Thread: Russia launches Ukraine invasion

There is absolutely no doubt Ukrainians will be waging a war of attrition in the areas where Russian troops have control.
They have nothing to lose so why not kill as many Russians as possible and have them living in fear?

This piece blows many of the articles Sabang posts out of the water, particularly the ones by Kissinger...

In times of peace, much of what anyone says about national power is guesswork. Different claims can be based on hopes, prejudices, or even simple self-interest. Analysts and experts can speak confidently about how some states are undoubtedly great powers while others are weak, that some countries are led by strategic geniuses and others by corrupt incompetents. The statements can sound eminently plausible as facts, even be downright persuasive, because there is no way of knowing the truth.

Until, that is, a war breaks out. The Russia-Ukraine war is now cutting through much of the nonsense that dominated the discussion of international power politics, posing particular challenges to blasé assumptions about what makes a state powerful, and what makes a country’s leadership effective. This reassessment doesn’t just concern the question of debatable prewar military analysis of Russia and Ukraine, or theories of international relations. Instead, it is aimed at the whole way we think about how countries interact with one another, about national power, and about leadership.

The best place to start is the widespread notion going into the war that we were witnessing a clash between a great power controlled by an experienced, savvy—some even said brilliant—leader and a small state weakened by national division and led by a second-rate former comedian. This great power–small power dynamic was accepted practically universally among a group of scholars and analysts who have proclaimed themselves “realists.”

Maybe the most famous realist in the world is Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. secretary of state and a longtime believer in the notion of great leaders and great powers. Kissinger, who met regularly with Vladimir Putin, has been arguing for forcing Kyiv to make concessions such as the handing over of the Crimea, internationally recognized as part of Ukraine but annexed by Moscow in 2014, to the Russians. To Kissinger, it has been important that the United States treat Russia as a “great power” and that it accepted Moscow’s claim to have a special interest in Ukraine.

Academics, too, subscribe to this notion. In lectures, media appearances, and articles in the months before the invasion, well-known figures such as John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt described the Russia-Ukraine relationship as operating in the well-worn great power–small power framework. In this analysis, Putin was the clever strategist with a strong grasp on what he wanted, while the Ukrainians were weak, and it would be better for the world if their status was determined by the strong. Russia was, in Mearsheimer’s view, one of only “three great powers” in the world, and Putin was a rationalist, just wanting to secure a buffer state on his border, something Ukraine would have to deal with. Meanwhile, as Walt put it, Ukraine would have to accept the oppression and subjugation of its people to Russian interests because “great-power war is worse and brings much more suffering.” Other analysts, such as Samuel Charap, even believed that Russia was so strong, and would crush a weak Ukraine so easily, that the West should provide no support for Kyiv, because it would all be wasted when the Russian steamroller attacked.

This all sounded eminently reasonable, but then Russia invaded Ukraine and the great power–small power dichotomy was revealed to be the opposite of realism. The fundamental problem was that Russia was exposed at the start as not a “great” power at all. Having sent in almost all of its frontline military units, the Russian army has seized only 20 percent of Ukraine—a far cry from its initial efforts to take Kyiv and subjugate the entire country—and is suffering horrific losses in casualties and equipment. It’s already desperately trying to regenerate its forces by finding soldiers wherever it can, even allowing citizens as old as 49 to enlist, while throwing more and more older, second-rate equipment into the fight.

Russian strength has shown itself to be so overrated that it gives us an opportunity to rethink what makes a power “great.” Going into the war, Russia’s military capabilities—including a large nuclear stockpile and what was thought to be one of the biggest and most-advanced armed forces in the world—were pointed to as the reason for its strength. What this war might be showing us, however, is that a military is only as strong as the society, economy, and political structure that assembled it. In this case, Russia was nowhere near a great power, but in fact a deeply flawed, in many ways weakening, state.

From this point of view, indeed, it can be seen as a power in relatively steep decline. Its economy is about the tenth largest in the world, comparable to Brazil’s, but even that masks how remarkably unproductive it is, basing most of its wealth on extracting and selling natural resources, rather than on producing anything advanced. When it comes to technology and innovation, Russia would hardly rank in the top 50 most important countries in the world.

