#military protection grain exports

[just2bruce]

Ukraine grain exports leap

The expired Russia-UN shipping deal has spurred Ukrainian grain exports by sea.

It’s been a year since the shipping agreement expired between Russia and the UN. The agreement allowed grain from Ukraine to be exported through the Black Sea without attacks from Russia. Many believed that the expiration would mean disaster for Ukranian grain shipments. Ukraine is one of the world’s greatest exporters of grains. The country has a legendary reputation as the world’s breadbasket.…

[mariacallous]

MYKOLAIV, UKRAINE—Kateryna Nahorna is getting ready to find trouble.

Part of an all-female team of dog handlers, the 22-year-old is training Ukraine’s technical survey dogs—Belgian Malinois that have learned to sniff out explosives.

The job is huge. Ukraine is now estimated to be the most heavily mined country on Earth. Deminers must survey every area that saw sustained fighting for unexploded mines, missiles, artillery shells, bombs, and a host of other ordnance—almost 25 percent of the country, according to government estimates.

The dogs can cover 1,500 square meters a day. In contrast, human deminers cover 10 square meters a day on average—by quickly narrowing down the areas that manual deminers will need to tackle, the dogs save valuable time.

“This job allows me to be a warrior for my country … but without having to kill anyone,” said Nahorna. “Our men protect us at war, and we do this to protect them at home.”

A highly practical reason drove the women’s recruitment. The specialized dog training was done in Cambodia, by the nonprofit Apopo, and military-aged men are currently not allowed to leave Ukraine.

War has shaken up gender dynamics in the Ukrainian economy, with women taking up jobs traditionally held by men, such as driving trucks or welding. Now, as mobilization ramps up once more, women are becoming increasingly important in roles that are critical for national security.

In Mykolaiv, in the industrial east, Nahorna and her dogs will soon take on one of the biggest targets of Russia’s military strategy when they start to demine the country’s energy infrastructure. Here, women have been stepping in to work in large numbers in steel mills, factories, and railways serving the front line.

It’s a big shift for Ukraine. Before the war, only 48 percent of women over age 15 took part in the workforce — one of the lowest rates in Europe. War has made collecting data on the gender composition of the workforce impossible, but today, 50,000 women serve in the Ukrainian army, compared to 30,000 before the war.

The catalyst came in 2017, years before the current war began. As conflict escalated with Russia in Crimea, the Ukrainian government overturned a Soviet-era law that had previously banned women from 450 occupations.

But obstacles still remain; for example, women are not allowed jobs the government deems too physically demanding. These barriers continue to be chipped away—most recently, women have been cleared to work in underground mines, something they were prevented from doing before.

Viktoriia Avramchuk never thought she would follow her father and husband into the coal mines for DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company.

Her lifelong fear of elevators was a big factor—but there was also the fact that it was illegal for women to work underground.

Her previous job working as a nanny in a local kindergarten disappeared overnight when schools were forced to close at the beginning of the war. After a year of being unemployed, she found that she had few other options.

“I would never have taken the job if I could have afforded not to,” Avramchuk said from her home in Pokrovsk. “But I also wanted to do something to help secure victory, and this was needed.”

The demining work that Nahorna does is urgent in part because more than 55 percent of the country is farmed.

Often called “the breadbasket of Europe,” Ukraine is one of the world’s top exporters of grain. The U.K.-based Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which has been advising the Ukrainian government on demining technology, estimates that landmines have resulted in annual GDP losses of $11 billion.

“Farmers feel the pressure to plow, which is dangerous,” said Jon Cunliffe, the Ukraine country director of Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a British nonprofit. “So we need to do as much surveying as possible to reduce the size of the possible contamination.”

The dogs can quickly clear an area of heavy vegetation, which greatly speeds up the process of releasing noncontaminated lands back to farmers. If the area is found to be unsafe, human deminers step in to clear the field manually.

“I’m not brave enough to be on the front line,” 29-year-old Iryna Manzevyta said as she slowly and diligently hovered a metal detector over a patch of farmland. “But I had to do something to help, and this seemed like a good alternative to make a difference.”

Groups like MAG are increasingly targeting women. With skilled male deminers regularly being picked up by military recruiters, recruiting women reduces the chances that expensive and time-consuming training will be invested in people who could be drafted to the front line at a moment’s notice. The demining work is expected to take decades, and women, unlike men, cannot be conscripted in Ukraine.

This urgency to recruit women is accelerating a gender shift already underway in the demining sector. Organizations like MAG have looked to recruit women as a way to empower them in local communities. Demining was once a heavily male-dominated sector, but women now make up 30 percent of workers in Vietnam and Colombia, around 40 percent in Cambodia, and more than 50 percent in Myanmar.

In Ukraine, the idea is to make demining an enterprise with “very little expat footprint,” and Cunliffe said that will only be possible by recruiting more women.

“We should not be here in 10 years. Not like in Iraq or South Sudan, where we have been for 30 years, or Vietnam, or Laos,” Cunliffe said. “It’s common sense that we bring in as many women as we can to do that. In five to 10 years, a lot of these women are going to end up being technical field managers, the jobs that are currently being done by old former British military guys, and it will change the face of demining worldwide because they can take those skills across the world.”

Manzevyta is one of the many women whose new job has turned her family dynamics on their head. She has handed over her previous life, running a small online beauty retail site, to her husband, who—though he gripes—stays at home while she is out demining.

“Life is completely different now,” she said, giggling. “I had to teach him how to use the washing machine, which settings to use, everything around the house because I’m mostly absent now.”

More seriously, Manzevyta said that the war has likely changed many women’s career trajectories.

“I can’t imagine people who have done work like this going back and working as florists once the war is over,” she laughed.

[generic-whumperz]

Apocamerica Map

Apocamerica Masterlist

Understanding this map: Please note that I’m not a professional map maker and know absolutely nothing about cartography. This is simply a quick visual reference guide for navigating post-apocalypse America.

That being said, this map is subject to change and not wholly accurate or representative of safe/unsafe zones, as they constantly change, and there is yet to be an official database within this alternative universe. Think of this as an approximation. Also, keep in mind that this is 12 years after the initial outbreak, and things did not always look like this, nor will they continue to remain the same. Take this all with a grain of salt.

Zone breakdowns

Red, orange, & gray zones: AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Death is almost guaranteed from radiation and mutant anthrophages alike.

