Charles McPhedran
@charliekreuz.bsky.social
Australian journalist, filmmaker between Berlin and Kyiv. Focused on spies, special forces, and why justice is so rarely served. Check out my BBC Radio 4 documentary, “Putin’s Blood Feud” https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002830j
Pinned
Reducing legal liability for the leadership has been a Russian foreign policy priority for years. It is often one of the first things that foreign leaders concede in negotiations. Perhaps because a prosecution seems unlikely. But this has arguably entrenched the regime’s belief it has impunity.
Reposted by Charles McPhedran
Graphic showing US military deployments in SOUTHCOM
November 9, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Graphic showing US military deployments in SOUTHCOM
Maddeningly, this is now happening weekly, if not more frequently.
1/2
Russia attacked journalists and an evacuation team, trying to save residents' lives, in Kostiantynivka.
"Thank god I'm alive" says the driver in Russian after a Kremlin killer drone tried to eliminate him and the two guests.
Russia attacked journalists and an evacuation team, trying to save residents' lives, in Kostiantynivka.
"Thank god I'm alive" says the driver in Russian after a Kremlin killer drone tried to eliminate him and the two guests.
November 8, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Maddeningly, this is now happening weekly, if not more frequently.
Russian mercenaries forced French and UN peacekeepers out. Now they appear unable to control Mali, and the worst seems likely.
An unfolding tragedy for the people of Mali. And a grim reminder that everything Russia touches turns to death and disaster.
on.ft.com/49uzklg via @FT
on.ft.com/49uzklg via @FT
Jihadis encircle Mali’s capital as they close in on power
Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists tighten blockade around Bamako as military regime reels
on.ft.com
November 1, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Russian mercenaries forced French and UN peacekeepers out. Now they appear unable to control Mali, and the worst seems likely.
Reposted by Charles McPhedran
Over 460 people were reportedly killed at a hospital in western Darfur that was taken by Sudanese paramilitary forces, the WHO chief says.
apnews.com/article/suda...
apnews.com/article/suda...
Sudan's paramilitary killed hundreds including hospital patients in Darfur, residents say
Sudan's paramilitary forces have killed hundreds, including patients, in a hospital in el-Fasher city, Darfur, according to residents and aid workers.
apnews.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Over 460 people were reportedly killed at a hospital in western Darfur that was taken by Sudanese paramilitary forces, the WHO chief says.
apnews.com/article/suda...
apnews.com/article/suda...
A coup in Romania, an EU member-state…
🇷🇺 Russian figures close to the Kremlin are mounting a last-minute attempt to halt the extradition from Dubai of a Romanian-French mercenary wanted in #Romania for plotting a coup, the Guardian can reveal.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
#russia
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
#russia
Kremlin-linked operatives scramble to stop extradition of mercenary accused of plotting coup
Exclusive: Inside a Russian bid to free Horațiu Potra, a mercenary held in Dubai accused of conspiring to ‘overthrow constitutional order’ in Romania
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:17 AM
A coup in Romania, an EU member-state…
Reposted by Charles McPhedran
Russia ends the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement, but the commitment not to use PMDA plutonium for military purposes appears to remain in place. Links in the next tweet. Image: A mock up of a container used to store plutonium at Mayak 1/2
October 28, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Russia ends the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement, but the commitment not to use PMDA plutonium for military purposes appears to remain in place. Links in the next tweet. Image: A mock up of a container used to store plutonium at Mayak 1/2
Amazing words of wisdom like “If you come out and you aren’t right, then you’ll get one on the the noggin.”
Dmitriev gifted these chocolates feat Putin’s quotes to the US delegation
The pack is called “Great words by the grand human” and “We don’t leave ours behind “
Next post - I translate the little squares
The pack is called “Great words by the grand human” and “We don’t leave ours behind “
Next post - I translate the little squares
October 26, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Amazing words of wisdom like “If you come out and you aren’t right, then you’ll get one on the the noggin.”
