Any Ukrainian riders?

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/12/russia-ukraine-war-news-live-updates/

By Annabelle Timsit, Andrew Jeong and Kim Bellware 10:02 a.m.

 

Russia’s Medvedev says NATO risks ‘full-fledged nuclear war’ in aiding Ukraine

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said NATO risks provoking “a full-fledged nuclear war” if it continues sending weapons to Ukraine, training its troops and conducting military exercises at Russia’s border — an apparent escalation in rhetoric just days after top U.S. intelligence officials assessed that there was no immediate risk of Putin using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

 

“NATO countries pumping weapons into Ukraine, preparing its troops for the use of Western technology, sending mercenaries and conducting Allied exercises at our borders increases the likelihood of a direct and open conflict between NATO and Russia, instead of the ‘war by proxy’ being conducted by them,” Medvedev, who has been president and prime minister of Russia, said in a Telegram post.

“This kind of conflict is always at risk of turning into a full-fledged nuclear war,” Medvedev said.

 

 

[Wolverine]

BBC: Russian soldiers seen shooting dead unarmed civilians (video):

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61425025

[Paul A]

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3481792-ukraine-lines-up-russias-vsevolod-bobrov-ship-off-coast-of-snake-island.html

Thursday, 12 May 2022

Ukraine lines up Russia’s Vsevolod Bobrov ship off coast of Snake Island

In a strike by Ukraine's Navy, Russia lost off the coast of Snake Island their logistics vessel Vsevolod Bobrov, launched in 2016.

Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa Regional Military Administration, reported on Telegram that the ship was damaged and set on fire as a result of a Ukrainian strike, Ukrinform reports.

"As a result of the actions of our Navy, the Vsevolod Bobrov logistics ship, one of the newest in the Russian fleet, set on fire. They say she is limping toward Sevastopol," Bratchuk said.

 

Vsevolod Bobrov logistics ship

[Jswizzy84]

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/dollar-vs-ruble-is-russia-currency-worlds-top-performer-traders-2022-5

Ruble is the top performing currency this year. So we basically ended the Petro Dollar's hegemony just so we could inflate the money supply printing 40 billion and run out of everything including baby formula. I knew the US government was incompetent but this is something else. The only way to hurt Russia economicly is to flood the market with oil and we have done the opposite of that. 

[RockyTop]

2 hours ago, Jswizzy84 said:

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/dollar-vs-ruble-is-russia-currency-worlds-top-performer-traders-2022-5

Ruble is the top performing currency this year. So we basically ended the Petro Dollar's hegemony just so we could inflate the money supply printing 40 billion and run out of everything including baby formula. I knew the US government was incompetent but this is something else. The only way to hurt Russia economicly is to flood the market with oil and we have done the opposite of that. 

I don’t disagree. However as always we have word play in the article.

      “Russia's ruble is the world's top-performing currency against the dollar“

So best runner up to the dollar. Not better than the dollar. 
 

Also?? I am not a financial expert but does the fact that the Ruble drooped to almost worthless then rebounded back make it a top performer? It definitely offered opportunities to make money on it. If you had bought Ruble when they were low you could be rich today…. tomorrow?? Maybe not. 

I am not picking on any person or group. It seems every article published in the last 10 years is intentionally miss leading. 
 

Edited May 13, 2022 by RockyTop

[UniMe]

The only reason the Ruble is doing well is because of the extraordinary measures Russia has taken to prop up the currency i.e. record high interest rates, constraint measures to prevent capital from leaving the country, state taking ownership of companies that have fled etc.

The Russian economy is still hurting, big time... 10% contraction type big time, for a population that already has a standard of living below many other countries in the world.

This isn't going to end any time soon... just like in the US, the global stage is polarizing. It will be interesting when China initiates its own version of NATO, pretty sure Russia will be on board with that.

Edited May 13, 2022 by UniMe

[Paul A]

The looming much larger conflict within the next two decades will likely be over the South China Seas.

China's creation of artificial islands, the militarization of them.

Preparations are underway in anticipation.

 

https://amti.csis.org/south-china-sea-energy-exploration-and-development/

 

 

South China Sea Energy Exploration and Development

The U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates that the South China Sea holds about 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion barrels of oil in proved and probable reserves, most of which lie along the margins of the South China Sea rather than under disputed islets and reefs.

The U.S. Geological Survey in 2012 estimated that there could be another 160 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 12 billion barrels of oil undiscovered in the South China Sea.

