TANKS FOR THE HELP, BORIS: In addition to being courageous, Ukrainian military officers have proven themselves to be incredibly innovative on the battlefield. So, when a Ukrainian officer was having mechanical trouble with a Russian T-72B3 tank that his countrymen had captured and hoped to use to shoot back at their invaders, he dialed up the manufacturers help line (in Russia). Yep, you read that right. The Ukrainian, who goes by the call sign “Kochevnik,” apparently called Russian tank tech support to kvetch about their product. According to an article in Forbes,the Russian on the other end didn’t realize he was talking with a Ukrainian – so he promised to relay the caller’s concerns to the tech department for help. In a video of the call, Kochevnik finally revealed his nationality saying: "Look, I'm the commander of the armored group K-2. This is the second mechanized battalion of Ukraine's 54th Mechanized Brigade," adding "When we take more of these tanks as our trophies, make them better so that it will be easier for us to operate them. Agreed? Thank you very much. Take care of yourselves. Glory to Ukraine." No word on how long Kochevnik had to wait on hold but we’re guessing that was one tech support call that was well worth the wait.
YOU CAN’T FIGHT CITY HALL: In another “difficult to believe but probably true” item – Newsweek reports that a dissident group called “The Dossier Center” says the Russian government accidentally “revealed the addresses of the country’s secret military building, institution, and spy homes, in Moscow and St. Petersburg.” The addresses were reportedly listed in a 434-page document called “Special Group” that was posted on the Moscow City Hall website. The document explained that there must be “no blackouts” at the facilities listed therein. Unsurprisingly, the document is no longer available on the City Hall website – but here’s hoping “The Dossier Center” had the presence of mind to download a copy before it mysteriously disappeared.
NOT BORING TUNNELS: There is a warren of tunnels underneath London that were built in 1941, and 1942, and originally were intended to be used as deep air-raid shelters. But once the worst of the blitz was over – the tunnels were used for a wholly different purpose. They fell under the control of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) which was known to some as “Churchill’s Secret Army.” After the war, they were used as a “reserve war room” and as a place to store tons of secret documents. According to Bloomberg, businessman Angus Murray has now purchased the tunnels and plans to turn them into an immersive tourist attraction. At best, the facility won’t open until 2027. And when it does, you will have to dig deep into your pocketbook to buy a ticket. Entrance fees are expected to cost around £30.
MARINES CAN RUN, BUT THEY CAN’T HIDE: Well, some of them can’t, because the Leathernecks are reportedly running out of camouflage uniforms. We can maybe understand running short of tanks or missiles – but cammies? For some reason, the woodland-pattern camouflage combat utility uniforms worn by Marines are in short supply and won’t be fully back in stock until the middle of 2024. Some Marines are being allowed to wear desert-colored cammies or other outfits – until their outfit fixes the shortfall. The uniform manufacturer has complained that McDonalds is paying more for burger flippers than he can pay camouflage costume creators, so it may take a while to properly fill those Marine seabags.
MAYBE THIS IS WHY THEY ARE RUNNING OUT OF UNIFORMS: The USMC was unusual among U.S. military services because they made their recruiting goals for FY 23. (The Space Force was the only other service to do so.) One way the Marines made their numbers was with the help of the Wehr family – specifically Connor, Matthew and Giffin Wehr, 19-year-old triplets who joined the Marine Corps together and just graduated from boot camp in Parris Island. The trio are said to be from Massachusetts – which was confirmed when one was quoted in a local newspaper story saying that he was expecting recruit training to “be wicked haaaaaard.”
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
HAVE IT YOUR WAY, BK: Restaurant Brands International (RBI) which, according to the BBC, owns 15% of the Burger King restaurants in Russia, said in March 2022, that they were in the process of leaving the country as a result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. But apparently, that was a ‘Whopper’, since their restaurants are still open. RBI told BBC they had “no new updates to share at this time” on their very slow exit.
TOO MANY BLOWS TO THE HEAD? We must admit that we had never heard of American-born ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Jeff Monson until the UK tabloid The Sunshined light on the fact that in 2018, Monson was granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin and earlier this year, he formally renounced his U.S. citizenship. “I feel at home here in Bashkortostan,” Monson is quoted as saying. What has he been doing lately? He has been bashing his former homeland on Russian propaganda outlets and now has been rewarded with his own show on Russian TV. Anyone care to offer suggestions on what he should call his new show?
HOOKED ON HISTORY: We spotted an interesting item online about the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system (AKA: Skyhook) that was developed in the 1950s, and used by the CIA to rescue people from tricky situations by using a rig that snatched them off the ground and reeled them into a low-flying airplane zipping overhead. (You may remember the gimmick being used in the James Bond movie “Thunderball” as shown in this clip.) What caught our eye in the recent posting was the story (which we hope is true) that before using it on humans, the inventor tested it on a pig. Supposedly, the pig was snatched from the ground and went airborne while being reeled into the plane which was doing 125MP. On the way up, we hear the poor animal spun around violently. After being hauled on board and regaining its pig footing, it reportedly began to attack the aircrew. We might do the same thing in that situation. Just sayin.
WHEN PIGS FLY – WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MATERIAL FOR NEXT WEEK’S DEAD DROP. UNTIL THEN, SEND YOUR NEWS TIPS TO US AT: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
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