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Reposted by Hans de Vreij

Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social · 37m

It’s worth noting (pun intended) that since Reagan launched the Strategic Defense Initiative in March 1983, the United States has spent more than $453,000,000,000 on multiple missile defense schemes, but to date we have not rendered ballistic missiles—or any other missiles—“impotent and obsolete.”

Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social · Mar 23

Moreover, since fiscal 1962, the US has spent more than $531 billion on multiple ineffective missile defense schemes—including Safeguard, which was operational for less than four months during 1975-76 and utilized nuclear-tipped interceptors to protect 150 Minuteman III ICBMs in North Dakota.

An aerial color photograph of the Stanley R. Mickelesen Safeguard Complex at Nekoma, North Dakota, the only operational Safeguard site ever built. The Missile Site Radar is the pyramid-shaped building in the background at center. The small square launch area in the foreground contains launchers for 16 Sprint antiballistic missiles. The larger rectangular area adjacent to it contains launchers for 30 Spartan antiballistic missiles. The entire launch area is ringed by two layers of tall perimeter security fencing.

A color photograph of the US Army Homing Overlay Experiment (HOE) test interceptor (built by Lockheed Missiles and Space Company) on display at the National Air and Space Museum Annex in Fairfax County, Virginia. After being launched from the ground and reaching space, the umbrella-like 13-foot-long spokes would unfurl and the hit-to-kill 2,600-pound interceptor would be guided by onboard sensors to smash into a ballistic missile reentry vehicle carrying a nuclear war during its midcourse phase (between the boost phase into space and reentry into the atmosphere over a target).

A color photograph of the Boeing/Air Force YAL-1 test bed (a modified 747) for the Airborne Laser in flight. YAL-1 was built to study if a chemical laser mounted in its nose could destroy ballistic missiles during their brief boost phase into space. It was plagued by serious technical problems and never achieved operational capability.

A color photograph of then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and several other men standing against a railing next to an open missile silo at Fort Greely, Alaska, in June 2009, looking down at the Ground-Based Missile Defense (GMD) interceptor missile inside.

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Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social · 37m

Gorbachev had proposed and Reagan had already agreed to dismantling all nuclear weapons over a 10-year period, but Reagan stubbornly insisted there could be no legal constraints on his Strategic Defense Initiative, which he had been falsely assured was on the verge of a technological breakthrough.

An official color photograph from the Reykjavik Summit showing Reagan and Gorbachev sitting in a small carpeted room at Hofdi House around a small wooden table with their translators. Reagan is speaking to Gorbachev.

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Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social · 37m

Today in 1986, unprecedented negotiations in Reykjavik, Iceland, to verifiably eliminate _all_ US and Soviet nuclear weapons collapsed when Ronald Reagan rejected Mikhail Gorbachev’s stipulation that research on ballistic missile defenses be restricted to laboratories (per the 1972 ABM Treaty).

A color photograph of presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev leaving Hofdi House at the end of the summit. Reagan, waring a tan overcoat, looks stunned and a little angry. Gorbachev, waring a blue overcoat and a hat, looks disappointed, wistful at the enormous missed opportunity the summit provided.

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Shipwreck @shipwreck75.bsky.social · 10m

A senior Hamas official said that they have completed gathering the living hostages and distributing them to various points inside the Gaza Strip ahead of their release. The source added that the hostages will be handed over to the Red Cross in three different areas in Gaza.-Al Jazeera

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Hans de Vreij @vreij.bsky.social · 21m

'Russia attacks Ukraine’s power grid as Moscow worries over US Tomahawk missiles' apnews.com/article/russ...

Russia attacks Ukraine's power grid as Moscow worries over US Tomahawk missiles

Russia has attacked Ukraine’s power grid as part of an ongoing campaign to damage energy infrastructure before winter.

apnews.com

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Euromaidan Press @euromaidanpress.bsky.social · 4h

One Dutch minehunter transferred, another expected before 2026, crew training is underway, Ukrainian Navy says.

The transferred vessels, however, remain abroad due to the Black Sea restrictions.
euromaidanpress.com/2025/10/12/u...

Ukraine receives new Dutch minehunter — another to follow before the year ends

Ukraine’s Navy chief says a second Alkmaar-class ship is expected by year’s end as crew training begins.

euromaidanpress.com

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Ruben Brekelmans @rubenbrekelmans.bsky.social · 1h

Goed om terug te zijn in Odesa, om de Oekraïense marine te steunen.

We bespreken de uitvoering van ons €400 mln steunpakket voor maritieme veiligheid, waaronder schepen en zeedrones.

