Everything You See In This Video ...

... is made in Russia. All three of them finished the certification for Arctic extreme cold conditions. All three have done very well. 

In Related News ...

There are NO penguins in Arctic)) Greenland is in ARCTIC. 

Penguins live in ANtarctica and adjacent lands, that is Southern Hemisphere. I sense Ivy League edikeishn. 

Man, What A Show, What A Show))

Politico's EU version is trying to find "responses" to a likely US "acquiring" of Greenland. I want to stress WHY the US really needs Greenland, apart from obvious military utility, it is all about Arctic and its immensely rich continental shelf. 

Once Greenland is acquired, US assets in Arctic almost double. Hence this intent, however unlikely, of the US buying ice-breakers in Finland and then trying to transfer the technology to the US. Well, Politico agonizes))

BRUSSELS — If European governments didn't realize before that Donald Trump’s threats to seize Greenland were serious, they do now. Policymakers are no longer ignoring the U.S. president's ramped-up rhetoric — and are desperately searching for a plan to stop him. “We must be ready for a direct confrontation with Trump,” said an EU diplomat briefed on ongoing discussions. “He is in an aggressive mode, and we need to be geared up.”

Here comes this critical issue--gear up with what? As much as I am critical of the US military, but Europe is a military midget)) Yet, they still consider:

Option 4: Boots on the ground. ... Legally speaking, it’s possible Denmark would be forced to respond militarily. Under a 1952 standing order, troops should “immediately take up the fight without waiting for, or seeking orders” in “the event of an attack on Danish territory.” European countries should weigh the possibility of deploying troops to Greenland — if Denmark requests it — to increase the potential cost of U.S. military action, an EU diplomat said, echoing suggestions that Berlin and Paris could send forces to deter any incursion. While those forces are unlikely to be able to withstand a U.S. invasion, they would act as a deterrent. “You could have a tripwire effect where you have some groups of people who are physically in the way, like a Tiananmen Square-type situation, which would potentially force the [U.S.] military to use violence” or to back down, said Crosbie. But that strategy comes at a high cost, he said. “This is completely unexplored territory, but it is quite possible that people's lives will be lost in the attempt to reject the American claim over Greenland.”

Berlin and Paris!? Berlin and Paris?!!! Troops?! LOL! US Marines will walk over those "troops")) Once Bismarck was asked what he would do if British send troops, he responded he would send police to arrest them. Remarkably, this applies to French and Germans themselves today. It is getting curiouser and curiouser.(c) And pop-cornier and pop-cornier--this one belongs to me))

Something Tells Me ...

 ... Denmark will part with Greenland. 

President Trump reportedly held a “fiery” call with Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen over the president’s insistence that U.S. control of Greenland is necessary for American national security.  A 45 minute call between Trump and Frederiksen last week spiraled into confrontation, senior European officials told The Financial Times. Trump, at that time the president-elect, was reportedly aggressive and threatened tariff’s against the NATO ally. National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes did not comment on the tone of the call, but said that Trump is focused on Greenland as part of the larger competition between China and Russia.  “President Trump has been clear that the safety and security of Greenland is important to the United States as China and Russia make significant investments throughout the Arctic region,” Hughes said in a statement.

This is typical Trump who has very little understanding of Arctic and what it takes to compete there on purely technological level--the US is not even in the same league with Russia there--but the US needs to back decomposing USD with something tangible, and Greenland and its resources (and continental shelf) could come as a mortgage. Meanwhile, new textbook on WW II was published in the US. 

You see, Russian helpers observe in awe how they helped the US to win WW II. 

A Year Ago...

 ... French ice-breaking cruise liner Le Commandant Charcot, designed specifically for polar voyages, got stuck in the ice which was too thick for her. Then 50 Let Pobedy (50 Years of Victory) arrived to help. See yourself how normal people should communicate with each-other. 

