Thread: Russia launches Ukraine invasion

Branston beans shortage caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine

The maker of Branston Baked Beans is struggling to supply supermarkets as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine causes a shortage of key ingredients.


Branston, which is owned by the Japanese food giant Mizkan Group, said it was experiencing supply challenges because of limited availability of a particular maize starch which is used in a number of its baked beans products.


It said these issues had emerged as a result of the war in Ukraine and a poor harvest. The news was first reported by The Grocer, an industry publication.


Ukraine had been one of the world's largest agricultural exporters before Russia's invasion, key for the global supply of grains and cooking oils.


Attacks on the country and ensuing port disruption have hammered its exports of agricultural commodities which are down by around half compared to last year, while swathes of crops have been left unharvested.


A spokesman for Branston Beans said: “We are engaging with direct suppliers to maximise available volumes and have made immediate changes to our supply arrangements to minimise any delays in production.


“We are also exploring alternate sources and starches as a replacement and remain in close dialogue with our customers on this issue.”


Branston was sold by Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods in 2012 to Mizkan, a 218-year-old Japanese vinegar manufacturer, for £93m.


The Branston brand is used under licence by Princes Group which makes the baked beans at its factory in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.


The risk of shortages comes after baked beans makers pushed up their prices to cope with their own steeper costs for packaging, logistics, as well as ingredients.


Figures compiled by data company Assosia for The Grocer suggest Branston had increased prices for its baked beans by 46pc since the middle of July.


Heinz became embroiled in a row with Tesco earlier this year over attempts to increase its prices. The pair eventually reached an agreement over what Tesco would pay Heinz after cans of its baked beans began disappearing from the supermarket's shelves. Tesco has since increased its prices to £1.20 for a can of baked beans, compared to 85p at the end of 2021.

Branston beans shortage caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine

Originally Posted by malmomike77

“We are also exploring alternate sources and starches as a replacement and remain in close dialogue with our customers on this issue.”

Thai tapioca starch should work.

Good luck

The real reason Ukraine won’t be joining the EU any time soon

Bloc wants Kyiv as a member state, but there are no shortcuts amid challenges over money and Brussels rules

The European Union wants Ukraine as a member state, but not any time soon. It cannot fast-track Kyiv’s membership for fear of bankrupting itself.

Once Ukraine is a member, the EU is firmly on the hook for hundreds of billions of euros in funding and aid, which will demand a lengthy and torturous overhaul of its rules.

Volodymr Zelensky has demanded full membership in just two years, but there are warnings there can be no shortcuts to joining before an EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv on Friday.

Emmanuel Macron has already cautioned it could be a decade before Ukraine is ready to join the bloc.

Britons may find this hard to believe, but it is actually harder to join the EU than it is to leave it.

Before joining, candidate countries must submit to a stringent and lengthy process of absorbing EU law and rules covering everything from human rights to central bank regulations.

This can take many years, even if you are not an occupied country at war with constantly shifting borders.

Brussels granted Ukraine candidate status, a first step in the membership process, in record-breaking time.

The EU will praise Ukraine at the summit for the progress on reforms in areas such as corruption that it has already made, despite the war.

But there is no disguising how difficult, time-consuming and costly it will be to ultimately welcome Ukraine into the fold.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU’s monolithic system of agriculture subsidies, is worth €387 billion (£343.8 billion) in the current seven-year budget period. A chunk of that is paid to farmers, with conditions, based on how many acres they farm.

Ukraine was one of the world’s breadbaskets before the war and more than 55 per cent of its land is arable. Once an EU member, its farmers would be entitled to huge payments from the CAP.

The subsidies could be phased in over a number of years or the CAP rules changed. However, the CAP is a totemic policy cherished by farming member states and the last round of negotiations to reform it took three years.

Ukraine will also benefit from EU cohesion funds, which is money designed to raise living standards across the bloc.

If Ukraine joins the EU, which will require the unanimous support of all 27 member states in a vote, it will be the fifth-largest member state, but also its poorest.

It will receive far more EU funding than it pays, which will have ramifications for existing member states.

Portugal and the Czech Republic would become net contributors to the EU budget, meaning they pay in more than they receive, for the first time.

It isn’t just about the money.

The EU’s voting system takes into account the size and number of countries voting.