Blue Zone: Republic of Arcadia

Yellow zones: The yellow zones on the map are areas where human settlements still exist, and some communities are even thriving. However, these areas lack military protection and government aid, so they are considered unsafe (however subjective the word “safe” is within the context of this map). Yellow zones are also susceptible to radioactive wastelands but are often unexplored, classifying them as "unknown." Travelers in these areas risk encountering various dangers outside of anthrophages, including mutant animals, extremist groups, wasteland gangs, marauders, raiders, and other unsavory characters. Despite their predicted presence, these groups are not marked on this map as they tend to move around and are hard to keep tally of.

Green zones (power & economy): Areas designated as green zones are not entirely safe from security breaches, nemaxys outbreaks, and gang wars over territory and supply runs. These zones consist mainly of civilians striving to survive and establish a livelihood. As a result of the volatile post-outbreak landscape, the green zones are divided into constantly changing sectors. The few remaining "safe" human settlements are widely dispersed, leading the remaining Governors and congressmen to propose the formation of nation-states to exert better control over their respective areas.

However, the current de facto President, the former Speaker of the House, is determined to maintain control over sector territories and military command. They face the challenge of navigating a fragmented nation while contending with threats from the ROA and other factions attempting to seize power, testing their leadership in their efforts to restore order and unity to the ravaged remains of the US.

Despite the President’s efforts, the power vacuum in the sectors continues to expand as power-hungry politicians spare no effort to secure civilian allegiance. Some congressmen and governors have carved out their own fiefdoms within green and yellow zones, effectively becoming warlords of their respective regions.

Following the outbreak, the Hawaiian islands and Alaska are presumed to be the safest and untouched land masses. Hawaii closed its borders and halted all imports/ exports as soon as the first case of the nemaxys contagion hit the news. Meanwhile, a mass exodus of people left the continental US and headed up to Alaska, and the new capitol was relocated to a small Alaskan fishing town.

After the establishment of the Provisional Emergency Relief Agency (PERA), a federal-level build-back program was implemented in all green zones. The Bureau of Labor & Exports (BOLE) oversaw the program and regulated Chattel Services Inc. (CSI) and the remaining corporate-owned labor forces, which had a significant impact on the reconstruction efforts.

Under stringent government sanctions, an underground illicit black market has flourished, giving rise to new crime families that have ascended to power. These new syndicates replaced the previously dominant players, seizing control of the markets and territories once held by their fallen rivals.

Economic collapse rendered money worthless for a period, but eventually, the monetary system was reinstated, allowing for the revival of commerce through traditional means and ration tickets.

While crime and punishment were primarily addressed at the local level, the aftermath of the chaos led most people to abandon violence once their basic needs were met. Gainful employment provided them with a sense of purpose and belonging in society.

What about travel?

Transportation outside green zones mainly involves using trains, planes, or boats, as navigating on the ground with vehicles through a post-apocalyptic wasteland is considered too risky. However, some people still opt for ground transportation despite being viewed as dangerous and ill-advised compared to other means of travel.

[friendlydungeonmanager]

The Hierarchies of Calorum’s Kingdoms

Each kingdom in Calorum has a distinct political structure, shaped by its cultural traditions and the resources that define its power. Below are the ruling systems, key figures, and major political factions of each nation.

The Kingdom of Candia (Monarchical Theocracy of Sweets & Honor)

A kingdom built on chivalry, noble bloodlines, and divine right, where knights and rulers swear fealty to the sacred traditions of Castle Candy.

Hierarchy & Leadership:

1. The Sovereign of Sweets – The absolute monarch, ruling by divine right.

Current Ruler: King Bertrand Biscotti III – A pious and aging king known for his unwavering devotion to The Great Oven.

He rules from Castle Candy, where he upholds strict knightly traditions but is losing political control due to factional infighting.

2. The Sugar Council – A body of high-ranking noble families, each representing a different confectionery industry (Chocolate, Caramel, Nougat, etc.).

The Council often undermines the king, using its economic power to control trade and taxation.

Notable Councilors:

Duchess Praline Truffle (Chocolate Trade)

Lord Toffee Macaron (Caramel & Taffy Exports)

Countess Peppermint Snaps (Candy Cane Military Supply)

3. The Grand Confectioner (High Priest of The Great Oven)

The spiritual leader of Candia, oversees both the faith and the coronation of kings.

Current Grand Confectioner: Archbishop Doughan the Pious

4. The Knights of the Lollipop Lance – The elite military order, sworn to defend Candia’s traditions and monarchy.

Led by Sir Custard Velour, a fiercely loyal but aging knight, torn between his oath to the king and loyalty to the Sugar Council.

Political Conflicts:

The Sugar Council seeks to replace the King with a puppet ruler under their control.

Religious tensions grow between traditionalists and reformists within The Great Oven’s faith.

A secret rebellion brews among the lower classes, demanding an end to feudal control of food production.

---

The Dairy Islands (Merchant Republic of Cheese & Naval Power)

A seafaring confederation of merchant-princes, ruled by trade guilds and religious zealots.

Hierarchy & Leadership:

1. The High Creamlord (Elected Trade Monarch)

Current Ruler: High Creamlord Ricotta Fontina – A cunning, manipulative leader who balances diplomacy and naval dominance.

Elected by the Guild Council, ruling from the capital Fondueford.

2. The Guild Council (Oligarchy of Dairy Trade Lords)

A council of twelve merchant-princes, each controlling a major export of dairy products.

Notable Guild Leaders:

Count Brie Vacherin (Soft Cheese & Spices)

Dame Gouda Manchego (Aged Cheese & Military Provisions)

Commodore Blue Stilton (Naval Warfare & Dairy Protection)

3. The Holy Cream Order (Religious Enforcers of Mother Milk)

A militant clergy enforcing religious law and trade purity.

Grand Priestess Butterbelle Lactessa leads this faction, demanding stricter religious control over exports.

4. The Corsair Admiralty (Dairy Privateer Fleet)

Dairy Islands rely on privateers and pirates to defend their waters and disrupt rivals.

Captain Havarti Blackflag leads the Cheese Raider Armada, secretly working with smugglers.

Political Conflicts:

The Guild Council clashes with religious zealots, who seek to enforce divine control over dairy trade.

Pirates and smugglers grow bolder, challenging the High Creamlord’s authority.

A cheese embargo threatens war with Candia and the Grain Kingdom.

---

The Meat Lands (Warlord Kingdom of Strength & Feasting)

A brutal land where only the strongest rule, and disputes are settled in blood-soaked arenas.

Hierarchy & Leadership:

1. The Carnal King (Warlord of the Throne)

Current Ruler: King Gorgo Beefhammer – A ruthless but charismatic warrior-king, crowned after killing his predecessor in single combat.

Rules from Meatchunk Keep, maintaining control through fear, feasts, and public executions.

