The fight for Ukraine will not just be won on the battlefield. For all the high-tech weaponry the West has delivered, psychological war against Russia remains a key opportunity for the United States.

Historically, such an approach focused on selling Russians on the American dream. But this strategy is a relic of the Cold War, ill-suited to present-day Russia. Instead of pitching the benefits of Levi’s and Hollywood, U.S. information operations should use Russian nationalism to turn the tables on the Kremlin — highlighting the war’s damage to Russia, exposing government corruption and inequities inside Russia, and exploiting resentment among Russia’s ethnic minorities. These, dare we say, Russia-style tactics will bear more fruit than tales about the wonders of American democracy.

The U.S. government is no stranger to information operations of this kind. During the Cold War, to highlight the Soviet Union’s weaknesses and provide genuine news to the captive nations of the Soviet empire, Washington pioneered the delivery of world news through its Voice of America initiative and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. These public information programs were instrumental in the fight against communism. Since launching his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has shuttered what was left of Russia’s independent media and restricted Russians’ access to major Western social media platforms and various Western news agencies. But through the widespread use of VPN internet access, the United States can deliver information inside Russia as well as use Russian surrogates to post social media messages on Russian platforms.

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Can you suggest, what Putin is saying here to comrade Xi?

When you press here there will be no America.
And here on the other side there is a torch.
#LiftYourSpirirsWithArt
Follow 👉@TrFormer 💤

At this point, Biden suspected that something had gone wrong.

Modi, Tokayev, Japarov, Xi, Mirziyoyev, Putin, Rahmon, Sharif: Official photographing ceremony of SCO summit participants

Russia’s Use of Iranian Kamikaze Drones Creates New Dangers for Ukrainian Troops

Russia has inflicted serious damage on Ukrainian forces with recently introduced Iranian drones, in its first wide-scale deployment of a foreign weapons system since the war began, Ukrainian commanders say.

Over the past week, Shahed-136 delta-wing drones, repainted in Russian colors and rebranded as Geranium 2, started appearing over Ukrainian armor and artillery positions in the northeastern Kharkiv region, said Col. Rodion Kulagin, commander of artillery of Ukraine’s 92nd Mechanized Brigade.

In his brigade’s operational area alone, the Iranian drones—which usually fly in pairs and then slam into their targets—have destroyed two 152-mm self-propelled howitzers, two 122-mm self-propelled howitzers, as well as two BTR armoured infantry vehicles, he said.

Before the current wide-scale use of the Shaheds, Russia carried out a test last month, striking a U.S.-supplied M777 155-mm towed howitzer with the drone, Col. Kulagin said. Another Iranian drone malfunctioned and was recovered, he said.

So far, the Iranian drones seem to have been mostly deployed in the Kharkiv region, where the 92nd Brigade and other Ukrainian forces carried out a major offensive this month, retaking some 8,500 sq. kilometers, or roughly 3,300 sq. miles, of land occupied by Russia and seizing or destroying hundreds of Russian tanks, artillery pieces and armored carriers.

“In other areas, the Russians have overwhelming artillery firepower, and they manage with that. Here, they no longer have that artillery advantage, and so they have started to resort to these drones,” Col. Kulagin said.

Independent experts who examined photographs of recent drone wreckage from the Kharkiv region say that it appears to be Shahed-136, the latest evolution of Tehran’s delta-wing design.

Scott Crino, founder and chief executive of Red Six Solutions LLC, a strategic consulting firm, said the Shahed-136 could provide Russia with a “potent counterweight” to the high-tech weapons systems, such as Himars missile launchers, that the U.S. has provided to Ukraine.

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In the centre of Kherson, a sabotage and reconnaissance group was liquidated

In the center of Kherson, a sabotage and reconnaissance group was liquidated, the situation in the city is completely controlled by the Russian military, RIA Novosti was told by a source in the emergency services of the region.

According to him, no one was injured during the counter-terrorist operation among the civilian population.
As clarified in the administration of the Kherson, during the liquidation of the armed group, neither Kherson nor its residents suffered significant material damage.
Earlier, a source in the operational services reported firing from automatic weapons in the city centre. Prior to that, five explosions thundered there, presumably, air defence worked.
As stated in the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Saturday made an unsuccessful attempt to attack in the Kherson region, as a result, more than 120 Ukrainian troops, seven tanks and 13 infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed.

Erdogan called Turkey's goal to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

ANKARA, September 17 - RIA Novosti. Turkey aims to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on the plane after returning from Samarkand.
"Of course, we are not a member of the Shanghai Five. We are here (in Samarkand. - Ed.) as a special guest at the invitation of the host country - Uzbekistan. <...> Now the next process is a step towards the most advanced stage of this work. This step may be on the agenda at a more advanced level at the talks in India," the head of state said.

In his opinion, to be a member or not to be are two different things, and Turkey's entry into the SCO will put its relations with the participating countries in a completely different position.
When asked if the Turkish leader has in mind the likelihood of becoming a member of the organization, Erdogan answered in the affirmative.
"Of course. That's the goal," he explained.
The SCO is an international organization founded in 2001. It involves Russia, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Observer countries - Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia, partner countries - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

This year the summit was held in Samarkand on 15 and 16 September. As a result, the leaders of the participating countries signed the Samarkand Declaration, which fixed positions on the most important regional and global issues.
In addition, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the start of procedures for granting Belarus membership in the organization. Iran, in turn, has signed a memorandum of commitment to the SCO, paving the way for the country to join.

After waiting for membership in EU for decades, Erdogan has found new "friends". Will American masters allow him?
#TransFormator

Friendly soldier from Wagner group explains to captured Ukrainian servicemen that they were wrong...