Reposted by Charles McPhedran
"Ein fatales Signal an alle Putin-Gegner" nennt Grünen-Politiker Wagener die Abschiebung von Familienmitgliedern des "Tiergartenmord"-Opfers. Sie müssen in Georgien um ihre Sicherheit fürchten, die Grenze nach Russland ist offen. www.tagesschau.de/ausland/euro...
"Tiergartenmord": Bruder des Opfers mit Familie abgeschoben
Mehrere Familienmitglieder des 2019 in Berlin ermordeten Selimchan Changoschwili sind nach Georgien abgeschoben worden. Sie fürchten dort um ihre Sicherheit. Grünen-Politiker Wagener spricht von "zyni...
www.tagesschau.de
October 25, 2025 at 9:54 AM
"Ein fatales Signal an alle Putin-Gegner" nennt Grünen-Politiker Wagener die Abschiebung von Familienmitgliedern des "Tiergartenmord"-Opfers. Sie müssen in Georgien um ihre Sicherheit fürchten, die Grenze nach Russland ist offen. www.tagesschau.de/ausland/euro...
Zurab Khangoshvili, whose brother Zelimkhan was murdered in Berlin by a FSB hitman, has been deported back to Georgia by the German authorities. Zurab has told me that he fled after his late brother warned he was *not* safe there. 1/2
(DW via @tavisupleba.bsky.social)
www.dw.com/ru/brata-ubi...
(DW via @tavisupleba.bsky.social)
www.dw.com/ru/brata-ubi...
Брата убитого в Берлине Хангошвили депортировали в Грузию – DW – 24.10.2025
Чартерным рейсом в Тбилиси 23 октября были высланы 48 человек. Среди них брат и другие родственники убитого в Берлине бывшего чеченского полевого командира Зелимхана Хангошвили. DW наблюдала за депорт...
www.dw.com
October 25, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Zurab Khangoshvili, whose brother Zelimkhan was murdered in Berlin by a FSB hitman, has been deported back to Georgia by the German authorities. Zurab has told me that he fled after his late brother warned he was *not* safe there. 1/2
(DW via @tavisupleba.bsky.social)
www.dw.com/ru/brata-ubi...
(DW via @tavisupleba.bsky.social)
www.dw.com/ru/brata-ubi...
Drums are beating harder and harder every day.
Trump will coordinate with Congress "when Maduro’s corpse is in U.S. custody," administration source says.-Semafor
October 24, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Drums are beating harder and harder every day.
Where is the reporting on this?
“For local residents, Russia’s human safari has made sudden death from above an everyday fact of life. During the first nine months of 2025, more than a hundred people were killed and over one thousand were wounded in drone attacks.”
www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrain...
www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrain...
Russia’s ‘human safari’ in southern Ukraine is a warning to the world
Russia's escalating campaign of drone attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine's Kherson region highlights the destructive power of modern drone technologies, writes Oleksandr Tolokonnikov.
www.atlanticcouncil.org
October 24, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Where is the reporting on this?
Reposted by Charles McPhedran
'Russia acquired advanced Western technologies to build an underwater network designed to protect its nuclear weapons. The incident raises questions about Europe's ability to prevent the export of sensitive technologies to Moscow.' www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decod... #Harmony #Гармoния (€)
'Russian Secrets': How Russia built an Arctic spy network using European equipment
Hidden behind shell companies, Russia acquired advanced Western technologies to build a secret underwater network designed to protect its nuclear weapons. The incident raises questions about Europe's ...
www.lemonde.fr
October 23, 2025 at 5:54 AM
'Russia acquired advanced Western technologies to build an underwater network designed to protect its nuclear weapons. The incident raises questions about Europe's ability to prevent the export of sensitive technologies to Moscow.' www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decod... #Harmony #Гармoния (€)
Revealing interview with a former FSB officer, who reveals how astroturf movements/organised crime were used by first Yanukovych on the Maidan (to suppress protest) and then by the FSB (as “separatists”) in Donbas. This matches a lot of my reporting back then.
theins.ru/en/confessio...
theins.ru/en/confessio...