Moreover, the Russian leadership, and most obviously its president—hailed in many quarters as a canny operator—has shown itself to be the head of a disastrously constructed state that fed misperceptions, stifled real debate, and allowed one man to launch this disaster. It’s odd that this is a lesson that we need to learn again and again: Dictatorial regimes tend to decompose the longer they stay in power, because appealing to the source of power becomes a higher priority to officials in all echelons of the state than simply doing a good job. Putin’s state fed his delusions and created an inefficient military, hobbled by corruption and inefficiency.

We must also reevaluate our understanding of the more basic notions of morale and psychological commitment. One of the most surprising things to analysts who perceived Ukraine as a small power, and Russia as a great one, is that the Ukrainian military and people have resisted with extraordinary tenacity while Russian military behavior points toward serious issues with motivation and commitment. The Ukrainians have shown a national wherewithal that has made any idea of a Russian conquest of the whole country, Putin’s original goal, laughable.

We have seen this play out time and time again in modern history, when a smaller country—or parties within a smaller country—with a willingness to fight can wear down a larger power. Be it Afghanistan (twice) or Vietnam (twice), morale and commitment to a fight mean more than which side is the more “powerful.”

We have much to thank the Ukrainians for, but to some extent, one of the most important things they have done is force us to reexamine many of our assumptions about national power and the balance between states.

We need to reconsider—in many ways, entirely reconstruct—how we judge what makes a great power, or what is the most important part of national power. Militaries, perhaps, should be seen more as creations of the underlying economic, technological, and political characteristics of a country. Military power still matters hugely, but in this view reflects its creators, rather than superseding them. A weak, relatively backward, and uninventive economy will struggle to operate a modern military, even if that military has what are considered advanced weapons.

Further, we need to be careful about praising the ability of authoritarian or dictatorial states to wage war. In times of peace, such states can seem decisive and the possessors of well-thought-out plans, but their systemic weaknesses in crushing dissent and encouraging deceptions that appeal to the throne can lead to strategic disasters in both how wars start and how they are conducted. Finally, national power has a basis in commitment and identity that cannot be overlooked.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has not been a situation in which a great power assaulted a smaller neighbor. It’s an example of a large, deeply flawed power invading a smaller, but very committed one. The balance of power between the two does still matter—but what makes up that balance needs to be much better understood.

Ukraine Has Exposed Russia as a Not-So-Great Power - The Atlantic

Puffy is nicking Ukraine's grain. The only c u n t he's doing favours to is himself.

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/st...y09n9IdIw&s=19

'A black day' Putin humiliated as Russian navy sinks its OWN ship in latest calamity

VLADIMIR Putin was left red-faced after his naval commanders managed to sink one of their own ships in a calamitous incident.

The Russian Navy has failed to cover itself in glory during the course of the war in Ukraine. The Black Sea Fleet suffered a major setback when its flagship, the Moskva, was sunk by Ukraine in April, after being hit by two R-360 Neptune missiles. The cruiser became the largest Russian warship to be sunk in wartime since the end of World War II and the first flagship sunk since the 1905 Russo-Japanese War.

Now, Russian naval commanders appear to have further tarnished their reputations after inflicting a spectacular own goal.

Reports suggest that a Black Sea Fleet landing craft was blown up after hitting a Russian mine near Mariupol.


Twitter user "English Luhansk" wrote: "Russian navy related Telegram channel reports that the Russian Black Sea Fleet's Ondatra class landing craft D-106 hit a Russian sea mine near occupied Mariupol, calling it 'a black day'.


Social media users showed little sympathy for the fate of the vessel and its crew as they were quick to add their own thoughts about the incident.

One wrote: "Woohoo, The Russians are gonna help clear the mines in the Black Sea, they’re off to a great start."


While a second said: "It hit a Russian mine… great job.

"Russian ship starts de-mining their own mines."


