Sarah Kirchberger
@sarahkirchberger.bsky.social
Director, Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (@ispk.bsky.social) | Vice President, German Maritime Institute (DMI) | Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council | ex-naval analyst @TKMS & ex-Sinology professor @Uni Hamburg.
Pinned
🧵 Am updating once more my PLA Navy type & age structure graphs. Been doing these occasionally since ca. 2010 as they help me keep a grip on #PLAN fleet development; perhaps others find them useful too.
Starting this new round with the aircraft carriers. Let me know in case of typos/mistakes pls!
Starting this new round with the aircraft carriers. Let me know in case of typos/mistakes pls!
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
🤷♂️
Japanese giant SoftBank said Tuesday it has sold its entire stake in tech giant Nvidia for $5.83 billion.
Click here to read more: https://cnb.cx/49LCIs8
Click here to read more: https://cnb.cx/49LCIs8
November 11, 2025 at 8:18 AM
🤷♂️
Long 🧵 which gives an excellent overview of the 🇫🇮 Finnish preparedness system, posted in March 2022 by @jmkorhonen.fi.
Many people have wondered how the Finns defend Finland today, so here's a very short introduction to modern Finnish defence policy - and a brief synopsis of how the Finnish military would probably fight if any hostile country decided to invade. 1/
November 11, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Long 🧵 which gives an excellent overview of the 🇫🇮 Finnish preparedness system, posted in March 2022 by @jmkorhonen.fi.
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
The Navy would begin to lay minefields to close off the Finnish coast. Only selected sea lanes would be left open, guarded by warships and shore-based artillery and missile batteries. 22/
December 1, 2024 at 4:05 PM
The Navy would begin to lay minefields to close off the Finnish coast. Only selected sea lanes would be left open, guarded by warships and shore-based artillery and missile batteries. 22/
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
The Air Force would disperse to numerous small roadside bases - almost any straight stretch of a road would suffice in a pinch.
Troops would prepare to move to defend the normally demilitarized Åland islands. 23/
Troops would prepare to move to defend the normally demilitarized Åland islands. 23/
December 1, 2024 at 4:10 PM
The Air Force would disperse to numerous small roadside bases - almost any straight stretch of a road would suffice in a pinch.
Troops would prepare to move to defend the normally demilitarized Åland islands. 23/
Troops would prepare to move to defend the normally demilitarized Åland islands. 23/
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
If the buildup continued to look hostile, more reservists would be called up. Together with civilian construction companies, they would begin to turn Finland into a hedgehog: prepared defensive positions and minefields would be constructed, and demolition charges installed. 21/
December 1, 2024 at 4:00 PM
If the buildup continued to look hostile, more reservists would be called up. Together with civilian construction companies, they would begin to turn Finland into a hedgehog: prepared defensive positions and minefields would be constructed, and demolition charges installed. 21/
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
Less visible reminder of the total defence policy is the requirement to equip every bridge, overpass, tunnel, rock cut and similar construction with prepared demolition charge pits. Don't worry if you are in Finland, actual explosives would be installed only during a crisis.14/
December 1, 2024 at 3:19 PM
Less visible reminder of the total defence policy is the requirement to equip every bridge, overpass, tunnel, rock cut and similar construction with prepared demolition charge pits. Don't worry if you are in Finland, actual explosives would be installed only during a crisis.14/
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
The High North has been problematic for another reason: Soviet Union planned to "neutralize" northern Norway in case of war with NATO, and to do so, it required land access through Finnish (and Swedish) Lapland. (Source:...
December 1, 2024 at 2:33 PM
The High North has been problematic for another reason: Soviet Union planned to "neutralize" northern Norway in case of war with NATO, and to do so, it required land access through Finnish (and Swedish) Lapland. (Source:...
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
In the North, Finland abuts the Kola peninsula, which is home for the main retaliatory strategic nuclear force of the Russian Federation - its Northern Fleet missile submarines - and is close to their main operating area, the "Bastion." (Pic from a FIIA report) 5/
December 1, 2024 at 2:28 PM
In the North, Finland abuts the Kola peninsula, which is home for the main retaliatory strategic nuclear force of the Russian Federation - its Northern Fleet missile submarines - and is close to their main operating area, the "Bastion." (Pic from a FIIA report) 5/
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
St. Petersburg, Russia's number two city, is very close to Finnish border, and the Baltic seaway to Russia runs a gauntlet in the narrow Gulf of Finland. Whoever controls Finland and Estonia could theoretically bottle up the Russian maritime traffic at will. 4/
December 1, 2024 at 2:23 PM
St. Petersburg, Russia's number two city, is very close to Finnish border, and the Baltic seaway to Russia runs a gauntlet in the narrow Gulf of Finland. Whoever controls Finland and Estonia could theoretically bottle up the Russian maritime traffic at will. 4/
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
Many people have wondered how the Finns defend Finland today, so here's a very short introduction to modern Finnish defence policy - and a brief synopsis of how the Finnish military would probably fight if any hostile country decided to invade. 1/
December 1, 2024 at 2:08 PM
Many people have wondered how the Finns defend Finland today, so here's a very short introduction to modern Finnish defence policy - and a brief synopsis of how the Finnish military would probably fight if any hostile country decided to invade. 1/
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
November 11, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
Peak shadow fleet is still to come
-New US sanctions to weaken Russia’s oil exports, but recalibration is expected
-At least 11 ships moved into sanctioned oil trades in September
t.me/LloydsListDa...