October 23, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Revealing interview with a former FSB officer, who reveals how astroturf movements/organised crime were used by first Yanukovych on the Maidan (to suppress protest) and then by the FSB (as “separatists”) in Donbas. This matches a lot of my reporting back then.
theins.ru/en/confessio...
theins.ru/en/confessio...
Sarcasm fail
"I abducted a child from Mariupol and brought him into my family."
Russia's Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, has admitted guilt in a war crime - the abduction of Ukrainian children - for which the Hague court issued a warrant.
Russia's Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, has admitted guilt in a war crime - the abduction of Ukrainian children - for which the Hague court issued a warrant.
October 21, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Sarcasm fail
Reposted by Charles McPhedran
Zelensky clearly annoyed with Steve Witkoff, who views the war as some sort of real estate transaction & pushes Kremlin talking points. Recently he pushed Kyiv to accept Putin's demand for the rest of the Donbas because "it was incorporated into [Russia's] constitution."
Read Zelensky's comments:
Read Zelensky's comments:
October 20, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Zelensky clearly annoyed with Steve Witkoff, who views the war as some sort of real estate transaction & pushes Kremlin talking points. Recently he pushed Kyiv to accept Putin's demand for the rest of the Donbas because "it was incorporated into [Russia's] constitution."
Read Zelensky's comments:
Read Zelensky's comments:
Reposted by Charles McPhedran
Kremlin bot network Matryoshka targets new French ministers with claims of corruption, pedophilia, and drug trafficking
The disinfo campaign flagged by @antibot4navalny.bsky.social is spreading short clips disguised as content from well-known French media outlets, such as Le Parisien.
The disinfo campaign flagged by @antibot4navalny.bsky.social is spreading short clips disguised as content from well-known French media outlets, such as Le Parisien.
Kremlin bot network Matryoshka targets new French ministers with claims of corruption, pedophilia, and drug trafficking
The Kremlin-linked bot network Matryoshka has launched a campaign on X (formerly Twitter) aimed at discrediting members of France’s newly appointed government, accusing them of pedophilia, corruption,...
theins.press
October 20, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Kremlin bot network Matryoshka targets new French ministers with claims of corruption, pedophilia, and drug trafficking
The disinfo campaign flagged by @antibot4navalny.bsky.social is spreading short clips disguised as content from well-known French media outlets, such as Le Parisien.
The disinfo campaign flagged by @antibot4navalny.bsky.social is spreading short clips disguised as content from well-known French media outlets, such as Le Parisien.
Trump is reportedly now contradicting his own statements on how the war is going.
October 19, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Trump is reportedly now contradicting his own statements on how the war is going.
Just a reminder of the years of institutional failure that have produced the Trump/Putin summit in Budapest.
🇪🇺💸Another classic EU-funded project from Hungary: €1.3 million spent on a useless roundabout in the middle of nowhere—after Viktor Orbán's government failed to deliver its share (rail developments) for a planned logistics hub and container terminal. By @atlatszo.hu: atlatszo.hu/orszagszerte...
October 18, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Just a reminder of the years of institutional failure that have produced the Trump/Putin summit in Budapest.
Reposted by Charles McPhedran
October 18, 2025 at 7:51 PM
So, according to intelligence officials quoted in various media reports, Putin both believed disinformation about the situation in Ukraine before the invasion and believes it in the present.
This to me is the most revealing sentence in this article. 👇
Outside observers often assume that senior military commanders in the rear and political decision-makers possess a clear understanding of the battlefield situation and the relative status of their forces.
Outside observers often assume that senior military commanders in the rear and political decision-makers possess a clear understanding of the battlefield situation and the relative status of their forces.
October 17, 2025 at 12:44 PM
So, according to intelligence officials quoted in various media reports, Putin both believed disinformation about the situation in Ukraine before the invasion and believes it in the present.
NATO’s Rutte warns of Russo-Chinese joint attack:
"[T]he Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific cannot be seen as two separate theatres," he said.
