There's something definitely iffy going on. I could be wrong, I don't think he has officially denounced the invasion. He does mention this in the last video but it I think it was to appease a local.
OK, top secret Russian managed installation and managed to film the Russian 'Space Shuttles' then carted off to a nearby town and fined £30 or whatever and released a few hours later. Surely if you've been into a building that is top secret, well sort of top secret- and you had a GoPro, surely they would have wanted the memory card and detained you until they found it.
I suppose, trying to be fair, it's not uncommon for Urbexers to get caught and still manage to get footage out as they swap out SD cards regularly so they only tend to lose the last few minutes before getting caught. I do think he also mentioned he was going to be trying to hide any SD cards if they were caught so I wouldn't rule it out. Though I do agree that if they got their equipment back (their post release video was on a phone it looked like so perhaps they didn't), were let go with a slapped wrist it's a bit convenient! Though I'm also not sure it's that top secret (more embarrassing/discouraged just like any other abandoned buildings often are) and they're also not the first to get inside, here's another group who made it in:
(Click "CC" and enable subtitles they've got full English subtitles)
They also do a better job as they get inside the shuttles themselves and don't get caught!!
That being said it is all a bit convenient and just a little bit cosy. It's more the fact he was doing it post-Ukraine that raised my eyebrow. If this had happened in 2021 say for instance I wouldn't be as surprised if it was just a slapped wrist and let go.
I thought that as I was watching it, the sudden realisation of "wait, they didn't confiscate devices and memory cards", I don't know if he's really in the pocket of the Russian's but I think they probably value him as a useful idiot more than anything.
I think that's probably it. I doubt he's in their active employ they just appreciate him being an idiot. He was living it large in Kyiv just prior to the war breaking out. Even did a video from the Russian - Ukraine border days before the war started. Idiot? Yes. Agent? Not so much.
That being said I watched his videos when was out in the Donbass a few months before the war started and it's been depressing seeing places like Lysychansk and Bakhmut which he did videos of showing friendly people, friendly children and all the rest of it now being pummelled by Russian bombardment.
If you want to see full on "YouTuber who has drunk the Kremlin Kool-Aid" try iEarlGrey. He was a relatively successful game streamer who got a job with Wargaming in St Petersburg, moved to Russia, lost that job but stayed there. He is now uploading daily videos as a "neutral" investigator within Russia, whose only sources happen to be RT, Sputnik, Telegram and the Russian government. I'm convinced the FSB have him by the balls and his residential and marriage visas are reliant on him posting this content. Watch him next to B&B and you'll see why I don't think B&B is in the same league.
I've always wanted to visit Russian, and indeed still do. But I think you'd have to be mad to move there. Hopefully that fella will get himself out eventually assuming he isn't actually believing what he's saying.
However the purpose of the video appeared to be:
- Say "wonderful Soviet" 1000 times
- Say "but don't try and come and see for yourself"
I think a lot of that is just his patter. "Wonderful Soviet Mural!", "Wonderful Soviet Cafe!", "Look! A wonderful Soviet railway station!" and on and on.
All of the above being said he does make interesting videos (especially as he seems fairly fluent in the language which make it more interesting) but he definitely is somewhat suspicious so I think he's one of those characters where you have to be a bit cautious taking everything at face value!
A handful of mega-tanks aren't going to win a war.
Well quite. Individually their new vehicles, if they are as good as published would be easily an equal to modern NATO, but as you say the numbers matter too.
Though NATO would be wise not to crow too much. We've gone quite a fair way down the high quality, tiny numbers road ourselves. I would suggest perhaps too far in some respects though particularly in ammunition and other consumables. I worry that we've eroded our capacity to manufacture sufficient quantities and indeed don't have sufficient stockpiles of munitions for anything other than a very short sharp conflict. If we couldn't knock Russia out quickly what would we do in a protracted conflict.
I feel like what we've seen is reassuring though that the quantitative edge remains extremely in our favour and having just spent themselves so hard in Ukraine we have at least got a window of opportunity to make good any deficiencies in numbers. Assuming the bean counters in places like HM Treasury and Governments are willing to do what needs to be done!