Boy, I wish I could afford those cruises. Le Commandant Charcot is an amazing liner. The prices also are amazing and are beyond reach for us, mere mortals. Russians also provide North Pole cruising precisely on 50 Let Pobedy. $45,000. While not as luxurious, it is still an amazing experience. 

or... 

A dream cruise really, albeit we are contemplating a cruise to Alaska--one of the most beautiful places in the world and yes, it is much cheaper)). 

Good God, They Are That Stupid.

I am on record, worse than US journos are the British ones. All of them, without exception, are qualified only for discussing Meghan Markle's lingerie. Now, here is the example of a deliberate BS, which is funny especially coming from British tabloid. 

Russia has permanently lost the Arctic to NATO. 

A-ha-ha, LOL))) The argumentation in this piece is hilarious. 

Then Putin invaded Ukraine (again) and suddenly all eyes were back on the world’s strongest military alliance. It wasn’t long before the Arctic nations Sweden and Finland were asking to join. Once they join, every Arctic country except Russia will be a member of NATO. That matters for the same two reasons every maritime trade area in the world matters – routes and resources.

So, the guy thinks that economically insignificant Sweden and Finland joining NATO, with their brown water navies, will make any difference is delirious. With Finland's eight conventional powered ice-breaker fleet designed primarily for Baltic Sea, I am sure this will ensure Russia "losing" the Arctic. But most hilarious in this stream of consciousness is this, LOL)) 

What can the UK do in this environment?

I have news for this dude--NOTHING! UK has no resources nor experiences, with the exception of Arctic convoys in WW II and sending some of Royal Navy's SSNs, to do anything in the Arctic. Zilch, nada.  Remarkably, he admits:

In other words, the UK’s role in facing down Russia in the High North is much the same as it is everywhere; strong on soft power, diplomacy, science and technical expertise but with the bare minimum of military hardware to credibly back it up.

The UK's "soft power" is obviously a joke and it is about time London resigned itself to the fact of it being nothing more than the capital of a second tier (at best) power, in Arctic it is altogether is nothing and is absolutely powerless, even in the wet dreams.  It is especially preposterous to read this drivel from the former RN officer. But even larger issue here is WHY this drivel was written when the whole combined West's Arctic capabilities are still dwarfed by that of Russia's. 

Meanwhile, here is some serious news:

Indian refiners have started using Chinese yuan instead of US dollars to pay for some oil imports from Russia, Reuters reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. According to the sources, India’s biggest buyer of Russian crude, Indian Oil Corp, became the first state refiner to pay for some Russian purchases in yuan last month. At least two of India’s three private refiners are also paying for some Russian imports in yuan, two other sources claimed. “Some refiners are paying in other currencies like yuan if banks are not willing to settle trade in dollars,” an unnamed Indian government source was quoted as saying. The sources noted it could not immediately be determined how much Russian oil Indian refiners have bought with yuan, adding that Indian Oil has paid in renminbi for multiple cargoes.

Make your own conclusions.

Seemingly Insignificant News.

Recall my week-and-a-half old post on "scientists" from the "social sciences" field. It was titled Why They Hate and dealt with Russian brand-new family of satellites Arctika-M which are clear and present danger to this whole (primarily Western in origin) Anthropogenic Global Warming Ponzi scheme. Many real scientists from around the world who still have balls and integrity (which is minority in the West) know that Arctic is a reference point to all this climate change. Well, here is some news today:    

Two icebreakers are on the way to rescue ice-locked ships on Northern Sea Route. Some 20 ships are either stuck or struggling to sail, as waters in the East Siberia Sea froze earlier than in recent years.

Oops! Wait a minute, you are telling me that Russia, which already leads the world in ice-breaker technology and numbers built and being built--leads so much, it is not even fair--was on it and didn't buy this AGW BS? No way, those backward only two-gender, geophysics studying, satellite launching, hydrocarbon and nuclear using, at Tesla laughing Russians knew it all along? 