2. The Bloodgrill Council (Warrior Chieftains & Clansmen)

A council of five warlords, each controlling a different clan of the Meat Lands.

Notable Warlords:

Lady Marrow Bonebreaker (Tactician & Siege Warfare)

Lord Rind Ironspit (Raider & Pirate Lord)

Baron Chorizo Sausagefist (Feastmaster & Gladiatorial Leader)

3. The Flesh Priests of The Butcher Saint

A religious sect that sanctifies battle and war through ritual bloodletting.

High Bloodpriest Flankus the Merciless promotes holy war against the weak.

Political Conflicts:

The warlords secretly plot against King Beefhammer, seeking to claim his throne.

A religious schism emerges between the Flesh Priests and military generals.

The Meat Lands prepare for war against Vegetania, claiming "greens corrupt the warrior’s soul."

---

Vegetania (Theocracy of Druids & Agricultural Scholars)

A druidic nation dedicated to balance, growth, and the cycle of life.

Hierarchy & Leadership:

1. The Verdant Sovereign (Divine Arbiter of Nature)

Current Ruler: High Druid Celeryn Rootbinder – A wise but reclusive ruler, more focused on preserving balance than wielding power.

Mediates disputes from the sacred city of Greenhold.

2. The Council of Roots (Druidic Circles & Agricultural Masters)

A democratic council of elders, farmers, and druids, who vote on major policy decisions.

Notable Members:

Elder Kumato Brightvine (Fruit Farmers & Diplomacy)

Sage Rutabaga Thornroot (Druidic Guardians of the Wild)

Professor Chicory Greenseed (Botanical Scholars & Medicine)

3. The Avocado Order (Sacred Guardians of the Orchard)

A sect of mystic monks and druids who believe the first fruit holds divine secrets.

Grand Monk Persimmon the Wise leads them, searching for the "Seed of Creation."

Political Conflicts:

Radical druids seek to wage war on the Meat Lands, viewing carnivores as enemies of nature.

Scholars and mystics clash over the truth of the first fruit and divine wisdom.

Internal corruption spreads, as a rogue druid faction experiments with forbidden plant alchemy.

---

The Grain & Starch Dominions (Merchant Kingdom of Bread, Rice & Pasta)

A land ruled by wealth, trade routes, and powerful merchant houses rather than kings.

Hierarchy & Leadership:

1. The Bread Baron (Elected Leader of the Merchants)

Current Ruler: Baron Ciabatta Crustworth III – A corrupt, cunning ruler, who plays factions against each other to maintain power.

2. The Five Flour Guilds (Economic Powerhouses of Trade & Infrastructure)

Each guild controls a different staple food export, competing for dominance.

Political Conflicts:

Merchant guilds conspire to overthrow the Baron.

Breadforged rebellion threatens to collapse the industry.

The Grain Dominions may be forced to choose between war and trade with Candia.

---

[ukrainenews]

Daily Wrap Up April 21-24, 2023

Under the cut:

A Russian Sukhoi-34 fighter-jet has accidentally bombed the Russian city of Belgorod, around 40km (25 miles) from the border with Ukraine on Friday. The bomb left a 20m (60ft) crater and caused an explosion so large it blew a car on to the roof of a nearby shop. Three people were injured and several buildings were damaged.

Ukrainian authorities say Russian forces are “forcibly evacuating” civilians in the area of the Kherson region that they still occupy, a day after it was claimed Ukrainian forces had established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Dnipro River.

Ukraine’s military have set up positions on the eastern side of Dnipro river near Kherson city, the Institute for the Study of War reported, citing Russian military bloggers.

Russia on Sunday said its forces had advanced in Bakhmut while a top Ukrainian commander said his troops were holding the frontline through the city, all but destroyed in some of the bloodiest combat of the 14-month war. The Russian defence ministry said its forces had secured two blocks in western districts and airborne units were providing reinforcements to the north and south. Russia sees Bakhmut as a stepping stone to more advances in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow is threatening to terminate the Black Sea grain deal, viewed as critical to addressing the world hunger crisis, if the Group of Seven nations ban exports to Russia.

Russian troops shelled the village of Shakhtarske in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast on the morning of April 24, reported the regional prosecutor's office. Two men aged 43 and 66 were killed in a house's yard, and their neighbor suffered shrapnel injuries, according to the prosecutors.

A Russian Sukhoi-34 fighter-jet has accidentally bombed the Russian city of Belgorod, around 40km (25 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

The bomb left a 20m (60ft) crater and caused an explosion so large it blew a car on to the roof of a nearby shop.

Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said authorities had ordered the evacuation of a damaged nine-storey block of flats as a precaution.

Three people were injured and several buildings were damaged, he said.

Video posted on social media showed the impact of the blast, lifting a vehicle on to the roof of a supermarket as traffic streamed along Prospekt Vatutina, close to the centre of the city.

In a brief statement, the Russian defence ministry admitted that one of its Su-34 fighter bombers had "accidentally discharged aircraft ordnance" at 22:15 local time (19:15 GMT) on Thursday.

It was a bureaucratic way of saying that the jet had mistakenly fired a weapon. It didn't specify which one.

The bomb landed at an intersection of two roads not far from the city centre and next to residential buildings.

Two women were taken to hospital for treatment, according to the governor. But with a Russian bomber hitting a busy residential district the consequences could have been far worse.

"Thank God no one was killed," he said on social media.

-via BBC

~

Ukrainian authorities say Russian forces are “forcibly evacuating” civilians in the area of the Kherson region that they still occupy, a day after it was claimed Ukrainian forces had established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Dnipro River.

“I have information that the evacuation starts today [Sunday] with an excuse of protecting civilians from the consequences of heavy fighting in the area,” Oleksandr Samoylenko, the Ukrainian head of Kherson’s regional council, said. Russian troops were “trying to steal as much as they can” as they withdrew, he added.

The claim cannot be verified, but it comes amid an apparent increase in Ukrainian military activity in the south of the country which some analysts have interpreted as a potential precursor to Kyiv’s long anticipated counter-offensive.

Serhiy Khlan, another Ukrainian official in Kherson, said over the weekend that Wagner group fighters were helping Russian occupation officials impose control over the civilian population on the east bank of the Dnipro.

Ukraine’s southern military command meanwhile reported airstrikes in Kherson region by four Russian Su-35 jets. Ukraine said buildings were hit with guided bombs, but did not specify the location of the strikes.

