June'.
 
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