Beijing’s estimates for hydrocarbon resources under the sea are considerably higher but still modest in relation to China’s overall demand—the country’s oil consumption in 2018 is expected to top 12.8 million barrels per day.

 

__________________________________________

 

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/center-for-strategic-and-international-studies/

Center for Strategic and International Studies

Overall, we rate the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Least Biased based on balanced story selection and minimal editorial bias. We also rate them Very High for factual reporting due to exceptional sourcing of information and a clean fact check record.

 

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEAST BIASED
Factual Reporting: VERY HIGH
Country: USA (44/180 Press Freedom)
Media Type: Organization/Foundation
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY

[Paul A]

Yes, Russia is propping up the currency.

 

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/13/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/#link-XFD6ZG3ZNVAFJH3SBT6MUAEF5I

By Dan Lamothe 11:48 a.m.

 

Pentagon chief, Russian counterpart talk for first time since invasion

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke Friday with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, urging an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine and emphasizing the importance of maintaining lines of communication, the Pentagon said.

 

Austin and Shoigu last spoke Feb. 18, six days before the invasion, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

In that call, Austin attempted to get Shoigu to admit that Russia was planning an invasion, U.S. defense officials previously told The Washington Post.

“I know what you’re doing,” Austin said then, according to officials familiar with that call.

Repeated attempts by the United States to stay in touch with Russian officials over the past few months had failed, with Moscow rebuffing Washington’s attempts.

 

It was not immediately clear why Shoigu agreed to speak Friday.

[Paul A]

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/13/russia-says-to-cut-electricity-to-finland-from-saturday-a77678

By AFP

Updated: 32 minutes ago

 

Russia Says to Cut Electricity to Finland From Saturday

Russia will suspend electricity supplies to Finland this weekend, a supplier said on Friday as tensions rise over Helsinki's NATO bid following the conflict in Ukraine.

"We are forced to suspend the electricity import starting from May 14," said RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Russian state energy holding Inter RAO that sells its electricity on the Nordic market.

 

It blamed the suspension on not having received payment for electricity sold in May and said as a consequence it was no longer able to pay for more electricity from Russia.

"This situation is exceptional and happened for the first time in over 20 years of our trading history," RAO Nordic said, hoping the situation would "soon" improve and the trade could resume.

 

The Finnish electricity network operator said it would be able to make do without Russian electricity.

"We're prepared for this and it won't be difficult. We can make do with a bit more imports from Sweden and Norway," Fingrid's manager for operational planning Timo Kaukonen told AFP.

He said a little less than 10% of electricity consumed in Finland comes from Russia.

The announcement of the cut in electricity supplies came one day after Finland's leaders declared their nation must apply to join NATO "without delay" — a seismic change in policy since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on Feb. 24.

The Kremlin has warned Russia would "definitely" see Finnish membership as a threat, while the Russian foreign ministry said Moscow would be "forced to take reciprocal steps, military-technical and other, to address the resulting threats."

 

[Paul A]

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/13/ukraine-opens-first-war-crimes-trial-against-russian-soldier-a77669

7 hours ago

Ukraine Opens First War Crimes Trial Against Russian Soldier

Ukraine opened its first war crimes trial in connection with Russia’s invasion Friday, accusing a young Russian soldier of shooting an elderly Ukrainian civilian in the early days of the offensive.

Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin, 21, stands accused of killing an unarmed 62-year-old man riding a bicycle and talking on the phone in the Sumy region village of Chupakhivka on Feb. 28.

 

The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said Shishimarin, a commander of the Kantemirovskaya tank division’s unit 32010, had been ordered to kill the civilian so the man would not report on his retreating group’s presence. 

Shishimarin, who has admitted to have shot the civilian with an AK-74 rifle through the window of a stolen car, faces up to life in prison on charges of violating the rules and conduct of war.

 

 

Vadym Shyshimarin. @MelissaBellCNN

[Jswizzy84]

1 hour ago, Paul A said:

Yes, Russia is propping up the currency.

 

You spelled Germany wrong. EU countries are still buying oil and are reliant on Russia for energy. 

[RockyTop]

23 minutes ago, Jswizzy84 said:

You spelled Germany wrong. EU countries are still buying oil and are reliant on Russia for energy. 

Nothing like depending on your nemesis to feed you and keep you alive. How did we get here?