Ukraine, with an estimated population of about 43 million, could tilt the balance of power away from the traditional Franco-German axis and towards central and eastern Europe.

Olaf Scholz wants the EU treaties reformed to prevent eastern countries teaming up to force richer nations to pay more to them before Ukraine joins.

But treaty change is a can of worms that typically takes many years of divisive negotiations.

Turbo-charging Ukraine’s membership process will have other consequences for an EU enlargement policy that was revitalised by the invasion of Ukraine.

Ahead of Kyiv in the queue to join are no fewer than six Western Balkans nations. Georgia and Moldova followed Ukraine in asking for membership.

Any special treatment offered to Ukraine will be demanded by the two new candidates and irk those, like Albania, who have been kept waiting for years to get in the EU.

The EU has already committed huge sums in aid, weapons and promised reconstruction funds to Ukraine.

But its officials are aware of the risks of raising Ukrainian expectations of membership any time soon.

There are plenty more obstacles to navigate before Ukraine can join the EU, but the biggest is Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.

As long as he can wage his illegal war, Ukraine will be kept waiting to complete its defiant turn westwards.

The real reason Ukraine won’t be joining the EU any time soon

Top Russian Official Teases ‘the Next Ukraine’ in New Threat

Russia’s top diplomat said the actions of Western nations could soon turn Moldova into the “next Ukraine,” according to TASS.


Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Moldovan President Maia Sandu of being “eager to join NATO.” Sandu, Lavrov said, is “ready to unite with Romania and in fact, to do almost anything.”


Romania is a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was created to provide collective security against Russia.


Lavrov’s comments appeared to echo complaints Russian President Vladimir Putin made about Ukraine and NATO when announcing Russia’s invasion into Ukraine last year. Putin cited the expansion of the alliance and Ukraine’s interest in joining NATO as “fundamental threats” against Russia in his speech justifying invasion.


“Further expansion of the NATO infrastructure... are unacceptable for us,” Putin said at the time.


Lavrov’s comments come as western officials warn that Russia may be gearing up for a new offensive nearly one year into the war in Ukraine. It’s not the first time tensions have flared over whether Russia might be eyeing Moldova as an extension of the conflict in Ukraine. Moldova’s Intelligence and Security Services (SIS) has previously warned that Russia may seek to connect Russian-controlled areas in Ukraine by conducting a new offensive, and then creating a land corridor with the Russian-backed breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova.

The head of SIS, Alexandru Musteata, warned in December that a campaign to go after Moldova appeared inevitable.


“The question is not whether the Russian Federation will launch a new offensive in the direction of Moldovan territory, but when it will happen: either at the beginning of the year, in January, February, or later, in March, (or) April,” Musteata told TVR Moldova. “This is a real and very high risk.”


Moldova declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. One year later, Russian-backed separatists started a conflict in Transnistria and now control the region, which borders Ukraine.


“Judging by the information we have… Russia can go further to create a corridor with the Transnistrian region, which is the territory of Moldova,” Musteata said.


The agency later issued a statement reaffirming that an offensive was possible.


“A new offensive of the Russian Federation in this direction could take place in 2023,” the agency said.


Moldova is still not a member of NATO, which maintains a collective defense agreement. When Moldova gained European Union candidate status last year, Lavrov suggested that Moldova wanted to "annul everything Russian, just like in Ukraine."


Lavrov warned Thursday that Moscow thinks that Moldovan officials “are prepared to resolve the Transnistria issue by force.”


Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lambasted Lavrov for his threats Thursday.


“We reject the statements with regard to Moldova of the Russian FM Sergey Lavrov,” a ministry spokesperson, Daniel Vodă, said. “Moldovans regardless of political or geopolitical preferences want Peace, Freedom, and Democracy.”


There are some signs coming from Transnistria that could indicate trouble ahead from Russia, according to Ukrainian authorities. Approximately 1,000 young and middle-aged men in recent months have flocked to Transnistria, which has raised suspicions about whether they are waiting for orders, Ukraine’s Armed Forces told VOA News in December.


Lavrov has previously warned Moldova about retaliation if Russia perceives that its troops in Transnistria are threatened.


“Any action that would threaten the security of our troops would be considered under international law as an attack on Russia,” Lavrov said in September.


Russia’s efforts to subvert Moldovan rule and destabilize Moldova from within run deep, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Last year, the Treasury Department sanctioned oligarchs and other entities linked to the Russian government for running influence operations in Moldova and “acting as instruments of Russia’s global influence campaign.”