#Sanctions #UkraineCrisis #Tankers #VLCC #Energy #Ports #Felicity #StarPione #Rosneft #Lukoil
-New US sanctions to weaken Russia’s oil exports, but recalibration is expected
-At least 11 ships moved into sanctioned oil trades in September
t.me/LloydsListDa...
#Sanctions #UkraineCrisis #Tankers #VLCC #Energy #Ports #Felicity #StarPione #Rosneft #Lukoil
November 11, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Peak shadow fleet is still to come
-New US sanctions to weaken Russia’s oil exports, but recalibration is expected
-At least 11 ships moved into sanctioned oil trades in September
t.me/LloydsListDa...
#Sanctions #UkraineCrisis #Tankers #VLCC #Energy #Ports #Felicity #StarPione #Rosneft #Lukoil
-New US sanctions to weaken Russia’s oil exports, but recalibration is expected
-At least 11 ships moved into sanctioned oil trades in September
t.me/LloydsListDa...
#Sanctions #UkraineCrisis #Tankers #VLCC #Energy #Ports #Felicity #StarPione #Rosneft #Lukoil
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
@sarahkirchberger.bsky.social über Finnland und die Bedrohung durch Russland.
Wehrhaftes Finnland
Finnland, mit seiner langen Grenze zu Russland, setzt auf eine konsequente Sicherheitsstrategie: eine starke Landesverteidigung, breite gesellschaftliche Resilienz und internationale Kooperation.
www.zdf.de
November 11, 2025 at 7:17 AM
@sarahkirchberger.bsky.social über Finnland und die Bedrohung durch Russland.
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
AIS-spoof-station WHISKEY 365 in Finland is offline.
It operated with a noteworthy 100% uptime for over a year. Oct 30 it started publishing anomalous data and caused a mass spoof event Nov 2.
Now offline since a few hours.
Guess: they were raided by FI authorities.
It operated with a noteworthy 100% uptime for over a year. Oct 30 it started publishing anomalous data and caused a mass spoof event Nov 2.
Now offline since a few hours.
Guess: they were raided by FI authorities.
November 11, 2025 at 7:54 AM
AIS-spoof-station WHISKEY 365 in Finland is offline.
It operated with a noteworthy 100% uptime for over a year. Oct 30 it started publishing anomalous data and caused a mass spoof event Nov 2.
Now offline since a few hours.
Guess: they were raided by FI authorities.
It operated with a noteworthy 100% uptime for over a year. Oct 30 it started publishing anomalous data and caused a mass spoof event Nov 2.
Now offline since a few hours.
Guess: they were raided by FI authorities.
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
🇨🇿🇺🇦 Czech media Deník N releases cover with QR codes for fundraisers to help Ukraine.
The publication responded to the decision of the new speaker of the Czech Parliament who last week ordered the removal of the Ukrainian flag from the building of the Chamber of Deputies.
The publication responded to the decision of the new speaker of the Czech Parliament who last week ordered the removal of the Ukrainian flag from the building of the Chamber of Deputies.
November 10, 2025 at 9:51 PM
🇨🇿🇺🇦 Czech media Deník N releases cover with QR codes for fundraisers to help Ukraine.
The publication responded to the decision of the new speaker of the Czech Parliament who last week ordered the removal of the Ukrainian flag from the building of the Chamber of Deputies.
The publication responded to the decision of the new speaker of the Czech Parliament who last week ordered the removal of the Ukrainian flag from the building of the Chamber of Deputies.
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
Quote: “Rich people who are fascinated with these dumb transhumanist ideas” are muddying public understanding of the potential of neurotechnology. “Neuralink is doing legitimate technology development for neuroscience, and then Elon Musk comes along and starts talking about telepathy and stuff.”
Investors’ ‘dumb transhumanist ideas’ setting back neurotech progress, say experts
Fascination of investors such as Elon Musk with uploading their brains to computers is hindering progress in curing disease, say scientists
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Quote: “Rich people who are fascinated with these dumb transhumanist ideas” are muddying public understanding of the potential of neurotechnology. “Neuralink is doing legitimate technology development for neuroscience, and then Elon Musk comes along and starts talking about telepathy and stuff.”
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
New article, North Korea’s unreported submersible torpedo boat may be uncrewed www.hisutton.com/North-Korean...
#OSINT
#OSINT
November 10, 2025 at 6:59 AM
New article, North Korea’s unreported submersible torpedo boat may be uncrewed www.hisutton.com/North-Korean...
#OSINT
#OSINT
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
🇳🇴🇺🇦 More detailed info from The Times:
Norway is discussing a proposal to unlock a European war loan of more than €100 billion for Ukraine by securing the debt against its €1.7 trillion national sovereign wealth fund.
Norway is discussing a proposal to unlock a European war loan of more than €100 billion for Ukraine by securing the debt against its €1.7 trillion national sovereign wealth fund.