District authorities in the Russian Far East have commissioned two icebreakers to aid vessels currently caught in ice in the East Siberian Sea. The nuclear-powered Yamal is due to arrive in the region by November 20, while the diesel-powered Novorossiisk will arrive by November 15, according to regional authorities in Chukotka. The rescue vessel Spasatel Zaborshchikov is also being sent. The decision was this week taken by Yuri Trutnev, the presidential aide to the Russian Far East. The commissioning of the powerful icebreaking vessels comes as severe sea ice conditions have taken shippers by surprise. There are now about 20 vessels that either are stuck or struggling to make it across the icy waters. Among them is the UHL Vision that over the last days has been isolated in the waters north of the New Siberian Islands, and the bulk carriers Golden Suek, Golden Pearl, Nordic Quinngua and Nordic Nuluujaak that are located east of that same archipelago. In the area is also oil tanker Vladimir Rusanov, as well as cargo vessels Selenga and Finnish ship Kumpula, all of which are at west-bound escort by nuclear icebreaker Vaigach. Meanwhile, in the port of Pevek are six vessels that also are likely to need assistance to make in out from the area.

No way! Actually, way. So, what gives? I will repeat my answer, yet again, Russians do not even have a competition in terms of Arctic scientific study and use. Like not even close. Just to give some clue, but Google this word Polynya and ask yourself a question why a purely Russian word was appropriated (a loanword) into most languages and became an official geographic term. The hint: Russians have been at this Arctic thing big time since 19th century, but in reality since Pomors started to venture far North starting in 12th century. So, to put in layman's lingo, Russia has a pedigree in Arctic. Russia continues to invest a massive effort into Arctic and because of that has an impressive scientific machine which conducts observations and studies in Arctic which dwarf anything the rest of the world really does. 

Here is one such organization: Federal Service on Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of the Environment and its main Arctic and Antarctica Scientific Research Institute in St. Petersburg which deals with precisely those issues describing conditions of Arctic. Because Russians are backward uncultured people they continue to rely on such funny things like space-based observation, advanced scientific methods and a gigantic fleet of icebreakers (and air assets) which monitor this environment 24/7. This institute, whose one of the major tasks is monitoring Arctic ice, publishes ice maps. And here is what is so fascinating about them. Here is 2013 Ice map:

The darkest part is what is known as the "Old Ice" (more than 2 years old)--it is the thickest of them all, the green one is a "One Year Ice" which is between 30 and 200 centimeters thick, well, up to two meters. 8 years of severe "warming" and reduction of icecaps passes by, but suddenly...in November of 2021...

Hm, how come that Old Ice cap grew in its area over 2013 while the young ice (magenta color) is forming everywhere thus creating an emergency? It wasn't supposed to be so, but here we are. Originally we were supposed to have the Arctic ice cap gone by now. Remember 2009 and Nobel Prize fraudster Al Gore?

Al Gore has told the U.N. climate conference that new data suggests the Arctic polar ice cap may disappear in the summertime as soon as five to seven years from now.

What kind of "Data" Al Gore was talking about?  I can tell you what kind of data--a doctored BS obtained from some shitty math models created by paid shills on service of the globalist mafia. That is the "data" they operate with. Of course, Old Ice growing significantly over the last years, when it was supposed to be melting in accordance to Western climate "scientists". They are not scientists, they are models' compiles who learned a couple of math tricks and now sell this shit to those who pay them. A definition of GIGO--Garbage In-Garbage Out. Can you imagine how those damn Russians with their advanced space-based monitoring system and a gigantic ice-breaker fleet which navigates year-round the arctic waters and ice irritate them. 

The max some BSer in Western politically correct "climate change" ponzi scheme can rely on is NASA's data and maybe some berth at the only US Coast Guard ice-breaker Polar Star which is finally underway. Russians, meanwhile, give rides to expeditions and those North Sea Routes convoys take measurements and observe Arctic 24/7/365, in other words--non stop. This is precisely the reason that one Lider-class nuclear giant is being built at Zvezda and two others are waiting their turn. This is 70,000 tons of a raw nuclear-driven ice-crushing power.