Moldova has already fallen in the crosshairs of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. Debris from Russia missile strikes against Ukraine has fallen into Moldova at least three times, according to Moldovan authorities.


The country is incredibly vulnerable to Russia’s energy dominance as well; 70 percent of Moldova’s electricity supplies has historically come from Russian-occupied Transnistria, with approximately 20 percent coming from Ukraine. When Russia struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure during the war, Moldova had its lights cut as well. Making matters worse, Gazprom also decreased gas supplies to Moldova by one-third in October.


According to the Moldovan government, Russia’s effort to control its energy supplies are aimed at influencing Moldova out of the EU orbit and back into Russia’s.


“They don't want us to keep going on the European Union path ... they want to keep Moldova under their zone of interest,” Moldovan Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spînu told Politico in November.

Top Russian Official Teases ‘the Next Ukraine’ in New Threat

Russia claims control of Blahodatne village on outskirts of Bakhmut in big push in east



Russia has claimed to have captured a village just to the north of Bakhmut, a city it is trying to surround in a major push for what would be its biggest battlefield prize in Ukraine since July.

Key points:

• Blahodatne sits 5 kilometres north of Bakhmut
• Bakhmut is one of just a few substantial cities in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region still held by Ukraine
• Russian forces have also launched an assault against the Ukrainian-held bastion of Vuhledar

A Belarusian volunteer fighting for Ukraine said from inside Bakhmut that Russia was shelling the city constantly and its troops were trying to encircle it. Fighting was underway building by building, the volunteer said.

There was no immediate response from Kyiv to Moscow's claim about the village of Blahodatne, and Reuters was not immediately able to verify the situation there.
It came three days after the head of Russia's Wagner Group said the mercenary force had seized the village in an attack Kyiv said it had repelled.

Blahodatne, which sits on one of the main roads into Bakhmut, about 5 kilometres north, was captured with the help of aerial support, Moscow's defence ministry said.
Russian forces have made clear, if gradual, advances in the area in recent weeks, notably capturing the salt-mining town of Soledar to Bakhmut's north.

Were it to force Ukraine to withdraw from the city that once held 75,000 people, it would be Moscow's first major gain since it took the similarly-sized cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in July.

During the fighting for Bakhmut, two civilians, a boy and a 70-year-old-man, were killed by Russian artillery on Tuesday, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. Four others were wounded in the attack, he said.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevaty said in televised comments that the Ukrainian army in Bakhmut had been provided "with everything necessary," after it repelled Russian attempts to gain control of an important supply line.



A Ukrainian soldier stands next to captured Russian ammunition in the village of Blahodatne.(Reuters: Valentyn Ogirenko)

Separately, a large Russian force has launched an assault against the Ukrainian-held bastion of Vuhledar this week, further south along the same eastern front.
Russian officials claim to have secured a foothold there, while Kyiv says it has largely repulsed that attack so far.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said the Russian force in the new Vuhledar assault was at least the size of a brigade, a unit typically comprising several thousand troops.

The Russians had advanced hundreds of metres across a river toward Vuhledar and could make more localised gains there, the ministry said in an unusually detailed daily intelligence update.

It said the assault on Vuhledar was unlikely to lead to a significant breakthrough, but could be intended to draw Ukrainian efforts away from defending Bakhmut.

Momentum swinging back towards Russia

Despite weeks of intense trench warfare that both sides have compared to a meat grinder, front lines in eastern Ukraine had largely been frozen in place since November after Kyiv recaptured swathes of territory in the second half of 2022.

But momentum has lately swung back towards Russia, which has made incremental gains for the first time since mid-2022.




Military experts say Moscow appears determined to push forward in the coming months before Kyiv receives hundreds of newly pledged Western battle tanks and armoured vehicles for a counter-attack to recapture occupied territory this year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia's push in the east as an attempt at "revenge" for earlier losses.

"We will stop them all, little by little, destroy them and prepare our big counteroffensive," he said on Monday.

Kyiv says the Russian assaults of recent weeks have come at huge cost, initially mostly relying on Wagner mercenaries, including thousands of convicts recruited from Russian prisons and sent into battle in waves with little training or equipment.