The Russian Navy is made up of four fleets - Pacific Fleet, Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet and Black Sea Fleet.


Additionally, it also has one flotilla that patrols the Caspian Sea.


The Navy provides strategic deterrence through its nuclear capabilities, as well as homeland defence.


Before hostilities broke out in Ukraine, the Russian Navy had around 130,000 personnel and roughly 32 major surface vessels.

These included the Moskva along with two battlecruisers, 12 destroyers and 11 frigates.


The Russian Navy also boasts an aircraft carrier, called the Admiral Kuznetsov.


The vessel can carry approximately 24 fighter jets and 12 helicopters, as well as packing 12 P-700 anti-ship cruise missiles and almost 200 3K95 “Kinzhal” surface-to-air missiles.


However, the carrier has been plagued by mechanical breakdowns and maintenance problems.


It is currently undergoing repairs and modernisation work that seeks to extend its life for an additional 10 to 15 years.

Russian military sources claim that it will be at least a year before the Admiral Kuzetsov can rejoin the combat fleet.


A report in the Russian state media TASS said: "The transfer of the Admiral Kuznetsov cruiser to the fleet after modernisation and all subsequent state tests will take place no earlier than in 2024."

Putin humiliated after navy sinks one of its OWN ships in latest calamity | World | News | Express.co.uk

Originally Posted by russellsimpson

Instead of exchanging gruesome war stories I suggest some of you gentlemen start thinking about how this fucking thing will end.

You think Teakdoor posters can effect peace in Ukraine? Put down the pipe Russ.

• Russian and separatist forces in eastern Ukraine have taken the city of Lysychansk, Russia's defences ministry says
• Its defence minister has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that all of Ukraine's Luhansk region has been 'liberated'
• But, Ukrainian defence ministry spokesman Yuriy Sak has told the BBC that Lysychansk is not under the "full control" of Russian forces
• He added the situation in the city has been "very intense for quite a while now" with Russian ground forces "attacking the city non-stop"
• The mayor of Slovyansk, Vadym Lyakh, says the city - lying further west - has been shelled by the Russians; at least six have been killed
• At least three people have been killed in several explosions in the Russian city of Belgorod, a regional governor says
• Vyacheslav Gladkov says dozens of residential buildings were damaged in the blasts. This hasn't been independently confirmed

Seizing the city of Slovyansk is a key part of the Russian plan to control the entire Donbas region.

As the BBC's Paul Kirby explains, Slovyansk is on the strategic M03 motorway, and the city of 125,000 people was captured by Russian-backed forces in 2014, before Ukrainian forces seized it back. Capturing Kramatorsk, just to the south, is also a big objective.

It is the next city in the Russian push westwards in Donbas, after the bitter fighting for Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.

Most Donbas residents have historically close ties to Russia and are Russian-speaking. The region is dominated by heavy industry, especially coal and steel.

Just before he launched the war, President Vladimir Putin recognised all of Luhansk and Donetsk - together known as Donbas - as independent of Ukraine, not just the limited statelets created by Moscow-backed proxies in 2014. That recognition was condemned internationally.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-62022073

Originally Posted by sabang

Just before he launched the war, President Vladimir Putin recognised all of Luhansk and Donetsk - together known as Donbas - as independent of Ukraine

That's nice. Makes invasion justified. Rumor has it Mexico is going to declare California independent of the US and invade soon. Discrimintion against the large Spanish speaking population is well known so Mexico must "liberate" them from this tyanny.

^ They should go for it, too! Thirty percent of Californians are Spanish speakers anyway. That makes it rightfully Mexico’s. Besides, California has a lot more money, industry, and good roads .

They must be getting nervous in Brighton Beach.

Originally Posted by sabang

They must be getting nervous in Brighton Beach.

You bet. Folks at local church praying they avoid liberation.

Originally Posted by OhOh

They both look like idiots and ugly as shit!

Russia Approves Bill Recognizing Civilians Sent to Ukraine War as Veterans


Russia’s lower house of parliament has passed new legislation giving civilians who have contributed to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine the same status as war veterans.