"We know...if China would do anything against Taiwan, most likely that Putin will be forced by Xi Jinping to move against NATO."
www.afr.com/world/europe...
"[T]he Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific cannot be seen as two separate theatres," he said.
"We know...if China would do anything against Taiwan, most likely that Putin will be forced by Xi Jinping to move against NATO."
www.afr.com/world/europe...
Australia’s spy plane steps up as Russia’s drones swarm Europe
An Australian early warning aircraft is returning home from Poland after operating during a heavy period of aerial warfare in the Russian-Ukraine war.
www.afr.com
October 17, 2025 at 12:15 PM
NATO’s Rutte warns of Russo-Chinese joint attack:
"[T]he Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific cannot be seen as two separate theatres," he said.
"We know...if China would do anything against Taiwan, most likely that Putin will be forced by Xi Jinping to move against NATO."
www.afr.com/world/europe...
"[T]he Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific cannot be seen as two separate theatres," he said.
"We know...if China would do anything against Taiwan, most likely that Putin will be forced by Xi Jinping to move against NATO."
www.afr.com/world/europe...
Reposted by Charles McPhedran
An explosion late Thursday destroyed two cars belonging to the family of the Italian investigative journalist Sigfrido Ranucci, outside his home in a town south of Rome. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy condemned the explosion and said it was aimed at intimidating Ranucci.
Explosion Destroys Vehicles Outside Home of Italian Journalist
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the attack on Sigfrido Ranucci, the host of the investigative program “Report.” He was previously under police protection.
nyti.ms
October 17, 2025 at 9:25 AM
An explosion late Thursday destroyed two cars belonging to the family of the Italian investigative journalist Sigfrido Ranucci, outside his home in a town south of Rome. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy condemned the explosion and said it was aimed at intimidating Ranucci.
In recent years, Orbán has:
-Undermined the EU’s vaccine policy
-Wrecked its enlargement strategy as best he could; funded hostile leaders like Milorad Dodik
-Spied on the EU; it’s unclear who received this information
-Oversaw rampant corruption
Meanwhile, Article 7 proceedings:
-Undermined the EU’s vaccine policy
-Wrecked its enlargement strategy as best he could; funded hostile leaders like Milorad Dodik
-Spied on the EU; it’s unclear who received this information
-Oversaw rampant corruption
Meanwhile, Article 7 proceedings:
October 17, 2025 at 9:35 AM
In recent years, Orbán has:
-Undermined the EU’s vaccine policy
-Wrecked its enlargement strategy as best he could; funded hostile leaders like Milorad Dodik
-Spied on the EU; it’s unclear who received this information
-Oversaw rampant corruption
Meanwhile, Article 7 proceedings:
-Undermined the EU’s vaccine policy
-Wrecked its enlargement strategy as best he could; funded hostile leaders like Milorad Dodik
-Spied on the EU; it’s unclear who received this information
-Oversaw rampant corruption
Meanwhile, Article 7 proceedings:
Reposted by Charles McPhedran
Jan Marsalek's grandfather was also a spy. My research shows that he supplied the Eastern Bloc with Austrian state secrets for ten years.
Is his family key to understanding Jan Marsalek's story better? My story @diezeit.bsky.social (gift link) www.zeit.de/2025/44/hans...
Is his family key to understanding Jan Marsalek's story better? My story @diezeit.bsky.social (gift link) www.zeit.de/2025/44/hans...
Hans Marsalek: Der zweite Mann
Hans Maršálek war KZ-Überlebender, Held des Widerstands – und der Großvater von Jan Marsalek. Nun zeigen Recherchen der ZEIT: Auch er war Spion.
www.zeit.de
October 16, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Jan Marsalek's grandfather was also a spy. My research shows that he supplied the Eastern Bloc with Austrian state secrets for ten years.
Is his family key to understanding Jan Marsalek's story better? My story @diezeit.bsky.social (gift link) www.zeit.de/2025/44/hans...
Is his family key to understanding Jan Marsalek's story better? My story @diezeit.bsky.social (gift link) www.zeit.de/2025/44/hans...