But Russia's call-up of hundreds of thousands of reservists late last year means Moscow has now been able to reconstitute regular military units exhausted or depleted earlier in the war.

Western military experts say Bakhmut is not itself of major strategic importance. But it is one of just a few substantial cities in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region still held by Ukraine.

Moscow now says taking the full Donbas is a major objective of the "special military operation" it ordered 11 months ago.

Biden says no to F-16s



Neither side has been able to secure control of the skies over Ukraine.(Reuters: Lee Jae-Won)

Since winning the Western pledge for tanks after months of lobbying, Kyiv has pressed on with further requests for arms, including calls for jet fighters such as US F-16s.

Neither side has been able to secure control of the skies over Ukraine.



The West has so far refused to send weapons that could be used to attack deep inside Russia.

US President Joe Biden responded with a flat "no" when asked by reporters at the White House on Monday if Washington would send F-16s.
Still, Ukraine has held out hope.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday "there is no taboo" when asked about supplying fighter jets to Ukraine. Mr Lecornu spoke after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov in Paris.

Mr Reznikov was due also to meet President Emmanuel Macron, who told reporters in The Hague on Monday that "nothing is excluded" when it comes to military help.
Mr Macron said any move to send jets would depend on factors including the need to avoid escalation and assurances planes would not "touch Russian soil".

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also did not rule out a possible supply of F-16s to neighbouring Ukraine, in response to a question from a reporter before Mr Biden spoke.

Mr Morawiecki said on his website that any such transfer would take place "in complete coordination" with NATO. Poland has long called for more aggressive military support for Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said London did not believe its own jets would be useful, arguing that given learning to fly them would take months, it would not be practical to send them to Ukraine.

https://www.xxx.xxx.xx/news/2023-02-...hmut/101914828

Missed this bit. Why did you hide the link?

Military experts say Moscow appears determined to push forward in the coming months before Kyiv receives hundreds of newly pledged Western battle tanks and armoured vehicles for a counter-attack to recapture occupied territory this year.

https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-idAFKBN2UA01U

I didn't hide any link, and is it finally sinking through to you and others that Ukraine is losing this war?

Originally Posted by sabang

I didn't hide any link, and is it finally sinking through to you and others that Ukraine is losing this war?

You really are a clown. All Russia has done over the last seven months is retreat. They can't even take Bakhmut after months of trying, and they are not even in the city limits yet after months and thousands of KIA. The proof on the ground would say the Russian army is complete shit at waging war. Your blind loyalty as a useful idiot will not be rewarded, Vatnik.

A former Russian military leader had a critical approach to Russia's war strategy, which he shared on social media channel Telegram Thursday morning.

Igor Girkin, also known by the alias Igor Strelkov, is an army veteran and former intelligence officer who was an important player in Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Girkin has been critical of Russia's approach since early in the war.

As Ukraine receives more weapons and equipment from its Western allies, the Kremlin is confident in its messaging that Russian forces will continue to advance the frontlines. Girkin is not so sure.
Girkin wrote about his skepticism in a series of posts on Telegram Thursday morning, criticizing Russia's response thus far in the war.

In his post, Girkin shared an article by Russian newspaper Kommersant, quoting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In response to Ukraine potentially receiving long-distance weapons, such as the Patriot missile defense system from the U.S. Ukrainian soldiers began training on the systems this month. Newsweek previously reported that the Patriots, which are a key part of the $1.85 billion military package for Kyiv, will be the most advanced surface-to-air missiles that the U.S. has given Ukraine.

Lavrov said the Russia Federation will push Ukraine forces back, so the weapons are useless given the extra space between the two forces.

However, Girkin pointed out several flaws and inconsistencies in the plan. Girkin referred to how a Ukrainian counteroffensive attack secured control of Kherson and Kharkiv. He said the Kremlin's plans were inconsistent with what Russian forces had executed in the past, referring to the plan as "cognitive dissonance". Girkin said in past operations, Russia did the opposite of pushing Ukrainian forces back, but "brought the Armed Forces closer to the territory of the Russian Federation".

"After all, in a number of directions, these territories were simply left to the enemy," Girkin said.

Girkin went on to chide the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, saying each department had conflicting thoughts about the borders of the Russian Federation.

"Which, in general, I would not be very surprised about, knowing the personalities and talents of the heads of both departments, as well as the level of general coordination of the state apparatus of the Russian Federation on the part of the presidential administration," a translation of Girkin's post said.