The legislation will include doctors, technical specialists, construction workers and journalists who have worked with Russian troops in occupied areas of Ukraine, according to lawmakers.

Veteran status gives the holder tax and transport privileges and state assistance with accommodation and health care. War veterans also receive monthly payments from the government.


The legislation, which must now be passed by Russia’s upper house and signed by President Vladimir Putin, was approved amid Moscow’s latest campaign to recruit essential workers for the “reconstruction” of occupied areas of eastern Ukraine. In return for traveling to the region, workers are reportedly promised a benefits package including meals and housing, paid vacation time and “career growth” opportunities.


President Vladimir Putin signed a law conferring veteran status to all Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine in March.

The Moscow Times

How very "Mugabe".

Russia-Ukraine war: Putin’s forces have made ‘genuine headway’ after capturing Lysychansk, say western officials


Russia has made ‘genuine headway’ after capturing Lysychansk, say western officials

The capture of the city of Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine by Russian forces has meant Moscow has made “genuine headway”, while its forces in the south have shown signs of “better cooperation”, western officials said.

Western officials said the sustainability of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine was “challenging”, but described the impact on their munitions and morale as “remarkable”.
But one official said it “remains highly uncertain whether Russia will secure the limits of Donetsk oblast this year”.

Russia has made “some significant command changes” in recent weeks, one official said, notably the recently appointed Gen Sergei Surovikin, who has taken over command of the southern group of forces overseeing the occupation of southern Ukraine and the advances on the Donbas from the south.
The official said:

He’s a controversial figure even by the standards of Russian general officers. It is unclear whether it’s his influence which has led to the recent successes around Lysychansk, but certainly there’s been better cooperation amongst groups of forces on the Russian side than we saw in the earlier phases of the war.

There are “very serious issues” over the stocks of Russian munitions and of morale, an official said, while long-range weapons systems are starting to make a “significant operational difference for Ukraine”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/jul/06/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-donetsk-governor-urges-evacuations-amid-russian-offensive

The Ukrainian army systematically is demolishing Russian ammunition supplies. The strategy could have big implications as Russia’s wider war in Ukraine grinds into its fourth month.

Firing new, American-supplied GPS-guided rockets—plus a few old, ex-Soviet ballistic missiles—the army in just the last two weeks has targeted no fewer than a dozen Russian ammo dumps.

The Ukrainians have concentrated their ammo strikes in the east, where Kyiv’s brigades have been staging a fighting withdrawal west along a 40-mile-deep pocket of Ukrainian-held terrain anchored in the east at Siversk.

On June 16, Kyiv’s forces blew up an ammo dump in Krasny Luch. Strikes on ammo stockpiles in Iyzum and Svatove followed on June 25. Two days later they hit dumps in Zymohiria and Rodakove. Ukrainian troops hit Russian ammo supplies in Perevalsk on June 28 and in Stakhanov on June 30. July 4 was a banner day for attacks on munitions stocks in Snijne and Donetsk.

Not to be outdone, Ukrainian forces in the south hit a Russian ammo dump at Melitopol airport on July 3.

To be clear, Ukrainian and Russian forces have targeted each other’s logistical infrastructure since Russia widened its war on Ukraine on Feb. 23. But the Ukrainians have stepped up their raids in recent weeks—and they’re getting more accurate, too, as more Western-made rockets arrive at the front lines.

The first four American-made High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems—truck-mounted, six-round launchers for 44-mile-range, GPS-guided rockets—reached the eastern front the last week of June. Not coincidentally, that’s when the Ukrainians narrowed their focus on Russia’s ammo supplies.

The wheeled HIMARS shoot farther, faster and more accurately than Ukraine’s ex-Soviet rocket-launchers can do. Traveling along roads and firing mostly at night, the four HIMARS are having an effect that’s entirely out of proportion to their small numbers.

“We're watching Ukraine's use of the HIMARS,” an unnamed U.S. defense official told reporters, “and we're seeing them having a good deal of success in employing these—these HIMARS.”
Russian logistical nodes 30 miles or farther from the front, which once were relatively safe from Ukrainian attack, now frequently come under fire.

