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Ariana Baio
Nov 03, 2022
FlightRadar shows Russian exodus to escape Putin's mass conscription
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A US aircraft idled between Cyprus and Lebanon on Tuesday night, seemingly leaving a message in the sky for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
An American KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft made a ballsy move by drawing a penis in the sky near a Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria according to history from FlightRadar24.
Around 17:00 UTC on 1 November, flight RAKE71 drew the "sky penis" - seemingly to poke fun at Russians on the naval base.
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The aircraft initially took off from Crete.
It's unclear whether the aircraft was refueling fighter planes or just to play a prank.
\u201cA US military plane "painted a penis" in the sky near a Russian airbase, La Repubblica.\n\n A KC-135 Stratotanker refueling plane remained for almost two hours east of Cyprus on Tuesday, in front of the Syrian base of Tartus, a stronghold of Moscow.\n\n\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— MAKS 22\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@MAKS 22\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1667409840
Either way, people online got a kick out of the drawing.
\u201c@Maks_NAFO_FELLA This is how I want my tax dollars spent\u201d— MAKS 22\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@MAKS 22\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1667409840
"Traditional law of the skies, if the Russians cannot draw a larger phallus within 24 hours the base legally belongs to us," Blake Herzinger joked.
"Finally, some good news," A Twitter user wrote.
\u201c@Maks_NAFO_FELLA Epic trolling right there. Way to go USAF!!!\u201d— MAKS 22\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@MAKS 22\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1667409840
FlightRadar24 allows users to track flights from around the world in real-time and historically. Since Russia first invaded Ukraine, the website has been used to follow the patterns of flights from Ukraine and Russia.
When Putin ordered a mobilization of reserves earlier this year, flights from Russia increased with people fleeing the conscription.
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