In a separate post, Girkin criticized the Wagner Group—a Russian paramilitary organization—after sharing that the group reportedly took control of two villages near the Bakhmut region. Girkin accused the leaders of the Russian Federation of "doing nothing", while the Armed Forces of Ukraine are "openly and persistently preparing to inflict new strong blows on us in the near future".

"They are eagerly preparing to defeat us in the field battles this year," Girkin wrote.

Newsweek reached out to Russian President Vladimir Putin's office for comment.

https://www.newsweek.com/former-russ...hreats-1778628

Originally Posted by sabang

I didn't hide any link, and is it finally sinking through to you and others that Ukraine is losing this war?

Really?

I haven't heard the high-heeled war criminal declaring victory.

Or little Zboy (who needs high heels way more). I guess that means more war to come.

Originally Posted by sabang

Or little Zboy (who needs high heels way more). I guess that means more war to come.

Zelensky doesn't have a Napoleon complex, so he doesn't need high heels.

Western nations have frozen as much as $500 billion in Russian assets since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022—a vast collection of funds that Kyiv is eyeing to help foot its massive reconstruction bill.

The unprecedented sanctions offensive against Moscow had Western governments hunting down assets of the Russian central bank, private Russian banks, and individual politicians and businesspeople, that for so long have sloshed around Western financial centers and enabled foreign Kremlin influence operations.

Kyiv, facing an ever-inflating reconstruction bill that is currently thought to be around $750 billion, is eyeing the funds that Moscow and its operatives were unable to extricate or hide.

"This is one of the most urgent topics for us," Oleg Ustenko—an economic adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky—told Newsweek. Winning control of Russia's frozen assets, Ustenko said, is important "from the point of view of justice, but also because we have most urgent needs to be financed."

Ukraine has established a "fast-track recovery plan" it hopes will form the first phase of a larger reconstruction. The proposal focuses on the most critical infrastructure destroyed by Russia's invasion, occupation, and missile bombardment campaign.

"Water supply, heating supply, electricity supply; everything that was damaged because of Russian attacks," Ustenko explained. "Its cost is somewhere between $15 and $20 billion...we can get this money from those funds."

Ustenko said nascent seizure efforts are "very encouraging," adding: "We believe this process has to move as fast as possible."

Oleksandr Hryban, Ukraine's deputy economy minister, told Newsweek that Russia's wealthiest should bear some of the burden. "The ones who are directly collaborating with the Putin regime, they—to me—are the same," he said. "They're associated with this evil state, and I think that their assets should be seized as well."

Legal Dominoes

The political and legal challenges of seizing hundreds of billions in frozen Russian assets are daunting, even if there is a growing political will to "make Russia pay" for its hellish quagmire in Ukraine.

Some countries are more enthusiastic than others, with many blocs like the European Union composed of both hawks and doves, making collective action difficult.

"It is a complicated case," Maria Shagina, a sanctions expert and researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank in London, told Newsweek.

"There is an understanding that these atrocities and war crimes can't just pass without making Russia pay for some of it. But to put in place the legal framework...it gets tricky."

In December 2022, Canada became the first G7 nation to attempt to seize frozen Russian assets. Ottawa began proceedings to seize $26 million from Granite Capital Holdings Ltd., a company owned by oligarch Roman Abramovich who was sanctioned by Canada soon after the invasion began.

"Putin's oligarchs are complicit in Russia's illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine," said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland—who is also said to be among the frontrunners to become the next NATO chief. "It is just and appropriate for Russian assets to be used to help rebuild Ukraine."

The outcome of the Canadian case, Shagina said, is important in setting a precedent. But the real money is across the border to the south. There, the U.S. has frozen some $300 billion in Russian central bank funds and $30 billion in assets of sanctioned individuals. A plan to use Russian funds to help rebuild Ukraine passed the Senate unanimously in December.

"In the U.S., obviously there is politically high support," Shagina said, though added that officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be wary of unintended blowback regarding Russian central bank funds.

"Other central banks will pivot away from the U.S. dollar" if Washington, D.C. goes after Russian central bank assets in the U.S., Shagina said. "They don't want to lose that leverage, it's key for introducing any type of sanctions."

"The picture is not as rosy as Ukraine wants, but I think some of it might be possible because there is the political will," she said.