Attention has focused on Ukraine’s southern front around the key city of Kherson since Sunday’s report from the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based thinktank, which suggested Ukrainian forces had established positions on the east bank of the Dnipro, opposite Kherson in the area of a settlement called Dachy. The ISW made the claim after geolocating reports from Russian sources.

Analysts at the thinktank came to the conclusion after examining text messages and photos posted by “Russian military bloggers”.

The ISW also suggested Russian forces may no longer control islands in the Kinka and Chaika rivers, less than 500 metres north of Dachy.

The apparent Ukrainian progress follows months of low-level conflict in the Dnipro delta and along the Kinburn spit, a narrow sandy peninsula. Both sides have deployed crews in rigid inflatable boats in often unreported fights over the small islands that dot the river mouth and surrounding marshes.

The handful of reports that have emerged since the beginning of the year about the delta have painted a picture of bitter fighting for small and mainly uninhabited islands, some of which have changed hands several times. With the islands and the river threatened by artillery strikes from both sides, Russian and Ukrainian forces have lost boats in the fighting.

The Ukrainian military has asked for “patience” on reports of a possible offensive. A large-scale advance over the wide river under the threat of Russian strikes would be a large and difficult undertaking.

“The conditions of a military operation require silence until it is safe enough for our military,” a Ukrainian military spokesperson said, adding she could not confirm or deny the ISW’s report.

The reports of a potential Ukrainian advance in the south come nearly six months after Ukraine liberated Kherson city and the west bank of the Dnipro in November 2022.

According to the ISW’s most recent update, Kherson may be the most vulnerable area of Russian occupation along the long frontline.

“The Russian grouping in Kherson oblast is likely the most disorganised and undermanned in the entire theatre, highly likely mainly comprised of badly under-strength remnants of mainly mobilised units,” the thinktank said.

Speculation over Ukrainian advances in the south came as Russian authorities said they had repelled a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea, adding that there was no damage or casualties.

It also came as audio emerged of the head of the Wagner mercenary group threatening to kill Ukrainian prisoners of war. Yevgeny Prigozhin was reacting to a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel posting of an alleged recording of what it said were two Ukrainians deciding to shoot a Russian prisoner of war.

The channel did not say where the recording came from and there is no way of verifying its authenticity.

“We will kill everyone on the battlefield. Take no more prisoners of war!” Prigozhin said in an audio recording on Sunday “We don’t know the name of our guy shot by Ukrainians,” Prigozhin said, adding that under international law his group was obliged to “take care, treat, not hurt” any prisoners of war.

-via The Guardian

~

Ukraine’s military have set up positions on the eastern side of Dnipro river near Kherson city, the Institute for the Study of War reported, citing Russian military bloggers.

Infiltrating the area could be a first step towards trying to dislodge Russians from positions they are using to shell and shoot at Kherson.

The constant attacks have made it impossible for residents to return to normal life, months after Ukrainan troops liberated the city from Russian occupation.

Ukrainian military forays across the river could also mark the first tentative steps towards launching a long-awaited spring offensive.

The think tank said in an update on the war:

This is the first time ISW has observed reliable geolocated imagery of Ukrainian positions on the east bank along with multi-sourced Russian reports of an enduring Ukrainian presence there.

The Russian military bloggers said Ukrainian forces had established stable supply lines to their positions and “regularly conduct sorties in the area”, the ISW said.

The reported positions were in marshy territory of islets and tributaries, near the settlements of Oleshky and Dachi, the report said. Russia still holds the settlements.

A Ukrainian military spokeswoman for the southern region declined to comment on the reports that Ukrainan troops had achieved a foothold across the river.

Natalia Humenyuk told TV channel 24:

There is an ongoing military operation that requires informational silence. And when it is allowed we will be sure to notify you.

Government officials and Ukrainian commanders have signalled for months that when the weather and troops are ready, they will try to dislodge Russian forces from the south.

An autumn campaign liberated swathes of northeastern Kharkiv and pushed Russian troops out of Kherson, at the time their last stronghold on the western banks of the Dnipro.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday he is “confident” Ukraine is prepared to retake more of its territory in the next offensive.

-via The Guardian

~

Russia on Sunday said its forces had advanced in Bakhmut while a top Ukrainian commander said his troops were holding the frontline through the city, all but destroyed in some of the bloodiest combat of the 14-month war.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces had secured two blocks in western districts and airborne units were providing reinforcements to the north and south. Russia sees Bakhmut as a stepping stone to more advances in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi shared images on the Telegram messaging app of him poring over a map with three other uniformed men, with the caption "Bakhmut frontline. Our defence continues."

"We hit the enemy, often unexpectedly for him, and continue to hold strategic lines," he wrote.

Reuters was unable to verify battlefield reports.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private Wagner military force which is leading the Bakhmut assault, has claimed 80% control of the city. Kyiv has repeatedly denied claims its troops are poised to withdraw.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to keep defending the city.

"It is impossible for us to give up on Bakhmut because this will [help] expand the battle front and will give the Russian forces and Wagner chances to seize more of our lands," Zelenskiy said in an interview with Al Arabiya news channel published on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, the Russian-installed head of Ukraine's southern Kherson region denied a report by a U.S. think tank that Ukrainian forces had taken up positions on the Dnipro river's eastern bank.

"There is no enemy foothold on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro river … our military completely controls that territory," Vladimir Saldo wrote on his Telegram channel.

Citing Russian military bloggers embedded with Moscow's forces, the Institute for the Study of War said Ukraine had "established positions" on the eastern bank, though it was not clear "at what scale or with what intentions".

Russia withdrew forces from the western bank last year as part of a series of withdrawals that signified a shift in momentum in Kyiv's favour.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine's southern command, neither confirmed nor denied the report, which she told Ukrainian television foreshadowed "very powerful shelling" in districts around the west bank cities of Kherson and Beryslav.

"Reacting to such information, the enemy has significantly intensified its attacks on the opposite bank," she said. Civilians had been injured and about 30 buildings destroyed, including a school, she said.

-via Reuters

~

Moscow is threatening to terminate the Black Sea grain deal, viewed as critical to addressing the world hunger crisis, if the Group of Seven nations ban exports to Russia.

Such a ban could be part of the ever-evolving set of sanctions the allies have leveled against Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

Ukraine normally supplies about 45 million metric tons of grain to the global market every year and is the world’s top exporter of sunflower oil. Together with Russia, it accounted for about one-quarter of global wheat exports in 2019.

On Sunday, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and deputy chair of Russia's security council, implied in a Telegram post that Moscow would answer a new G7 export ban by halting the flow of "goods that are the most sensitive for G7."

