Notices by ChrisO_wiki (chriso_wiki@mastodon.social)

1/ Russian air defence crews reportedly shot down Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 with two missiles fired from a Pantsir launcher near Grozny, after being 'blinded' by a Russian electronic warfare system, according to a detailed account of the incident on 25 December 2024. ⬇️

2/ More details have emerged of the specific design flaws that caused the tankers Volgoneft-219 and Volgoneft-239 to disintegrate in a severe storm east of Crimea. As previously reported, both ships were old (55 and 51 years respectively) and didn't meet maritime safety rules.

3/ According to the publication 'Podyom', both ships were shortened by cutting out their central section and welding the stern and bow together in what seems to have been a botched attempt to meet International Maritime Organisation standards. Both vessels split along the weld.

1/ The two Russian tankers that broke apart yesterday in the Kerch Strait reportedly split along welds created when the ships were modified in a botched attempt to meet safety regulations. Numerous safety rules were being violated when the ships sank. ⬇️
https://mastodon.social/@ChrisO_wiki/113658931927582482

2/ The 'DPR Infantry' Telegram channel publishes a despairing Telegram exchange with a soldier using the callsign 'Hispanic', about the impact of the vehicle ban:

– Fuck. We can no longer supply ammunition to our stormtroopers.

– This has happened everywhere now. Fuck.

– And it’s unclear what to do

– A civilian car with a slightly wounded man was turned away at the checkpoint, and he had to take a taxi to the hospital.

– Write reports on each case

1/ Russian milbloggers say that the army's ban on using personal vehicles at the front threatens "riots or the collapse of the front", while taxi drivers – on whom wounded Russian soldiers now depend for evacuation – are charging extortionate fares. ⬇️

3/ The analysis found "a structural break for Musk's metrics around July 13, 2024" following which his view counts increased by 138.27% and retweets increased by 237.94%, with a similarly large increase for favourites. This was far in excess of other accounts monitored.

2/ The study, by Professor Timothy Graham of the QUT and Professor Mark Andrejevic of Monash University, analysed 56,184 posts sent by a number of pro-Republican and pro-Democrat accounts between 1 January 2024 and 25 October 2024 and examined view counts, retweet counts, and favourite counts for each.

1/ X's algorithm was changed in mid-July 2024 to systematically boost Republican-leaning accounts and Elon Musk's own account following his endorsement of Donald Trump, according to a newly released computational study of engagement from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). ⬇️

7/ Musk made his endorsement of Trump on July 13, 2024. The analysis suggests that Musk did more than merely give verbal support for Trump, but also changed X's algorithm on the same date to systematically promote his own and other prominent pro-Republican acounts. /end

Source:
https://eprints.qut.edu.au/253211/

6/ The authors conclude: "Republican accounts benefited from increased visibility or recommendation bias post-change. This could imply an algorithmic adjustment, potentially in the For You feed, designed to place certain content in front of more users, thus driving up views selectively for these accounts."

5/ The analysis also found a large increase in view counts, retweet counts, and favourite counts, for Republican-leaning accounts, but not for Democrat-leaning ones. Again, the break point for this appears to be July 13, 2024, suggesting a platform-wide algorithmic change.

4/ The authors conclude that the results "indicate that Musk’s posts received a marked increase in visibility (view counts), amplification (retweet counts), and user interaction (favourite counts) that outpaced the general engagement trends observed across the platform. The unique post-change uplift for Musk's account suggests the possibility of algorithmic prioritisation or bias, positioning Musk's content favourably in terms of platform visibility and user engagement."

1/ Russia's Wagner Group reportedly operated a unit manned by people with chronic or terminal illnesses, who were used as "moving targets" to identify Ukrainian firing points. The 'Umbrella' unit is said to have formed a separate force within the wider Wagner Group. ⬇️

1/ Russian soldiers are being provided with Warhammer 40,000-style 'purity seals', blessed by the Russian Orthodox Church, to protect them from harm on the battlefield. The initiative illustrates the huge popularity of Warhammer 40K on both sides of the war in Ukraine. ⬇️

9/ These problems appear to be combining, judging by what 'Doctors, You Are Not Alone', says. The result is likely to be that harsh military discipline is undermining voluntary efforts to resolve shortages of medical supplies, resulting in yet more deaths from injuries. /end

Source:
https://t.me/vrachivyneodni_channel/6882

7/ "Hence the fact that it is easier for people to run around the front line without a first aid kit than to initiate some kind of inspection. A bad trend, right?

If there are historians among our readers, tell us about examples when some country won a war in conditions of total distrust of the soldiers in the command. Maybe we will adopt their experience. Sad irony, if anything."

8/ The commentary highlights a number of trends among the Russian forces in Ukraine which have been reported elsewhere. Poor morale appears to be being compensated for by increasingly harsh punishments, especially by sending dissenters into potentially suicidal assaults.

The poor state of Russian battlefield medicine has been remarked upon many times before (see thread below) and has undoubtedly resulted in thousands of men dying from survivable wounds.
https://mastodon.social/@ChrisO_wiki/110388180034161219

2/ The 'Doctors, You Are Not Alone' Telegram channel reports that it is encountering resistance each time there are discussions about sending first aid kits to the troops fighting in Ukraine. Soldiers fear being sent into assaults as punishment if they ask for aid.

5/ The volunteers ask for consent from the soldiers to communicate their needs to the command on their behalf. "We ourselves do not pass on the data of the units to anyone without approval, trust in us 'from below' is too important." However, soldiers usually refuse this.