It may be that pursuing the frozen wealth of individuals makes more sense than that of the Russian central bank, even if the former dwarfs the latter. "I think it's more feasible and more realistic," Shagina said.

In Europe, officials in Brussels are looking to creative solutions to dodge the legal and political pitfalls inherent in any collective action against Russia. Expropriating Russian central bank funds might be too ambitious for now, the bloc's Council Legal Service told diplomats last week there is a legal basis to temporarily leverage almost $37 billion of frozen money.

"In the U.S., obviously there is politically high support," Shagina said, though added that officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be wary of unintended blowback regarding Russian central bank funds.

"Other central banks will pivot away from the U.S. dollar" if Washington, D.C. goes after Russian central bank assets in the U.S., Shagina said. "They don't want to lose that leverage, it's key for introducing any type of sanctions."

"The picture is not as rosy as Ukraine wants, but I think some of it might be possible because there is the political will," she said.

It may be that pursuing the frozen wealth of individuals makes more sense than that of the Russian central bank, even if the former dwarfs the latter. "I think it's more feasible and more realistic," Shagina said.

In Europe, officials in Brussels are looking to creative solutions to dodge the legal and political pitfalls inherent in any collective action against Russia. Expropriating Russian central bank funds might be too ambitious for now, the bloc's Council Legal Service told diplomats last week there is a legal basis to temporarily leverage almost $37 billion of frozen money.

Though discussions are at an early stage, Bloomberg reported, EU officials are considering pooling and investing Russia's frozen assets, profit from which would be siphoned off and used to finance Ukrainian reconstruction projects.

Meanwhile, more motivated EU member states are pursuing their own ideas. Estonia—the small Baltic nation always at the forefront of EU-NATO support for Ukraine and action against Russia—is undertaking a legal review to consider if new legislation is required for the government to seize frozen Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine.

On Thursday, after consultations with the government, Estonian Finance Minister Lea Danilson-Jarg said her ministry will move forward with the plan in cooperation with the foreign ministry.

One Estonian diplomatic official, who requested anonymity to discuss the proposals more candidly, told Newsweek that Tallinn hopes its action may begin a domino effect across Europe.

"Once someone proves it can be done, it's easier to go along," the official said. "There's really a big interest in this subject from governments and institutions all over Europe. They'd like to see what we come up with and how this could be implemented on their national or EU level."

Blowback

The Russian state and sanctioned individuals can be expected to fight legal action every step of the way, both in Western courts and with retaliatory measures at home. Russian oligarchs long ago mastered wielding Western laws against their detractors, though the avalanche of new sanctions and international repudiation of Moscow's conduct may complicate matters.

A successful defense could see any oligarch delisted, forcing Western nations to begin the sanctions offensive all over again. So too might international pressure; Hungary and Uzbekistan are among two of the nations who have recently lobbied for the removal of sanctions aimed at influential oligarchs, including Alisher Usmanov and Petr Aven.

More than 1,000 Western companies have fled Russia since February 24, 2022. In the case of Western expropriations of frozen Russian assets, Western companies who stayed might pay the price.

"They are good at this isometric retaliation," Shagina said of the Russian government. "They might go after Western assets, and there are already calls in the Russian Parliament to seize everything possible."

Hryban acknowledged that asset seizure is a long-term aim for Kyiv. "It is a painful process for them, and we understand that it's a tough sell to their societies and that parliamentary decisions need to be taken to implement this," the deputy economy minister said of Ukraine's Western partners.

But with recent moves in Canada and elsewhere, "there are examples to follow," he said.

Speaking with Newsweek after meeting with EU commissioners during their visit to Ukraine, Hryban said the sentiment is clear. "They do have an understanding at least of the first steps," he explained, noting the possible plan to invest seized assets and use the proceeds to support Kyiv.

"Once they manage to get to the relevant legislation, maybe the assets themselves will be seized," Hryban said. "But there's still a long way to go."

"We see that there is a political will, but sometimes it's not fully aligned with [parliamentary and electoral] majorities," Hryban added. "In the EU every member state has its own parliament, and we know that Russia managed to create a huge footprint via supporting different political parties, opinion leaders, whistleblowers, and so on. This is a problem."