Plus take a look at the list of nuclear ice-breakers of pr.22222--one is already in commission, 4 other are being built. Does Russia look to you as a country which wants to blow colossal resources on something which will not be needed due to "global warming"? As Bismark said: even when going to take a dump, Russians create a plan. Well, make your own conclusion. I always laugh when some journo or TV BSer, or some "political strategist" in the West begins to pontificate on "science". There is less and less space afforded for the real science in the West today and unlike Old Arctic Ice which grows inexorably, the space for real science in the West continues to shrink and there is nothing funny about it. Meanwhile Russia scrambles her ice-breakers to free 20 ships from ice in the time and place where it was not supposed to be. Right.  

Boy, I can only imagine how desperate they are in their powerlessness and pettiness looking at this guy.  

Boy, Haven't I Heard This Tune Before?

LOL. Of course, Russia is a "threat". She has been since the United States decided that it is the force for everything good against everything bad and that the war it is when the United States bombs weak defenseless nations into the stone age and then changes those hapless countries into shitholes, while profiting from it. But that is not a real war. 

Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said Russia remains the most urgent and immediate threat to the homeland even as China captures the attention of defense policymakers. “Russia is the primary military threat to the homeland today. It is not China—it is Russia,” VanHerck told Air Force Magazine on the sidelines of the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md. VanHerck explained that while China is the “long-term existential threat” to America, Russia is the stronger warfighting threat today. “From a kinetic standpoint—submarines, bombers, cruise missiles, those kinds of capabilities—Russia is the primary military threat,” VanHerck said, calling Russia and China “equals in non-kinetic—cyber, space.” “They have to both be feared,” he added.

Russians are strange people, they just don't like to be democratized. Especially when stand-off weapons are involved and, with a typical Russian cunning and perfidy, arrived to a conclusion that if they are getting bombed and invaded, they might as well respond in kind and do bombing of their own. You know, as in rearrange stones in the lands of those who bomb Russia, and in doing so destroy forces which bomb Russia. Yes, I know, this is such a treachery on Russians' part. How could they refuse all those benefits of "democracy" and the general even concluded: 

“If your only option to prevent an attack on the homeland is to nuke them, you’re not in a good place,” he said. “We have to create other capabilities and options to create doubt in their mind about ever striking our homeland.”

Right. Because we all know that the only thing Russians sleep and dream about is how to strike Skid Row or Detroit... ah, wait, I believe it has been bombed already by someone.

Well, you get my drift, after all, who said that Robocop movies were fiction? Communities like these are popping up around America like mushrooms after the rain. 

On a more serious note, however, it is clear that the United States militarily is in a bind and is undergoing a severe tactical and operational cognitive dissonance spurred by the decades of "transformation" which resulted in deluding itself with some very special "American way of war", while in reality nothing in warfare changed in terms of its main objective since the times of Clausewitz' truism that the main object of war "is to compel the enemy to do our will". Russians are not that kind of people who are compelled to do anyone's will (as many greatest military leaders in human history learned the hard way), and if they refused to do so on the insistence of Napoleon and Hitler and their largest armies in history in their time, they certainly wouldn't do it on America's account. 

Russia is certainly not going to attack the United States but if the United States attacks Russia, yes, Russia has means to obliterate the United States in response, no matter what efforts the United States undertakes to prevent such a response. Basically, VanHerck's main grievance is this: he doesn't want to be bombed back while bombing others. I know. But it is what it is--American generals do not know what it means to lose their families as a result of war, that is why they have such a cavalier attitude towards war. Russia, however, makes them uncomfortable and they don't like it. 

