International

Russian opposition activist killed fighting for Ukraine

Published

1 week ago

October 7, 2024

Ildar Dadin

Russian opposition activist killed fighting for Ukraine

Ildar Dadin, a well-known Russian opposition activist who was fighting in Ukraine on the side of Kyiv, has been killed in action, according to the group that recruited him.

A spokeswoman for that group, the Civic Council, told the BBC that Dadin had died, adding that “he was, and he remains a hero”.

The activist-turned-fighter was killed when soldiers from his volunteer battalion, the Freedom of Russia Legion, came under Russian artillery fire in the Kharkiv region of north-eastern Ukraine.

For now, there are no more details and the Legion itself won’t comment whilst it says a military operation is still active.

But Ilia Ponamarev, an exiled Russian opposition politician with previous links to the Legion, has told the BBC he is “certain, alas” that Dadin is dead.

Another source clarified that this was “confirmed by those who were with him in battle”.

The latest messages I’ve sent to his phone are still marked “unread”.

Ildar Dadin became known in Russia a decade ago for his persistence in staging peaceful protests as political repression there intensified.

He was the first person prosecuted under a new Article 212.1 – quickly dubbed Dadin’s Law – that in 2014 made it a criminal offence to commit repeat violations of Russia’s increasingly restrictive rules on protest.

In his case, that simply meant standing on the streets of Moscow with a banner.

Sentenced to two and a half years, Dadin was placed in a punishment cell and immediately went on hunger strike. His prison guards then tortured him to get him to stop.

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Soon after his release in 2017, I met him in Moscow and he described being hung from a wall by his cuffed wrists. The guards had then threatened him with rape. He admitted that the brutality nearly broke him.

So when I learned that Dadin had joined a battalion of Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine, I got back in touch earlier this year and we had a series of long exchanges.

“I can’t sit by and do nothing and so become an accomplice to Russian evil, to its crimes,” Dadin explained his decision to sign-up, just as principled and intense as I remembered him.

He’d always considered himself a pacifist but now listed his reasons for taking-up arms: “The aggression, the mass killing, the torture, rape and looting.” Still, he chose the callsign Gandhi.

Dadin felt deeply that that he bore personal responsibility for Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

He argued that he and fellow Russians had failed to stop Vladimir Putin, allowing themselves to be scared off the streets by police violence and the threat of prison.

“The main thing now is to act according to my conscience,” Dadin wrote to me one night from near the frontline in Sumy.

He initially signed-up with the Siberian Battalion in June 2023 before moving to the Freedom of Russia Legion last winter – both officially part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Recruits are mainly Russian citizens who hope that helping Ukraine defeat Vladimir Putin will be a first step towards ending his rule in the Kremlin.

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Their numbers aren’t clear, nor their effectiveness as a fighting force.

They have claimed some successes, including a cross-border incursion into Russia earlier this year at the time of Putin’s re-election.

But for Dadin, the experience wasn’t quite as he’d hoped.

He felt that some of the missions his unit were sent on were “pointless” in any military sense.

He described one battle where he ended up pinned down for eight hours by Russian fire in a bomb crater, with a drone trying to drop a grenade on him, whilst a fellow volunteer soldier bled to death.

And like many Ukrainian soldiers, he was exhausted, fighting with barely any days off and limping from a wound to his hip.

I wondered whether he might leave, but Dadin was clear his conscience would not allow him to sit “on the sidelines”.

Not whilst Ukrainians were being killed, as he put it, “by Russian criminals”.

“I tried to stop Russia – but did I do it? No,” he berated himself in one of our last chats. “And thousands of people have been killed because I did not do enough.”

Those who sent him to fight, disagree. “Ildar was strong, brave, principled and honest,” the Civic Council wrote. “That’s how we should remember him.”

Russian opposition activist killed fighting for Ukraine

BBC

International

US soldier accused of helping ISIS jailed

Published

8 hours ago

October 16, 2024

Trends Admin

US soldier accused of helping ISIS jailed

Cole Bridges, also known as Cole Gonzales, a 24-year-old from Stow, Ohio, was sentenced to 168 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Bridges was also convicted for attempting to murder U.S. military service members by assisting ISIS in planning attacks against American soldiers in the Middle East.

Bridges, who pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in June 2023, joined the U.S. Army in September 2019 and served as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. However, before his enlistment, he had already begun researching jihadist propaganda and supporting ISIS on social media.

In October 2020, about a year after joining the Army, Bridges began communicating with an undercover FBI employee posing as an ISIS supporter. During these communications, Bridges expressed his disillusionment with the U.S. military and his intent to help ISIS. He provided advice to supposed ISIS fighters on training and targets, including potential attacks in New York City.

Bridges’ actions underscore the dangers of radicalization and the threat posed by individuals seeking to assist terrorist organizations from within.

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Mr Bridges also provided the OCE with portions of a U.S. Army training manual and guidance about military combat tactics, with the understanding that the materials would be used by ISIS in future attack planning.

In or about December 2020, Mr Bridges began to supply the OCE with instructions for the purported ISIS fighters on how to attack U.S. forces in the Middle East.

Among other things, Mr Bridges diagrammed specific military maneuvers intended to help ISIS fighters maximize the lethality of future attacks on U.S. troops.

Mr Bridges also provided advice about the best way to fortify an ISIS encampment to ambush U.S. Special Forces, including by wiring certain buildings with explosives to kill the U.S. troops.