"Now, this is being gradually revealed and rolled back. But it takes a long time."

https://www.newsweek.com/making-vlad...assets-1778702

Licence to shell

Ukraine’s army has been increasingly attacking Russian territories — some located hundreds of kilometres away from the front line. Novaya-Europe’s research

Since the start of the war, border regions of Russia, according to Novaya Gazeta Europe’s calculations, have been shelled at least 350 times. A total of 168 civilians were killed or injured in these attacks, and over 1,000 residential buildings, schools, and infrastructure facilities were damaged. Russian governors have been reporting attacks, sometimes several per day, since autumn. And if before, shelling was only reported in small villages located near the border, now the Ukrainian army has begun “reaching” big cities and military facilities inside the country more frequently.


On Tuesday, it was reported that the US’ new military aid package to Ukraine includes 150-km range missiles — twice the range compared to before. Furthermore, according to statements made by Ukraine’s authorities, a new attack drone with a flight range of 1,000 km is almost ready — a range wide enough to strike upon Moscow where Pantsir air defence systems were recently installed on the roofs of administrative buildings.


Still, Russian authorities are in no rush to evacuate residents constantly under attack, while Russian air defence systems are only repelling 20% of air attacks. Novaya-Europe’s data team has looked into how the war boomerangs on Russia’s territory.


Over the year of war, Ukraine’s shelling of Russian territories has increased tenfold — while in March, a handful of shells made it to the territory of border villages, January saw Russian authorities report attacks 1.5 times per day on average.

MUCH MORE Новая газета Европа

Since Russia violated the Budapest Memorandum shouldn't Russia return the 130 ICBMs that Ukraine gave to Russia.

‘I Couldn’t Stay Silent’: Anti-War Flower Protests Spread to 60 Cities Across Russia

Russians continue to memorialize the dozens of Ukrainians killed in last month’s Russian missile strike on the city of Dnipro — one of the deadliest single incidents of Moscow’s invasion — in what has evolved into a new nationwide form of anti-war protest.


Makeshift displays of flowers, stuffed toys and handwritten notes have sprung up in at least 60 cities across Russia, often by statues of Ukrainian poets Taras Shevchenko and Lesya Ukrainka — or by monuments to victims of Soviet-era political repression.


“It’s a statement against the war, not just mourning for the dead people in Dnipro,” said one woman who laid flowers at a memorial in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.


“I couldn’t stay silent,” she told The Moscow Times in an anonymous interview conducted with the aid of youth opposition movement Vesna.


Images of the destroyed apartment block, civilian casualties and desperate rescue attempts in the aftermath of the Jan. 14 strike in Dnipro served as a shocking reminder of the devastation caused by the Ukraine war and evoked anger and shame among some Russians.


The ongoing tributes to victims of the Dnipro attack are the first nationwide anti-war protests since demonstrations against the country’s “partial” mobilization in September.


They have even earned their own name: “flower protests.”


Almost three weeks after the deaths in Dnipro, new memorials continue to appear.


“I decided to lay flowers at a local memorial to show that not all Russians lack compassion toward Ukrainians,” said a man from the Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district in another anonymous interview conducted via Vesna.


“I was thinking about the Dnipro attack victims and what it must have been like to be under the rubble.”

MORE Russia Orders Climate Activist’s Family Out of the Country - The Moscow Times

Officials say Russian troops killed, wounded in Ukraine approaching 200K: report

American officials estimate that nearly 200,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Moscow’s nearly yearlong conflict with Ukraine, The New York Times reported.


The rising number of casualties is driven in part by heavy fighting in Bakhmut and Soledar in eastern Ukraine, where Russia is increasingly sending poorly trained recruits and convicts to the front lines in an effort to deplete Ukrainian artillery, according to the Times.


However, officials have warned that the casualty numbers — which are based on satellite imagery, intercepted communications, social media, on-the-ground reporting and official government numbers — are difficult to estimate and imprecise.


Ukrainian officials have warned recently that Russia has amassed about 500,000 troops on the border in preparation for a new offensive push, as the first anniversary of the war approaches.


“Now Russia is concentrating its forces. We all know that. It is preparing to try to take revenge, not only against Ukraine, but against a free Europe and the free world,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.


After a series of embarrassing losses last year, Russia has seen some of its first successes in months, gaining ground around Bakhmut in recent weeks.

Officials say Russian troops killed, wounded in Ukraine approaching 200K: report

I doubt the high-heeled midget cares a toss.