[Jswizzy84]

Just now, RockyTop said:

Nothing like depending on your nemesis to feed you and keep you alive. How did we get here?

Russia is good at propaganda and information warfare. They push disinformation and fund activists that help to ensure reliance on them for energy. They had a large part in fear mongering over nuclear power and fracking for example. Most of the blatantly false claims about both were pushed and spread by Russian agents.

[meepmeepmayer]

I would not blame Russia for other countries politicians and companies' greed and corruption. They are well capable of that on their own. Nobody forced them to invest in Russia. Nobody forced them to take covert Russian money and propaganda support. All these stupid excuses for trading with Russia were happily adopted on their own free will. It needs two to tango.

Germany's behavior, for example, was and is still pathetic. The only countries that helped Ukraine when it really counted were the US and the UK. With cold, hard weapons in meaningful numbers. Then later (but too late) at least some Eastern European countries did help. The rest had to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing anything, even if nothing remotely adequate.

[RockyTop]

I love that bird! No excuses, just tells it like it is.

[Paul A]

https://www.politico.eu/article/how-russias-vigorous-ruble-defense-could-backfire/amp/

BY JOHANNA TREECK AND MATEI ROSCA

April 5, 2022

How Russia’s vigorous ruble defense could backfire

 

FRANKFURT – Moscow’s most formidable weapon against the West’s economic warfare, central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina, has managed to prevent a collapse of the Russian financial system and engineered a dramatic rebound of the ruble to near pre-invasion levels.

But it’s increasingly looking like she’ll run out of firepower.  

 

According to fellow central bankers, Nabiullina’s tactics may offer a powerful short-term defense, but they’re so costly that they’ll end up eviscerating the economy from the inside.

 

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, Western sanctions sent the ruble tumbling almost 50 percent to record lows.

 

Russia responded by more than doubling its interest rates to 20 percent and introducing capital controls.

 

One central banker told POLITICO he’s not surprised by Russian authorities’ effective response to the West’s sanctions. “Nabiullina is extremely competent, and she has surrounded herself with extremely competent advisers,” he said, speaking from experience over multiple encounters with Nabiullina and her team.

 

A second central bank source said that Nabiullina “has done her job quite nicely and done all the right things” in the run-up to the war and in reaction to Western sanctions. But he pointed to one exception: Keeping the central bank reserves abroad.

 

”Nobody in the Russian economy and government circles expected to be sanctioned by central banks,” he said. That, of course, turned out to be one of the West’s first salvos following the invasion.

 

By contrast, Russian authorities’ decision to essentially outsource currency market interventions is bearing the results Moscow wanted.

 

The central bank itself has spent a mere $1.2 billion propping up the currency, while Russia has forced its big oil and gas exporters to repatriate at least 80 percent of their export earnings as rubles — the main source of ruble support now.

 

But the common assertion that the ruble’s strength shows that Western sanctions are failing is wrong, experts say.

“You can break your windows. You can turn on the heating and then you can pretend that it’s summer outside,” was the analogy Kazāks offered. “The exchange rate is an imaginary number.”

 

Iikka Korhonen, the Bank of Finland’s Russia expert, agrees that the ruble’s rebound is a function of capital controls, not economic fundamentals.

“The ruble is not a freely convertible currency anymore,” he said. “So the official exchange rate isn’t terribly relevant.”

 

Indeed, fresh data from the Institute for International Finance highlights how illiquid the international ruble market is, implying that only Russia is trading in its own currency.

 

”Sharply higher interest rates will become a problem for the banking sector in Russia as margins will be squeezed heavily,” Korhonen said. “I expect to see first signs of this when banks publish second quarter results.”

___________

 

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/politico/

Politico

Overall, we rate Politico Left-Center biased based on story selection and editorial positions that slightly favor the left. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact check record.

 

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER
Factual Reporting: HIGH
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY

Edited May 14, 2022 by Paul A
Formatting

[Paul A]

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3482676-ukraine-holding-complex-talks-to-rescue-all-defenders-from-azovstal-plant-vereshchuk.html

13.05.2022

Ukraine holding complex talks to rescue all defenders from Azovstal plant – Vereshchuk

 

Ukraine is holding complex talks with Russia to rescue all Ukrainian defenders from the Mariupol-based Azovstal plant.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Temporary Occupied Territories Reintegration Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

 

In her words, the Ukrainian side received an order from President Volodymyr Zelensky to go above and beyond in order to rescue everyone from the Azovstal plant.