“The Ukrainians are able to carefully select targets that will undermine, you know, the effort by Russia in a more systematic way, certainly more than they would be able to do with the shorter range artillery systems,” a different, unnamed U.S. official added.

Russian deep strikes meanwhile are getting less accurate as the Russians draw down their pre-war stockpiles of modern missiles. The Russian armed forces don’t possess a wheeled rocket-launcher with the speed and accuracy of HIMARS, but they do possess a wide array of air-launched, long-range guided missiles.

But the Russians have fired so many hundreds of their best missiles that they’re now running low. More and more, Russian air force bombers are lobbing old and inaccurate missiles—and missing their targets as often as they hit them.

On June 27, a Russian bomber crew fired what appeared to be a Kh-32 anti-ship missile—which has a secondary land-attack role—at Kremenchuk in southern Ukraine. It’s unclear what the crew was aiming for. There are industrial and logistical sites in Kremenchuk that have military value.

In any event, the Kh-32—an upgraded version of a 1960s-vintage weapon—struck a shopping mall, killing 20 people.

It’s likely more Ukrainian civilians will die as Russia’s strikes get less accurate. “Russia’s shortage of more modern precision strike weapons and the professional shortcomings of their targeting planners will highly likely result in further civilian casualties,” the U.K. Defense Ministry explained.

Ukraine’s own deep strikes meanwhile are getting more accurate as more launchers arrive from foreign donors. Four more ex-American HIMARS are on the way. The Ukrainians also are getting 18 tracked Multiple Launch Rocket Systems from the United States, Germany, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Norway.

The MLRS are somewhat less nimble and reliable than the HIMARS are, but their rockets are the same—and travel just as far and strike just as accurately.

The Ukrainians also are squeezing every possible mile they can from the HIMARS and MLRS’s GPS-guided M31 rockets. Forty-four miles is the official max range, but with careful planning it’s possible to squeeze an extra six miles from the rockets.

Indeed, the HIMARS launcher that blew up the Russian ammo dump at Melitopol on July 3 apparently did so from 50 miles away.

As strikes escalate and losses mount, Russian logisticians could struggle to keep front-line units adequately supplied. Don’t underestimate how heavily this could weigh on the Russian war effort.
Ukraine’s interdiction of Russia’s supply lines after all doomed the Russian army’s attempt to encircle Kyiv back in February and March. Zeroing in on ammo dumps deep inside Russian-held territory, the Ukrainians clearly are hoping to repeat that winning strategy.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidax...h=2ba30ea71e0f

• Trudeau: Canada first NATO ally to ratify membership bids by Finland and Sweden

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada on Tuesday became the first NATO member to formally approve applications by Finland and Sweden to join the alliance.

Trudeau is now urging other allies to move quickly to finalize their own ratification processes.

“This brings the two countries a step closer to full membership,” he said in a statement. “Their membership will make NATO stronger.”

Helsinki and Stockholm applied to join NATO in May, less than two months after Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine.

Canada’s blessing Tuesday to bring the Nordic countries into NATO’s fold was accelerated last month by the House of Commons’ unanimous support for their membership.

The Canadian step also followed the move last week by NATO ally Turkey to lift its objection to the countries’ applications.

Turkey, Finland and Sweden signed a memorandum of understanding ahead of the NATO summit in Madrid. The agreement came in response to Ankara’s concerns over the countries’ alleged support for Kurdish groups and arms embargoes.

The parliaments of each individual NATO country must ratify the alliance’s additions of Finland and Sweden.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declined last week to offer a precise timeline on when the countries will officially join the group.

“We call on all NATO members to move swiftly to complete their ratification processes to limit opportunities for interference by adversaries,” Trudeau’s statement said Tuesday.

___________

• Latvia to reinstate compulsory military service

Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks on Tuesday said the Baltic state will reinstate compulsory military service following growing tension with neighboring Russia amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

“The current military system of Latvia has reached its limit. Meanwhile we have no reason to think that Russia will change its behavior,” Pabriks told reporters.