Alliance response: The G7 called for the “extension, full implementation and expansion” of the Black Sea grain deal in a statement published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan on Sunday.

Moscow has pulled out of the deal before: Russia had suspended its participation in the UN-brokered agreement in October 2022 after drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol, Ukraine.

Shipments have been stop-and-start during the deal, with each side accusing the other of sabotaging the operation at times.

Origins of the deal and impact: Turkey, alongside the United Nations, helped broker the deal in July 2022. The agreement established a procedure that guaranteed the safety of ships carrying Ukrainian grain, fertilizer and other foodstuff through a humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea.

Under the deal, all vessels coming to and from Ukraine’s ports were inspected and monitored by international teams made up of officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN.

-via CNN

~

Russian troops shelled the village of Shakhtarske in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast on the morning of April 24, reported the regional prosecutor's office.

Two men aged 43 and 66 were killed in a house's yard, and their neighbor suffered shrapnel injuries, according to the prosecutors.

Shakhtarske is located in the Volnovakha district, about 75 kilometers from the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk.

Earlier the same day, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said that Russian attacks had killed two civilians in the region and wounded two more over the previous 24 hours.

Ukraine's eastern Donetsk Oblast bordering Russia is the site of the war's fiercest fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces as Moscow seeks to occupy the entire region.

-via Kyiv Independent

[stele3]

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

Subsequent imagery confirms that the vessel was damaged and has begun to take on water, listing to port. In at least one of the videos, the Olenegorsky Gornyak is seen under tow, while already listing badly and sitting very low in the water(..)

P.S. The Russians thought they could attack Odessa with impunity and cut off grain exports, but Ukraine responded very quickly with a retaliatory attack on the Russian navy at Novorossiysk. If the Russians can't protect their warships, just think what will happen to Russian and their allied merchant ships that serve the Russian war criminal economy.

In any case, Ukraine has managed to change the rules of the game in the Black Sea and any Russian warship and oil tanker is an easy and legitimate target...

Interestingly, the Ukrainians successfully carried out this attack with drones produced by their own military industry...

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The idea that public investment in infrastructure serves democratic goals fell out of favor in the U.S. in the 1980s. Leaders insisted that private investment reacted more efficiently to market forces whereas government investment both distorted markets and tied up money that private investment could use more effectively. In fact, the dramatic scaling back of public investment since then has not led to more efficient development so much as it has led to crumbling infrastructure and its exploitation by private individuals. 

In late July the New York Times noted that since 2019, billionaire businessman Elon Musk has steadily taken over the field of satellite internet, infrastructure that is hugely important for national security. In just four years Musk has launched into space more than 4,500 satellites—more than 50% of all active satellites. This means that Musk’s Starlink is often the only way for people in places hit by disasters or in war zones to communicate. 

On Thursday, excerpts from a forthcoming biography of Elon Musk by historian Walter Isaacson revealed that Musk “secretly told his engineers to turn off [Starlink] coverage within 100 kilometers of the Crimean coast” after learning that the Ukrainian military was sending six small drone submarines packed with explosives at the Russian naval fleet based in Crimea. After talking to Russian leaders, who said they would respond with nuclear weapons—later events suggest this was a bluff—Musk shut off Starlink, the drone submarines lost the connectivity they needed to find their targets, and the weapons simply washed ashore.

According to Isaacson, Ukrainian officials begged Musk to turn the coverage back on, but he refused, saying that Ukraine “is now going too far and inviting strategic defeat.” He told U.S. and Russian officials that he wanted Starlink to be used only for defense. Then he offered a “peace plan” that required Ukraine to give up territory to Russia and reject plans to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Later, he again disabled Starlink coverage in the midst of a Ukrainian advance.

Isaacson portrays Musk as frustrated by being dragged into a war. “Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars,” Musk told Isaacson. “It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes.” Since the story broke, Musk has defended his unwillingness to be in the middle of a war. 

But Mykhailo Podolyak, a top advisor to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, pointed out on Musk’s own social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that the same Russian fleet Musk protected went on to fire missiles at Ukrainian cities, killing civilians, including children. Russia is also attacking Ukraine’s infrastructure for exporting grain, which threatens the price and availability of food in Africa.

The privatization of the functions of government in the U.S. has given a single man the power to affect global affairs, working, in this case, against the stated objectives of our own government. Republican leaders eager to push that privatization have made their case by turning voters against taxes, although the tax cuts put in place since 1981 overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy and corporations, permitting a few individuals to amass fortunes: Forbes, for example, estimates Musk’s net worth at $251.3 billion.

On Friday the Internal Revenue Service announced that increased federal funding under the Inflation Reduction Act and the help of artificial intelligence will enable a new push to go after 1,600 millionaires who owe at least $250,000 and 75 large businesses with assets of about $10 billion apiece that owe hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes. 

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said the plan “goes to the heart of Democrats’ effort to ensure the wealthiest are paying their fair share.” It also goes to the heart of the idea that billionaires must not be able to impose their will on the rest of us by virtue of their monopolization of key aspects of our infrastructure. Still, Republicans continue to argue for private investment according to market forces. Opposing taxes and the government programs they fund, they have clawed back as much of the new funding for the IRS as they have been able, and they continue to call for more cuts. 

This week, as a fight over funding the government by the end of the month looms, the implications of the parties’ different visions of government could not be clearer. 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

Sept 10, 2023

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[ref :: Musk Shut Down Ukrainian Attack After Chat with Russian Official] ::

Elon Musk got caught with his hand in the national security cookie jar, sabotaging or blocking a major Ukrainian military operation after conversations with a Russian government official.

Now let’s unpack this.

Last month I wrote about the rise of the global oligarchs and I made particular mention of Elon Musk. Even if you set aside the various things you may not like about Musk he has amassed a degree of economic power that is novel and dangerous in itself even if he had the most benign of intentions and the most stable personality. More than half the operating satellites in the sky are owned and controlled by him. Overnight we finally got confirmation of something that has long been suspected or hinted at but which none of the players had an interest in confirming. Last September Musk either cut off or refused to activate his Starlink satellite service near the Crimean coast during a surprise Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian Navy at anchor at its Sevastopol naval port.

Ukraine has made extensive use of naval drones. But it at least sounds like this was supposed to be a massed attack that would have done extensive damage to the Russian Navy and the naval port itself and thus seriously degraded Russia’s ability to launch missile attacks against Ukraine. In other words, it doesn’t sound like this was just any attack, though the details are sketchy.

On its face you might say, they’re Musk’s satellites and he’s in charge of who gets to use them and how. But of course it’s not that simple. It’s a good illustration of how Musk’s economic power has crept into domains that are more like the power of a state.