“The team is working. Talks with the enemy are very difficult. The result may not satisfy everyone. But, our task is to rescue our men. All of them. Alive. God willing, we will rescue everyone,” Vereshchuk added.

[Paul A]

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3482648-russian-warships-in-black-sea-carry-over-30-kalibr-missiles-south-operational-command.html

13.05.2022

Russian warships in Black Sea carry over 30 Kalibr missiles – South Operational Command

 

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are ensuring a stable situation in Odesa Region, although Russian invaders are threatening the entire territory of Ukraine with missile strikes, creating an offensive base on Zmiinyi Island and attempting to destabilize situation in Transnistria.

The relevant statement was made by South Operational Command Spokesperson Vladyslav Nazarov on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

 

According to Nazarov, now there are four Russian warships and two submarines in the Black Sea, which are carrying over 30 Kalibr missiles. This is posing a threat of missile strikes on the entire territory of Ukraine.

In addition, according to the data from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the enemy is still planning to deploy Pantsir air defense missile systems and Tor-M2 surface-to-air missile systems on Zmiinyi Island.

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/13/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/#link-4P2CJAUX3NEW5K4LPR4OWAQP2Y

By Meryl Kornfield and Karoun Demirjian 8:08 p.m.

Russian forces crossing a river thwarted by Ukraine, UK confirms

 

British defense ministry confirmed Friday that Ukraine significantly damaged a Russian convoy as it tried to cross a river in the Donbas region.

Aerial photos and videos captured the scene earlier this week when Ukrainian forces bombed pontoon bridges over the Seversky Donets River, where Russian forces were repositioning amid fierce fighting over the eastern front of Ukraine.

While the number of soldiers injured or killed was not confirmed, images showed extensive damages, including several burnt-out husks of Russian tanks along the river’s shore.

“Conducting river crossings in a contested environment is a highly risky (maneuver) and speaks to the pressure the Russian commanders are under to make progress in their operations in eastern Ukraine,” the British agency shared in a tweet.

The news comes after occupying forces have not made much progress in the Donbas region.

Russian forces sought to “consolidate their forces” by crossing the river, but Ukraine’s military has “frustrated” those attempts, said a senior U.S. defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon.

[Paul A]

 

[Paul A]

Russian ‘tank graveyard’ after 52 vehicles blown up in one battle as Putin forced into retreat

1.5M views · 15 hours ago

The Sun
2.92M subscribers

Drone footage show a Russian Z tank "graveyard" littered with 52 vehicles that were blown up by Ukrainian troops in a single battle.

The woefully unprepared Russian battalion was bombed to smithereens trying to cross the river Donets in Ukraine in another humiliating setback for Vladimir Putin's forces.

 

The embarrassing news comes as Russian forces were forced back from the outskirts of the eastern city of Kharkiv.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the counteroffensive had "liberated" the country's second-biggest city and surrounding villages and given his troops a clear line to attack occupying forces in the strategic town of Izyum.

"The occupiers are gradually being pushed away," Zelensky said as he hailed the effort of his "superhuman" forces.

 

 

[Wolverine]

Finnish President tells Russia ”You caused this, look at the mirror.”

 

[Paul A]

The 59th Motorized Brigade of Ukraine using drone-dropped munition to target troops in trenches

21K views · 1 hour ago

Ukraine Leaks
95.7K subscribers

 

[Paul A]

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3483094-ukraines-armed-forces-launch-counteroffensive-in-izium-direction.html

Saturday, 14 May 2022

Ukraine’s Armed Forces launch counter-offensive in Izium direction

Izium direction remains the hottest spot in the region, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine have launched a counter-offensive and succeed there.

" Izium direction remains the hottest spot. Our Armed Forces have launched a counter-offensive, the enemy retreats in some directions. And this is the result of the resolve of our Armed Forces. We will win," Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Synehubov posted on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

The official urged citizens not to return immediately to the recently liberated villages because, retreating, the enemy mined absolutely everything.

As reported, the enemy did not shell Kharkiv over the past day, focusing instead on the region and firing on Chuhuyiv, Derhachi, Zolochiv, Lozova and other localities.

 

According to the U.S. Institute for the Study of War, the Russian military has probably decided to withdraw completely from its positions around Kharkiv due to Ukrainian counterattacks and limited reinforcement opportunities.