Latvia had scrapped mandatory service a few years after joining the NATO defense alliance. Since 2007, the EU member’s military has consisted of career soldiers along with National Guard volunteers who serve in the infantry part-time on weekends.

The country of under two million people, which borders both Belarus and Russia, currently only has 7,500 active duty soldiers and National Guard members, backed by 1,500 NATO troops.

Pabriks said the mandatory military service will apply to men and enter into effect next year, with several options available for fulfilling the requirement.

Gatis Priede, a National Guard soldier, called the move “the best news” and said the decision should have been taken after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

“This is the right thing — to train more reservists for our army and for overall NATO strength, which is still critically lacking in the Northern European and Baltic region,” he told AFP.

Pabriks also announced plans to build another military base near the southeastern city of Jekabpils, located closer to the Russian border than the existing Adazi base.

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• Stratcom Centre UA - russian invaders have occupied around 22% of all Ukraine's arable land — NASA

#StopRussia: https://twitter.com/StratcomCentre/s...58081321680897

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• Turkey detains Russian ship carrying '''stolen''' Ukrainian grain

Turkey has detained a Russian cargo ship carrying grain that Ukraine says is stolen, Kyiv's ambassador in Ankara said.

“We have full co-operation,” Vasyl Bodnar said on Ukrainian national television on Sunday. “The ship is currently standing at the entrance to the port. It has been detained by the customs authorities of Turkey.”

Ukraine had asked Turkey to detain the Russian-flagged Zhibek Zholy cargo ship. The vessel was anchored about a kilometre from shore, near Karasu port, on Sunday, an official told Reuters.

The report said there had been no obvious signs of movement aboard the vessel.

The fate of the 7,146-deadweight-tonne ship will be decided when investigators meet on Monday, with Ukraine hoping that Turkish authorities confiscate the grain, Mr Bodnar said.

Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from territories it has seized since its invasion began in late February. The Kremlin has denied the claims.

A Ukrainian Foreign Ministry official told Reuters on Friday that the Zhibek Zholy loaded its first cargo of about 4,500 tonnes of grain from Berdyansk, a Russian-occupied port in south Ukraine.

The region's Sakarya port authority and Turkey's foreign ministry did not immediately comment, Reuters reported.

The BBC said it had tracked the Russian-flagged ship on its route from the port of Berdyansk, in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, to Karasu on the Turkish Black Sea coast.

The ship's departure from Berdyansk was announced by Yevhen Balytskyi, Russia's recently appointed governor of the occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia, on social media app Telegram. He said 7,000 tonnes of grain would be sent to “friendly” countries and ships — later editing the post to remove references to the ship's cargo and destination.

He said in the post that Russia's Black Sea Fleet would “ensure the security” of the journey and that the port had been cleared of sea mines.

The BBC said it had confirmed a video news report shared on several pro-Russia Telegram channels in which a reporter claimed the ship, along with a Russian naval vessel, was in a harbour in Berdyansk.

Kazakh-based company KTZ Express had previously confirmed to Reuters it owned the Zhibek Zholy, but said it was taken under a bare boat charter — when no crew or supplies are involved in the lease — by Russian company Green-Line, which was not designated under any sanctions.

KTZ Express said it was consulting the parties involved and would abide by all sanctions and restrictions.

Large stores of grain are in danger of rotting in Ukrainian silos, with July’s harvest set to make the problem even more urgent.

Ukraine previously supplied 10 per cent of the world’s wheat, up to 17 per cent of the world’s maize and half of the world’s sunflower oil. About 25 million tonnes of corn and wheat is at risk of rotting in Ukrainian silos.

Last month, the UK offered to help grain exports leave Ukrainian ports under a UN plan as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Vladimir Putin of “using food security as a callous tool of war”.

Russia’s Ship of Lies: How a cargo of ‘stolen’ grain could sink Black Sea truce

__________________

• Dutch court backs contract termination over Russian sanctions

A court in the Netherlands has backed the decision of a Dutch-owned Russian company to terminate a contract associated with a liquid natural gas (LNG) project in Russia on the basis that performance of the contract would breach EU sanctions regulations.