‘A lunar landscape with residents who hate us’ Russian military source tells Novaya Gazeta that Moscow is gearing up for a new offensive


Russia is preparing to launch a new offensive in Ukraine, Novaya Gazeta Europe reported on Friday, citing a source from the Russian military.

According to the source, Russia’s generals are ready to turn tens of thousands of their own servicemen into “mincemeat” at the behest of their superiors. At the same time, he said, the generals aren’t taking into account any of the obvious risks this kind of maneuver carries.

“The Ukrainians get absolutely accurate information about all of our movements from Western intelligence agencies,” he said. “Amassing enough forces in a particular area without exposing them to strikes from [Ukrainian] HIMARS and long-range artillery is impossible.”

Among the problems likely to plague the potential upcoming assault, the source listed the difficulty of capturing new territories, the challenges of maintaining control over newly-captured areas, and the inevitable stretching of the front line, which makes it even harder to transport food and munitions.

“As a result of the attacks, we end up getting a lunar landscape with the remnants of a population that hates us, rather than inhabited settlements. Enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups operate in the occupied territories. They stab you in the back, plot the land for the artillery, mine the roads, take prisoners. In circumstances like these, holding the front can only be done at the cost of enormous losses,” he said.

The source didn’t specify where Russia plans to launch the offensive, but military experts who spoke to Novaya Gazeta said that Russia could try to push to front line further away from the annexed part of the Donbas or Crimea, attempt a new offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region, or launch an attack on the Volyn region in Western Ukraine from Belarusian territory.

‘A lunar landscape with residents who hate us’ Russian military source tells Novaya Gazeta that Moscow is gearing up for a new offensive — Meduza

Another nameless source.

Originally Posted by sabang

Another nameless source.

Far more credible source than the propaganda shit you post up, most of which is outright lies. Fact is, you do not like what he is saying, but this is not the only person speaking out. Igor Girkin has made very similar comments.

The White House offered the proposal within days of rolling out a military aid package for Kiev that included main battle tanks, reflecting a growing rift in the Joe Biden administration.

by Kyle Anzalone Posted onFebruary 3, 2023CategoriesNews

President Joe Biden dispatched his CIA Director to Kiev with a proposal to end the war in Ukraine last month, according to the Swiss outlet Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The peace plan was offered at the same time the White House was preparing significant escalations in military support for Kiev, including announcing that it will send Abrams tanks to Ukraine.


The report cites high-level sources in Berlin who claim William Burns, the head of America’s spy agency, traveled to Kiev in mid-January to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On January 19, the Washington Post reported that Burns recently traveled to Ukraine to meet with Zelensky. During that trip, Burns is said to have offered a deal to Zelensky wherein Ukraine would cede about 20% of its territory to Russia in exchange for Moscow ending its war in Ukraine.


NZZ’s sources claim that both Kiev and Moscow rejected the proposal. In a statement to Newsweek, the CIA denied Burns delivered the proposal. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov also dismissed the NZZ report labeling it a "canard."


According to the German sources, the peace proposal reflects a growing rift within the White House on how to handle the war in Ukraine. "Security adviser Jake Sullivan and Burns [wanted] to end the war quickly so they could focus on China." The report continued, "on the other side would be Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. They did not want to let Russia get away with destroying the rules-based peace order and called for massive military support for Ukraine."


After Burns failed to sway Kiev and Moscow to agree with Washington’s plan, Blinken and Austin were able to sway the president to authorize the transfer of Abrams tanks to Ukraine.


NZZ reports the decision for the US to send main battle tanks to Ukraine caught German leader Olaf Scholz off guard. The Union in the German Bundestag issued a statement saying, “Scholz did not want to deliver until the very end because he firmly assumed that the Americans would not send battle tanks either.”


Negotiations between Kiev and Moscow have stalled for nearly a year. Last March, Turkish diplomats facilitated talks that nearly ended the war with Russian forces withdrawing from Ukrainian territory captured after the start of the invasion. However, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveled to Kiev and told Zelensky that Ukraine’s Western backers were not prepared to allow the war to end.

https://news.antiwar.com/2023/02/03/...20-of-ukraine/

Originally Posted by sabang

Another nameless source.

Originally Posted by sabang

The report cites high-level sources

Originally Posted by sabang

NZZ’s sources claim

Originally Posted by sabang

According to the German sources

Just more of his typical trash.