Cruciaal voor Oekraïne om zich te verdedigen tegen aanvallen op zee en voor vrije doorvaart in de Zwarte Zee. 🇳🇱🇺🇦

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Ruben Brekelmans @rubenbrekelmans.bsky.social · 44m

Oekraïne loopt voorop met geavanceerde counter-drone systemen en operaties.

In de regio Odesa bezoeken we een moderne commando-post.

Zeer indrukwekkend om te zien hoe Oekraïne de laatste technologie effectief toepast (ook uit Nederland). Hier kunnen wij veel van leren! 🇳🇱🇺🇦

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Oekraïne Vandaag @oekrainevandaag.bsky.social · 1h

Rusland heeft opzettelijk de verbinding van de kerncentrale van Zaporizja met het Oekraïense elektriciteitsnet verbroken om een aansluiting op het Russische net te testen.

Dat zegt 🇺🇦 minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Andrii Sybiha.

De kerncentrale kampt al bijna drie weken met een stroomstoring.

Russia cuts Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant from Ukrainian grid to test Russian link as blackout nears 3 weeks, Kyiv says

"Not only is this an attempted theft of a peaceful Ukrainian nuclear facility. Unauthorized actions of Russia's (state nuclear energy corporation) Rosatom violate internationally recognized nuclear sa...

kyivindependent.com

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Caroline de Gruyter @carolinedegruyter.bsky.social · 1d

Europa reageert veel te mak op hybride sabotage van Rusland

Mijn column in @nrc.nl

www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...

Column | Europa reageert veel te mak op hybride sabotage van Rusland

In Europa: Caroline de Gruyter

www.nrc.nl

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Russia-Ukraine Daily News @rvps2001.bsky.social · 1h

💬 In an unprecedented move, #Russia deliberately broke the connection between the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the Ukrainian power grid to test its integration into the Russian network, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Oct. 12.

kyivindependent.com/russia-cuts-...

#Ukraine

Russia cuts Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant from Ukrainian grid to test Russian link as blackout nears 3 weeks, Kyiv says

"Not only is this an attempted theft of a peaceful Ukrainian nuclear facility. Unauthorized actions of Russia's (state nuclear energy corporation) Rosatom violate internationally recognized nuclear sa...

kyivindependent.com

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Ruurd Jansen @ruurd.bsky.social · 3h

Sukkels. Wíj zijn Nederland.

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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 3h

Move over, Alan Turing: meet the working-class hero of Bletchley Park you didn’t see in the movies

The Oxbridge-educated boffin is feted as the codebreaking genius who helped Britain win the war. But should a little-known Post Office engineer named Tommy Flowers be seen as the real father of computing?

www.theguardian.com

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Tim White @twmcltd.bsky.social · 3h

Almost 10,000 homes are without power in the Kyiv suburb of Boryspil, which is in Kyiv region.

It's as a result of a previously unreported Russian strike on yet another energy target.
#StandWithUkraine️

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 10h

Unprecedented grift & corruption, happening daily right in front of us

Daniel A Collier, PhD @dcollier74.bsky.social · 1d

Man what a lucky guess.........

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BNR @bnr.nl · 3h

Rusland verviervoudigt aanmeldbonussen leger, als rekruten maar tekenen

Russische regios verhogen de aanmeldbonussen voor nieuwe militaire rekruten drastisch om hun rekruteringscijfers op te krikken, soms keren ze bonussen uit die tot wel vier keer zo hoog zijn. Dat melden CNN en het Duitse Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. Volgens analisten voldoen de ideologische rekruteringscampagnes niet langer, en kan het Kremlin op zeker moment tot een nieuwe mobilisatieronde worden gedwongen.

www.bnr.nl

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MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 3h

🇳🇱🤝🇺🇦 Ukraine recently received an Alkmaar-type minehunter ship from its partners, and we expect another one to be delivered by the end of the year, — Neizhpapa

Illustrative photo 🛳️

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Sven-Erik Volberg @volberg.bsky.social · 6h

US dollar is having a worse year jn decades. I wonder what event from January could be the underlying reason? 🤔

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24Hours Ukraine @24hoursukraine.bsky.social · 4h

🔥💥A Ukrainian Buk-M1 intercepted a Russian Iskander-K cruise missile over the Sumy region.

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de Volkskrant @volkskrant.nl · 4h

Tientallen doden bij bloedige strijd aan de grens tussen Pakistan en Afghanistan

www.volkskrant.nl

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OSINT Intuit @urikikaski.bsky.social · 4h

Pakistani fighter jets continue to bomb Taliban targets in the Kandahar region. Since midnight last night, the Taliban has issued five ceasefire requests to Pakistan which have all been rejected!

#OSINT