Amsterdam-based Frederik Harms of Pinsent Masons said that the ruling could have implications for other cases being heard in the Netherlands where the application of EU sanctions concerning Russia is in dispute.

In this case Boskalis LLC (Boskalis) – a Russian subsidiary of the Dutch owned company – was sub-contracted to undertake dredging of the seabed in Russian waters for the purposes of supporting the subsequent construction of an LNG terminal. Dutch company Saren B.V. (Saren) had sub-contracted the works to Boskalis.

However, after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, Boskalis notified Saren that it was terminating the contract between them. It claimed that performing the works would be in breach of EU sanctions regulations, which had been updated after Russia’s invasion commenced.

Much more in the article but in the end.......

The Court of Amsterdam concluded that Boskalis was entitled to stop its activities and terminate the sub-contract with Saren.

The court also considered that it is sufficiently plausible, once all the arguments are fully heard in trial proceedings, that both a request for payment under the bank guarantees as well as a granting of that request will be considered unlawful, on the basis that it would breach the EU Russian sanctions regulation. It granted interim relief to Boskalis in relation to the bank guarantees after identifying that there was legitimate urgency to prevent a call on the bank guarantees at this stage because of the difficulties Boskalis would face in subsequently retrieving the payments made under the bank guarantees if Saren’s claims were dismissed at trial.

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-la...sian-sanctions

Originally Posted by David48atTD

Russia remains strong despite 'insane' sanctions

The Russian leader warned the West can't defeat Russia
by Dave DeCamp Posted onJuly 7, 2022CategoriesNewsTagsRussia, Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said the longer the war in Ukraine drags on, the harder it will be to reach a negotiated solution and warned the West against trying to defeat Russia.


“We aren’t giving up on peace talks but those who decline to talk should know that the longer they do so, the harder it will be to come to an agreement with us,” Putin said, according to the Russian news agency Tass.


Early on in the war, Russia and Ukraine held several rounds of negotiations. Russia asked that Ukraine drop its claim to Crimea and recognize the independence of the breakaway Donbas republics, among other demands.


But since the peace talks have stalled, Russia has gained more territory in the Donbas, as well as in the oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, giving Ukraine much less leverage. Western leaders have discouraged Ukraine from negotiating with Russia, most notably Boris Johnson, who resigned as British prime minister on Thursday.


According to a report from Ukrainska Pravda, Johnson told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kyiv in April that “even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin,” Ukraine’s Western backers were not. The exact details of the Ukrainska Pravda report haven’t been confirmed, but Johnson later told French President Emmanuel Macron that he “urged” the Ukrainians not to negotiate with Russia.


Putin on Thursday also responded to President Biden and other Western leaders that have called for Russia’s defeat in Ukraine. “We are hearing these days that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say? Let them try,” the Russian leader said.


“We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this,” Putin added. The Russian leader also signaled that he could expand the war further, warning that “we haven’t started anything yet in earnest.”

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/07/07/...der-with-time/

A lying c u n t being quoted by an obsequious brown noser.

Originally Posted by sabang

According to a report from Ukrainska Pravda, Johnson told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kyiv in April that “even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin,” Ukraine’s Western backers were no

If this is all true then it is very revealing and prompts the inevitable question of why.

There is no way in the world that Ukraine is going to win this conflict. It's clear that this is part of a longer term American policy to conduct a proxy war with Russia. Possibly to degrade the Russian military. Possibly to give a needed boost to the armament industry in the USA, France and Great Britain (primarily).

Unfortunately the price for continuing the battle is going to be the (lack of)future of Ukraine in the form of it's disappeared youth.

As long as this war continues with the sanctions and all, the more likely it is that the west is going to end up in a recession with a growing possibility of a depression.

Just trying to be realistic here. I'm not sure what the long term answers are only that this bloodletting must end. Ukraine is heading for rump status and is even risking being landlocked.

Blinken go fuck yourself.