Starlink is a network of satellites providing robust internet connectivity without reliance on any ground infrastructure. This is critical in Ukraine since the ground infrastructure has all been degraded or destroyed. Starlink is owned by and made possible by the launch capacity of SpaceX, Musk’s space launch company, which is currently the sole means the U.S. has to launch satellites into space.

Musk made business and financial decisions that, under our economic system, entitles him to the vast profits of SpaceX. But he didn’t create it on his own. The company was built on the back of U.S. government contracts. In essence the U.S. government fronted the money to build SpaceX by awarding it contracts that made its business viable. Musk and SpaceX are also U.S. military contractors. That comes with a big set of responsibilities and restrictions.

Raytheon isn’t at liberty to sell its high tech weaponry to Russia or China if the price is right. These contractors are legally and financially bound into the U.S. national security apparatus. So is Musk and SpaceX. Or at least they’re supposed to be. A critical part of this story is that Musk took this action after conversations with an unnamed Russian government official which, Musk claimed, led him to worry the attack could escalate into a nuclear conflict.

Of course the threat of escalation has hung over the Ukraine war from the beginning. Countless civilian and military officials in the U.S., Europe and across the globe have been analyzing and trying to manage that risk for 18 months. We should take Musk’s claim about fears of nuclear escalation with a huge, huge grain of salt. There are many other threats and inducements that could have come up in these conversations. But let’s assume for the moment that’s what the Russian official told him. It’s simply not Musk’s judgment to make. That’s not only the case as a matter of basic democratic accountability and national security law. Musk is the last person you’d want making such a decision. He’s a mercurial weirdo whose views visibly change by the day in reaction to whoever is giving him the most comments love on Twitter. His national security thinking is at best juvenile and fatuous. The idea that such a call was Musk’s to make is as absurd as it is terrifying.

Let’s imagine a more generous to Musk scenario.

Maybe that Russian official said to Musk: Turn off your satellites over our naval base or we will start shooting down your satellites. In technical terms that is not an idle threat. You might say, well, war’s hell, Elon. But he might reply, was the U.S. government prepared to reimburse me for the satellites and disrupted service contract fees that I incurred not for any sane business reason but to advance U.S. national security interests?

That’s a good question and I’m not sure I know what the answer is. In fact, I suspect there is no answer. The whole situation is one that mixes and matches private sector and national security in very scrambled ways. And Musk who is someone who pushes every envelope and is more than happy to use his money, domestic celebrity and control of a critical communications hub to wreak havoc with any U.S. government that calls him to account. Let’s not forget that it was just after these events that Musk suddenly started advocating his personal ‘peace plan’ on Twitter — which surprisingly seem to match all of Russia’s demands.

Let me be clear that I don’t think that last scenario is what happened. But we don’t know that it didn’t. My point in discussing that possibility is to illustrate the fact that it’s not just that Elon Musk sucks, which he does. The whole situation sucks. You simply can’t have critical national security infrastructure in the hands of a Twitter troll who’s a soft touch for whichever foreign autocrat blows some smoke up his behind. But that’s what we have here.

As I said above, we’ve known or suspected for a long time that stuff like this had happened. Musk revealed at the time that he’d been talking with Russian officials. Indeed, at one point he said he had spoken to Putin himself on more than one occasion during this period. But we shouldn’t take anything he says at face value. The U.S. hasn’t wanted to get into this publicly because they don’t want a public spat with Musk. (This is the subject of Ronan Farrow’s recent piece in The New Yorker.) This applies even more to Ukraine which still relies on as much Starlink access as it can get. In response to these latest revelations the Ukrainians’ gloves seem to have come off. One of President Zelensky’s top advisors went off on Musk on Twitter last night essentially arguing that Musk personally has blood on his hand for all the subsequent attacks launched from those ships and facilities into Ukraine.

We need to learn more details about just what happened here. A congressional investigation wouldn’t be a bad idea. But we know enough to see that a guy in charge of a lot of critical technology the U.S. relies on is happy to cut deals with the other team.

[cyberbenb]

3 key takeaways from Davos from Ukraine’s economy minister

The discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos were a stark reminder of how interconnected the global economy is, and how Ukraine’s stability — or lack thereof — affects us all. From military aid to economic sanctions, the steps we take now will shape the future not just for Ukraine, but for the world.

The war Russia has unleashed on Ukraine is not only a threat to our country, but also a destabilizing force for the entire world economy. One of the clearest signs of this disruption was the unprecedented surge in global wheat prices, soaring to over $450 per ton in spring 2022, driving hunger across the globe. Or consider the speculative spike in gas prices last year when Russia attacked Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities.

Every missile Russia targets at Ukraine is a strike at the heart of the global economy. If we are serious about global stability, we must address the root cause: Russia’s aggression. As long as instability persists in Ukraine, it will reverberate around the world.

“Every missile Russia targets at Ukraine is a strike at the heart of the global economy.”

Here are the key takeaways from Davos that underscore the shared responsibility we all have in securing Ukraine’s future.

First, military and economic aid have been, and must remain, at the forefront of our efforts. In partnership with governments, businesses, and financial institutions, we’ve created a robust ecosystem that has kept Ukraine standing. This support drives recovery and development, particularly in defense technology, and it has allowed Ukraine’s economy to stay afloat in the face of unrelenting war. As “The Economist” rightly put it, Ukraine is winning the economic war — an accomplishment that belongs to all of us.

Second, sanctions and blocking Russia’s shadow fleet have long been vital tools in the fight against Russian aggression. U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent comments in Davos about Russian oil are a step in the right direction. The numbers back it up: According to the Kyiv School of Economics, Russia has lost a staggering $78.5 billion in oil export revenue since December 2022 due to sanctions.

The oil tanker Eagle S is anchored near Kilpilahti port in Porvoo, Gulf of Finland, on Jan. 13, 2025. (Vesa Moilanen / Lehtikuva / AFP)

The private sector must play its part too. I call on business leaders worldwide to withdraw from the Russian market. Such actions are as effective as sanctions, delivering a direct blow to the Russian economy. The idea that business is somehow apolitical is outdated — businesses are powerful forces that can shape outcomes, for better or for worse.

And third, a strong economy supports a strong military. That’s why our vision for a self-sufficient economy is grounded in five key steps: expanding export logistics, restoring energy capacities, confiscating Russia’s sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s recovery, investing in the defense industry and Ukrainian companies, and encouraging the return of Ukrainians to Ukraine.