Then, in January 2021, Mr Bridges provided the OCE with a video of himself in his U.S. Army body armor standing in front of a flag often used by ISIS fighters and making a gesture symbolic of support for ISIS.

Approximately one week later, Mr Bridges sent a second video in which Mr Bridges, using a voice manipulator, narrated a propaganda speech in support of the anticipated ambush by ISIS on U.S. troops.

The FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI field offices in Washington, Atlanta, and Cleveland; U.S. Army Counterintelligence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and U.S. Army Third Infantry Division.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg and Matthew Hellman for the Southern District of New York prosecuted the case, with assistance from Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

US soldier accused of helping ISIS jailed

(US Department of Justice)

International

P Diddy accused of molesting 16-year-old boy, rape in fresh lawsuits

Published

24 hours ago

October 15, 2024

Trends Admin

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

P Diddy accused of molesting 16-year-old boy, rape in fresh lawsuits

Six people on Monday filed fresh lawsuits against American music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, accusing him of multiple sexual assaults, rape and molesting a 16-year-old boy.

The lawsuits filed in federal court in Manhattan contribute to a growing list of legal challenges against the embattled hip-hop mogul, all of which he has denied.

The plaintiffs are anonymous, with two women referred to as Jane Does and four men as John Does.

Some of these individuals, echoing previous allegations made against Mr Combs in recent months, contend that he exploited his celebrity status and the allure of potential fame to lure victims to extravagant parties or drug-fuelled gatherings, where they were subsequently assaulted.

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Claims include allegations of physical violence, drugging, and threats of death should the victims resist or disclose their experiences.

The lawsuits recount alleged assaults dating back to the mid-1990s, occurring at Mr Combs’ high-profile white parties in the Hamptons, a Brooklyn celebration for his late collaborator Biggie Smalls, and even in a storeroom at Macy’s flagship store in Manhattan.

The plaintiffs are among what their legal representatives described as a collective of over 100 accusers currently pursuing legal action against Mr Combs following his arrest on sex trafficking charges on September 16.

Attorney Tony Buzbee announced the forthcoming litigation at a press conference on October 1 and provided a hotline number for other potential accusers.

However, Mr Combs’ legal team condemned these tactics as “clear attempts to garner publicity.”

“In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone—adult or minor, man or woman,” the team said.

P Diddy accused of molesting 16-year-old boy, rape in fresh lawsuits

International

Woman who slept with 122 students in 3 weeks replies parents, critics

Published

1 day ago

October 15, 2024

Trends Admin

Bonnie Blue

Woman who slept with 122 students in 3 weeks replies parents, critics

An adult content creator believes the parents of the men she’s slept with should be ‘thanking’ her after she invited them to ‘marathon’ sex sessions at various UK universities.

Late last month, Bonnie Blue, a 25-year-old who resides in Australia, returned to England to embark on a month-long erotic odyssey.

It’s understood she planned to sleep with as many freshman students as possible in the hopes of ‘helping’ young men gain confidence when it came to doing the deed.

The OnlyFans star, who originally hails from Nottingham, began her ‘educational’ sex tour in her home town before traveling over to institutions in Cambridge and Derby.

She reportedly encouraged ‘virgins’ and ‘fresh 18-year-olds’ to contact her so they could embark on an hour-long sexual encounter.

“I gave everyone a time slot. It’s like you’re going for your hair,” she told the Daily Mail. “I said you can do whatever you want to me in this slot and then someone else is coming in.”

Initially, slots with Bonnie were capped at 60 minutes each. However, presumably due to her popularity, she later reduced time to just 20 minutes per man.

Bonnie reportedly filmed each of her sessions – ensuring each of the men had valid IDs and signed a consent form beforehand – and plans to post each video on her OnlyFans account.

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The social media star has taken on critics and parents who have taken issue with her event.

Bonnie claims the mums, dads and legal guardians of the men she slept with should be ‘thanking’ her for ‘educating’ their sons.

“I’m helping their children out,” she told the publication. “When I’m sleeping with them it’s educational and they walk away with such confidence.”

Bonnie also claimed that she found men in the UK to be ‘stiff’ in the bedroom compared to their Gold Coast counterparts. She’s also been forced to defend her decision to target freshmen for her sexperiment.

“If people want to think that an 18-year-old doesn’t want to sleep with a porn star then they really have to get out from under their rock,” she claimed.

“When 18-year-olds are having sex it’s usually unprotected and it’s never that good of an experience because the girls are inexperienced too. I have a video of them and they clearly are enjoying it.”

However, students were not the only people Bonnie slept with during her marathon.

“It was mostly students but there was also a group of grandads,” she admitted. “The oldest was 71. One was retired. He heard about me from his grandson.

“The people who turn up might look weird or be weird to someone else but I’m happy to pleasure anyone.”

Earlier this year, Bonnie admitted to sleeping with ‘122 students’ during a three week period.

The adult star headed to Cancun for Spring Break and allegedly made $250,000 from her Mexican trip with friend Leilani May.

“The college boys enjoyed Spring Break, but I gave them one to remember,” she told the Daily Star.

“Many Spring Breakers actually called it a bonding experience. They enjoyed every second of it, as did I!”

Bonnie said she’s considering going back for round two in Cancun next year and that she also hopes to tick off Freshers Week in Manchester and London, too.