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
🇳🇴🇺🇦 More detailed info from The Times:
Norway is discussing a proposal to unlock a European war loan of more than €100 billion for Ukraine by securing the debt against its €1.7 trillion national sovereign wealth fund.
Norway is discussing a proposal to unlock a European war loan of more than €100 billion for Ukraine by securing the debt against its €1.7 trillion national sovereign wealth fund.
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
⚔️ Syrskyi on the defense of Pokrovsk:
The Russians only managed to get through engineering barriers in a few places, and the situation is under control.
"Of course, there is a plan "B" and a plan "C" - for all scenarios."
The Russians only managed to get through engineering barriers in a few places, and the situation is under control.
"Of course, there is a plan "B" and a plan "C" - for all scenarios."
November 9, 2025 at 7:05 PM
⚔️ Syrskyi on the defense of Pokrovsk:
The Russians only managed to get through engineering barriers in a few places, and the situation is under control.
"Of course, there is a plan "B" and a plan "C" - for all scenarios."
The Russians only managed to get through engineering barriers in a few places, and the situation is under control.
"Of course, there is a plan "B" and a plan "C" - for all scenarios."
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
Der Deutsche Feuerwehrverband (DFV) weist auf die Bedeutung der #Selbstvorsorge in der Bevölkerung zur Vorbereitung auf #Krisen, Katastrophen und den Verteidigungsfall hin. Das ist ein wichtiger Aspekt der #IntegrierteSicherheit. (1/2)
www.deutschlandfunk.de/feuerwehrver...
www.deutschlandfunk.de/feuerwehrver...
Delegiertenversammlung - Feuerwehrverband: "Jeder ist ein Stück weit verpflichtet, sich im Katastrophen- oder Kriegsfall selbst zu schützen"
Der Deutsche Feuerwehrverband mahnt die Förderung des Selbstschutzes an.
www.deutschlandfunk.de
November 9, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Der Deutsche Feuerwehrverband (DFV) weist auf die Bedeutung der #Selbstvorsorge in der Bevölkerung zur Vorbereitung auf #Krisen, Katastrophen und den Verteidigungsfall hin. Das ist ein wichtiger Aspekt der #IntegrierteSicherheit. (1/2)
www.deutschlandfunk.de/feuerwehrver...
www.deutschlandfunk.de/feuerwehrver...
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
⚓️ “🇨🇳China has disclosed critical specifications for a nuclear-powered cargo ship under development, revealing it will be driven by a groundbreaking thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR) with a thermal output of 200 megawatts. The vessel is designed to carry 14,000 standard shipping containers.”
China unveils thorium-fueled nuclear ship to carry 14,000 containers
China reveals the specs for its 14,000-container nuclear cargo ship, powered by an ultra-efficient 200MW thorium molten salt reactor (TMSR).
interestingengineering.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:41 PM
⚓️ “🇨🇳China has disclosed critical specifications for a nuclear-powered cargo ship under development, revealing it will be driven by a groundbreaking thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR) with a thermal output of 200 megawatts. The vessel is designed to carry 14,000 standard shipping containers.”
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
LLMs are now widely used in social science as stand-ins for humans—assuming they can produce realistic, human-like text
But... can they? We don’t actually know.
In our new study, we develop a Computational Turing Test.
And our findings are striking:
LLMs may be far less human-like than we think.🧵
But... can they? We don’t actually know.
In our new study, we develop a Computational Turing Test.
And our findings are striking:
LLMs may be far less human-like than we think.🧵
Computational Turing Test Reveals Systematic Differences Between Human and AI Language
Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used in the social sciences to simulate human behavior, based on the assumption that they can generate realistic, human-like text. Yet this assumption rem...
arxiv.org
November 7, 2025 at 11:13 AM
LLMs are now widely used in social science as stand-ins for humans—assuming they can produce realistic, human-like text
But... can they? We don’t actually know.
In our new study, we develop a Computational Turing Test.
And our findings are striking:
LLMs may be far less human-like than we think.🧵
But... can they? We don’t actually know.
In our new study, we develop a Computational Turing Test.
And our findings are striking:
LLMs may be far less human-like than we think.🧵
Reposted by Sarah Kirchberger
great thread on computationally (linguistic) analysing how not/human LLM output is.
turns out LLM generated text is 'easy' for computational linguistic analysis to spot.
turns out LLM generated text is 'easy' for computational linguistic analysis to spot.
The results were clear — and surprising.
Even short social media posts written by LLMs are readily distinguishable.
Our BERT-based classifier spots AI with 70–80% accuracy across X, Bluesky, and Reddit.
LLMs are much less human-like than they may seem.
Even short social media posts written by LLMs are readily distinguishable.
Our BERT-based classifier spots AI with 70–80% accuracy across X, Bluesky, and Reddit.
LLMs are much less human-like than they may seem.
November 9, 2025 at 9:39 AM
great thread on computationally (linguistic) analysing how not/human LLM output is.
turns out LLM generated text is 'easy' for computational linguistic analysis to spot.
turns out LLM generated text is 'easy' for computational linguistic analysis to spot.