While the Ukrainian government has focused on industrial policy — contributing to economic growth even in the third year of full-scale war, with a projected 3.6% growth rate in 2024 — private companies have an equally critical role in shaping long-term security guarantees for Ukraine.

Security measures have already shown their value. Take the Black Sea Grain Corridor, for example. Initially blocked by Russia, the corridor was only reopened when we secured military protection for the routes and installed air defense systems to safeguard export infrastructure. This allowed Ukrainian exports to grow by 15% last year.

To kickstart Ukraine’s large-scale reconstruction and stabilize the global economy, Ukraine needs long-term security guarantees. This is not just a Ukrainian issue — it’s a global responsibility, one shared by Ukraine, its partners, and the private sector.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.

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Davos heard Ukraine’s call, but will Europe seize the opportunity?

“We’re at yet another turning point,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told global leaders in Davos last week, “which some see as a problem for Europe, but others call a chance. Europe must establish itself as a strong global player, as an indispensable player.” Zelensky is completely right.…

The Kyiv IndependentStephan Jensen

[reasoningdaily]

Growing up in Louisiana, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, Jocyntia “Jo” Banner and her sister Joyceia “Joy” Banner learned about the 1811 revolt by enslaved people from their grandmother. Their matriarch said the heads of those who rebelled and fought for their freedom were cut off and put on stakes along the Mississippi River. The story, Banner said, had been passed down in her family from generation to generation through oral tradition, but it’s not just folklore. 

The 1811 revolt began at the Woodland Plantation in LaPlace, Louisiana. Charles Deslondes and about 25 other enslaved people attacked Manuel Andry and his son, killing the son. As they marched toward New Orleans, enslaved people from other plantations joined them, with the crowd of rebels growing to more than 500. The group was stopped by the military and captured. Some were put on trial and executed. 

“They were freedom fighters,” Jo Banner said of the 1811 revolt participants. “They were trying to save their lives and the lives of their family.”

And now the Banner sisters are working to save their history as the new owners of that plantation that was home to what has been described as the largest uprising of enslaved people in American history. 

During the last few years, the Banners had been in talks with the owner of the Woodland Plantation, Timothy Sheehan, about the importance of preserving Black history in the River Parishes, Jo Banner said. In 2023, Sheehan contacted the Banner sisters and told them he planned to put the property up for sale and asked if they were interested in purchasing it. 

According to records in the St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court Office, the sisters, through their nonprofit, The Descendants Project, bought the plantation for $750,000 in January. The purchase included the 4,000-square-foot main building and four acres. The Banners founded The Descendants Project, to “preserve and protect the health, land, and lives of the Black descendant community located in Louisiana’s River Parishes.”

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Sharlene Sinegal-DeCuir, an associate professor of history at Xavier University, said “it’s amazingly powerful” that generations after the 1811 revolt, the descendants of the enslaved have the “right to tell the stories of their generation, of their legacy.”  

“It gives the lives of those who lived at that time justice for what they were doing,” Sinegal-DeCuir said. “It just turns Louisiana history on its head because now we are able to tell the story of resilience, of reliance in the community, of hope, of strength, of all those things that other narratives buried down.”

Sinegal-DeCuir said the 1811 revolt demonstrated that enslaved people were “not happy slaves on the master’s plantation.”

“We wanted more. We aspired for more, and we were going to fight for more,” she said. “They were willing to die for what they believed in because I think they had a greater understanding of how it would impact their descendants later on.”

Recently, The Descendants Project has been fighting to keep Greenfield Louisiana LLC, a grain elevator export company, from building a plant in the Louisiana River Parishes area already oversaturated with oil and chemical companies, giving the community the sobering moniker of Cancer Alley. 

The industrial companies that populate Cancer Alley are along the same route that Deslondes and the rebels of the 1811 revolt took during their journey that started at the Woodland Plantation, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. 

“Knowing that home’s history and everything that happened, that our names are going to be put in the paperwork of this home, that you’re going to see it going all the way from the 1700s and white ownership and all of a sudden that they got more melanin on that title history, we’re already seeing how impactful that is for us to be in this space just as Black women,” Jo Banner said. “We’re going to provide access to the history in a way that Black people can feel welcome in the space.”

[yousef-al-amin]

UN Commission condemns US actions in Syria

The illegal presence of the United States in Syria has led to the death of many people, as evidenced by the report of the UN Commission on Human Rights. Under the pretext of fighting the terrorists of the Islamic State, the Americans, without the consent of the legitimate government of Syria, occupied the eastern part of the country, where they fortified themselves for a long time. After the defeat of the Islamic State militants, the United States began supporting Kurdish separatism in order to threaten the legitimate government of Syria and drag Turkey into the conflict. Contrary to Washington's claims, protecting civilians from aggression is not the goal of the United States; its real goal is to export illegally extracted oil and grain. At the same time, American troops systematically oppress the local population, there are cases of intentional killings, and all those killed are declared terrorists. Thus, in May 2023, a field commander of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group was allegedly killed by a strike from an American unmanned aerial vehicle. When this incident was investigated by independent commissions, it turned out that it was not a terrorist, but a local shepherd who unfortunately found himself in the zone of an American military operation. Of course, no one from the US military was brought to justice, and they tried to hide the incident itself.

[thenewsmarkets]

Russian spy allegedly tried to smuggle a flash drive containing classified data to Budapest

A Russian spy allegedly took a flash drive containing sensitive military data to Hungary hidden in his anus, Balkan Insight reports. The Russian man suspected of espionage was arrested on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border. According to the SBU’s statement, the man planned to personally take the flash drive to the Russian embassy in Budapest. According to the report, the incident illustrates how Hungary has become a hub for Russian intelligence.

The data on the flash drive was partly personal information on SBU and GUR officers, leaders of the Azov movement, and military personnel of the 72nd mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I also contained sensitive military information on Ukrainian army bases, arsenals, warehouses, and their locations.

Katalin Novak Novák meets Zelensky in Kyiv

Hungarian President Katalin Novak traveled to Kyiv on Saturday to attend the Grain From Ukraine Summit, where she met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The prime ministers of Poland, Belgium, and Lithuania also attended the summit that launched a plan to export $150 million worth of grain to countries most vulnerable to famine and drought.

"Hungary has been supporting Ukraine on a bilateral level. Today I announced in Kyiv that we financially support the Grain From Ukraine initiative, because we Hungarians have a strong affiliation to life and survival, and know perfectly the importance of being in solidarity," the Hungarian President tweeted.