Russian verb, which Putin uses, сдохнуть, sadly, does not directly translate into English and it is not "drop dead", this verb is used when one describes the death of an animal--human dies, animal сдыхает. The nearest term is to croak. These are subtleties of Russian language which many in the West cannot grasp. VanHerck also expressed his opinions on Arctic, but I heard this tune before too. Sure, looking at the Rosatom fleet today I really cannot see what investment in time and treasure will be required on the US side to catch up. No, really.  

Sometimes people just have to stick to doing what they do best. Russians certainly did--they make best weapons and ice-breakers. And a couple of other things which are beyond the narrow scope of this post.

Arctic Front?

Scott Ritter penned a nice piece on the tensions in Arctic and noted:

The US is in the process of developing advanced SM-3 Block IIA surface-to-air missiles which can be launched from the Mark 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) employed on Aegis-capable ships. These new interceptors are capable of intercepting intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and will be tested in this configuration in the third quarter of 2020. Given the fact that the vast majority of Russia’s strategic nuclear force—especially those elements of which are stationed in Siberia—are configured to fly over the Arctic Sea region before reaching their targets in the United States, any US naval deployment in the Arctic Sea armed with these weapons could not be seen as innocent.

Here is where Russia's integrated air defense and strike capabilities come in play along all the Northern Sea Route. Geopolitics is really easy when viewed in statics, so is tactics and operations (well, not really, but for the sake of argument). I stated not for once, that all this apparatus consists primarily of few simplest geometric figures such as straight lines, angles, circles and sectors. Seems simple enough. It is when those figures begin to move and interact (relate) to each-other, this is where it all becomes extremely complex and cannot be described in motion to a layman. Yet, statics will do for a moment--once the circles with the radii of modern Russian anti-ship missiles, ranging from P-800 Onyx and 3M22 Zircon, begin to be "moved" around, one can easily see that no matter where the US Navy positions its ships with SM-3 (granted they did not develop a capability to plow through thick arctic ice, which is still there), up to the even projected retreat of arctic ice edge in the nearest 10+ years, there is simply nowhere to hide for US Navy's surface force, no matter its composition. 

SM-3 might be (declared) a "good" missile, allegedly, for the intercept of classic ballistic missiles--it is absolutely useless against modern anti-shipping weapons. Especially carried by MiG-31Ks or TU-22M3M. Ritter is correct:

If the US decides to beef up its naval presence in the Arctic region, expanding the current Barents Sea Patrol to incorporate more aggressive FONOPs along Russia’s Northern Sea Route, one can anticipate that Russia will respond in kind, creating the potential for a repeat of the Yorktown/Caron incident in the frigid waters of the Arctic north. In this day and age of renewed Cold War-like tensions between the US/NATO and Russia, the last thing either side needs is a new point of potential force-on-force friction.

Force friction is a euphemism for two opposing forces getting in direct contact with each-other. The only difference here is that unlike famous incident in the Black Sea in 1980s, any force entering the area will be tracked even before they think about anything and will have firing solution ready through a variety strike means from which it has no defense. This is not to mention that the launch sites of Avangards, as one example, not to mention mobile Yars complexes are entirely out of the range of even new SLCM-N. But here is this trick, unless the United States wants to play in nuclear exchange (and there are a number of lunatics who want that), one fact remains unchanged--Russia already has a whole set of conventional (non-nuclear) instruments to counter US nuclear threat by simply sinking any US (NATO) asset in the Arctic region. And here is the main point: the game is not about nuclear exchange, long ago it became a game of conventional weapons and when it comes down to conventional stand-off, high supersonic or hypersonic strike weapons and reconnaissance and tracking systems, the United States long ago lost this arms race and the gap continues to grow. In this case, moving expensive and allegedly effective assets under the sights of Russia's forces in Arctic is nothing more than a traditional chest thumping. There is a reason, the United States wants Kinzhal to be included into START negotiations. Maybe because those weapons are merely CGI, right?