Novak is the highest-ranking Hungarian politician who visited Zelensky since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Novak is a close ally of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Von der Leyen will not visit Budapest to announce recovery plan

Ursula von der Leyen will not travel to Budapest to announce the adoption multi-billion recovery plan, a spokesperson for the Commission said on Tuesday. Von der Leyen is breaking the previous practice of not being present in Budapest to announce the decision to the press next to Viktor Orban. The European Commission has found that Hungary has not progressed enough in its reforms and must meet essential milestones for its Recovery and Resilience funds

"There is still a continued risk to the EU budget given that the remedial measures that still need to be fulfilled are of a structural and horizontal nature," the Commission wrote in a statement on Wednesday.

The President of the European Commission was about to travel to Hungary last year in July however, she canceled the trip after the country's parliament passed the 'child protection law' that raised concerns in Brussels over discrimination against LGBTQ minorities.

[livenewsupdate]

Russian spy allegedly tried to smuggle a flash drive containing classified data to Budapest

A Russian spy allegedly took a flash drive containing sensitive military data to Hungary hidden in his anus, Balkan Insight reports. The Russian man suspected of espionage was arrested on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border. According to the SBU’s statement, the man planned to personally take the flash drive to the Russian embassy in Budapest. According to the report, the incident illustrates how Hungary has become a hub for Russian intelligence.

The data on the flash drive was partly personal information on SBU and GUR officers, leaders of the Azov movement, and military personnel of the 72nd mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I also contained sensitive military information on Ukrainian army bases, arsenals, warehouses, and their locations.

Katalin Novak Novák meets Zelensky in Kyiv

Hungarian President Katalin Novak traveled to Kyiv on Saturday to attend the Grain From Ukraine Summit, where she met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The prime ministers of Poland, Belgium, and Lithuania also attended the summit that launched a plan to export $150 million worth of grain to countries most vulnerable to famine and drought.

"Hungary has been supporting Ukraine on a bilateral level. Today I announced in Kyiv that we financially support the Grain From Ukraine initiative, because we Hungarians have a strong affiliation to life and survival, and know perfectly the importance of being in solidarity," the Hungarian President tweeted.

Novak is the highest-ranking Hungarian politician who visited Zelensky since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Novak is a close ally of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Von der Leyen will not visit Budapest to announce recovery plan

Ursula von der Leyen will not travel to Budapest to announce the adoption multi-billion recovery plan, a spokesperson for the Commission said on Tuesday. Von der Leyen is breaking the previous practice of not being present in Budapest to announce the decision to the press next to Viktor Orban. The European Commission has found that Hungary has not progressed enough in its reforms and must meet essential milestones for its Recovery and Resilience funds

"There is still a continued risk to the EU budget given that the remedial measures that still need to be fulfilled are of a structural and horizontal nature," the Commission wrote in a statement on Wednesday.

The President of the European Commission was about to travel to Hungary last year in July however, she canceled the trip after the country's parliament passed the 'child protection law' that raised concerns in Brussels over discrimination against LGBTQ minorities.

Hungary still opposes convening the NATO-Ukraine Commission

Hungarian Foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said Budapest will continuously block convening the body responsible for developing the NATO-Ukraine relationship over minority rights. Hungary has been blocking ministerial-level political meetings between NATO and Ukraine since 2017 when the Ukrainian Parliament adopted the law “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language".

"We made it clear for many years now that the Hungarian government will not agree to a formal meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission until the Hungarians of Transcarpathia have their rights restored," Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó said in a statement in Bucharest on Tuesday.

[summarychannel]

private | An Egyptian boat breaking Russia's blockade on Ukraine and an intervention with the US embassy for comment

The episode devotes its time to discussing the repercussions of Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal with Ukraine. Where the American newspaper The New York Times said in a lengthy report that the alternative route that the Ukrainian authorities are now using through the Danube ports, after the Black Sea ports were subjected to Russian bombing, has begun to operate and receive cargo ships in Port Ismail. The episode presents a model related to an Egyptian cargo ship coming from Alexandria to Port Ismail to purchase a Ukrainian wheat deal.

Where the ship's crew told the editor of the New York Times the difficulties they faced during the trip as a result of witnessing Russian bombing operations in the waters of the Black Sea. The Egyptian crew also had fears that they would be attacked by the Russian navy, especially after the accident involving a Turkish cargo ship that refused to obey the orders of the Russian navy, so it was shot and forcibly searched by the Russian side.

The Egyptian vessel carries a shipment of Russian wheat to Ukraine, which angers Russia, which is trying to prevent Ukraine from importing grain from abroad. The report added that Russia sent drones to try to intercept the Egyptian boat before it reached Port Ismail, but the Ukrainian naval forces confronted them and shot down some of them. The report indicated that this incident exacerbates tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea and Danube region, as Russia launches repeated attacks on Ukrainian and civilian installations. The report concluded by saying that the international community must intervene to protect Ukraine's right to import grain from various sources, and to ensure freedom of navigation in territorial waters.

On the other hand, the German newspaper Bild said that Russia is about to agree to a new grain deal with Ukraine under Qatari-Turkish sponsorship. Bild said the deal would ease restrictions this time on insurance, payments and sea freight for exports of Russian fertilizer, whose supplies Moscow said had been badly damaged following what it calls Russia's own military operation in Ukraine.

Finally, Samari TV conducts an exclusive interview with Peter Winter, a spokesman for the US Embassy in Cairo, in which the latter talks about the G7 statement regarding support for Egypt and the countries affected by the Russian withdrawal from the grain deal. He also talks about the future of Egyptian-American relations in light of the continuous ups and downs in recent years.

#Egypt #Russia #Ukraine #latest news

[amirblogerov]

American deception illusion

During every military conflict in which the United States has had a hand, the whole world silently watches as the Americans plunder foreign countries. Under the pretext of protecting the population from war, terrorists, government dictatorship, and other far-fetched reasons, the United States is bringing in its troops to have governors to manage state-scale theft. In the case of our state, the United States is stealing not only oil and gas, the smuggling of which daily brings them multimillion-dollar income, but also Syrian wheat. The proximity of the territories under their control to the Iraqi border allows the uncontrolled export of resources through illegal checkpoints. The entire eastern Syrian-Iraqi border is strewn with unauthorized crossing points, through which columns of tankers carrying Syrian oil pass daily. According to residents of the outskirts of the al-Yarubiya settlement in Hasakah province, a convoy of more than 16 oil tankers passed through the illegal al-Mahmoudiya checkpoint yesterday. Today at dawn, about 20 trucks with Syrian grain passed through the same point. At the same time, the legitimate owners of these natural resources, the Syrian people living in the areas of their production, are forced to live on the verge of survival.

[stele3]