TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian Z fascist invaders.
I am a 73 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
They fought an attempt to repeal an 1854 law outlawing ALL abortions
https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/arizona-republicans-just-made-a-huge-mistake/55557/
From "The Analyst":
MASSIVE STRIKE ON RUSSIAN LOGISTICS
Ukraine launched a massive strike on Russian rear and logistics areas yesterday, along the line of contact in the Kupiansk sector. Drones and missiles in a coordinated strike designed to overwhelm and confuse, hit ammo depots and supply points, paying particular attention to supply trucks and vehicles, already in short supply due to losses.
The Russians have been using a variable attack system - striking in one place, failing, regrouping there and resupplying, then moving somewhere else on the line to attack while the previous groups repair and resupply to go again.
The Ukrainian plan to attack multiple points all at once allowed them to disrupt this ongoing rotation.
Another part of the reason for the attack was that troops moved from Kupiansk to Lyman nearly two months ago were now relocating back to Kupiansk. They too were part of the target plan for this strike during their transit.
The Ukrainians also attacked a key bridge over the river behind Russian lines.
There were already clear signs of problems behind Russian lines. Thefts of food and animals from those under occupation have shot up in the last few weeks, suggesting food shortages and low morale. Russian trucks have been hit hard over the past year and supply isn’t keeping up with demand. Shortages result, and troops take things into their own hands.
These attacks follow on from an operation late last week that involved StormShadow. Widely believed to have been a repair centre for Russian units, it’s since been revealed as the command HQ for the Russian Central Front and it was totally destroyed along with its senior officers and comms systems.
The strike along with others by drones has been possible only because strategic strikes at oil refineries have drawn away Russian air defences. These strikes will likely lure them back and Ukraine can resume its attacks on the refineries! An endless game of cat and mouse.
A good day for Ukraine!
Slava Ukraini
From "The Analyst":
MASSIVE AIRBASE STRIKE
Ukraine used ATACMS missiles to strike a major Russian air base last night at Dzhankoy in Kazan. The explosions were massive and ongoing, ammunition continued to fire off for hours, leaving a fast burning mess and gargantuan pal of smoke that spread for dozens of kilometres.
Helicopters, S-300/400 missiles, including 2 S-300 and 3 S-400 launchers, heavy bombs and other ammunition was held in the base. Precision targeting seems to have rendered the base unusable in the immediate future.
An aircraft factory in Tartastan is also under attack by drones and so is an airbase at Moldoyvia.
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!
Much beloved double amputee with a big heart
Yana Stepanenko has raised UAH 615,000 ($15,450) for a prosthesis for Ukrainian Defender Oleksandr Riasnyi when she ran 5k at Boston marathon.
"When we started running at the start, it was not difficult at all. That is, I ran about 300 meters without any difficulties, and then, towards the end, when there was a kilometer left, my legs began to hurt, and I was tired, but despite the pain, I made it to the finish line," Yana shared.
Yana raised the whole amount for a prosthesis for 30-year-old Oleksandr Riasnyi. He fought in the ATO, the JFO, and then in the full-scale war. Oleksandr was defending his native Zaporizhzhia direction when a shell exploded near him last September. He lost his right leg. Now, Oleksandr is learning to walk on prosthetic leg, plans to return to service, and dreams of running.
Yana Stepanenko, her brother Yaroslav, and their mom Nataliia were at a train station in Kramatorsk on April 8, 2022, trying to evacuate, when Russia attacked the station with a missile carrying cluster munitions. The strike killed 61 people and injured more than 100. Yana lost both legs, her mom lost one. Yaroslav was not hurt because he stayed indoors at the time of the shelling.
Yana's strength and spirit are out of this world.
He is really trying to get locked up
https://open.substack.com/pub/jefftiedrich/p/donald-trump-is-teaching-a-master?r=70k1h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
I think everyone knows that Little Donnie has been napping at his trial. Two days out of two
"The currency didn't arrive." Billions of dollars of ruZZia's export earnings are "stuck" abroad due to sanctions.
The tightening of US sanctions and the mass refusal of banks to make payments to Russian companies have deprived the economy of billions of dollars in foreign exchange earnings, according to the ruZZian Central Bank.
At the end of March, ruZZia earned $39.6 billion from exports, which is 30% more than in February and almost 40% more than in January, the Central Bank said in a monthly report on the country's balance of payments.
At the same time, the "foreign assets" of ruZZian companies jumped by $15.5 billion, an indicator that includes, among other things, funds in foreign accounts. This means that although exports have nominally grown, "the currency has not reached the corresponding volumes," said Yegor Susin, managing director of GPB Private Banking.
In January and February, businesses were accumulating foreign currency abroad at a rate of $3-4 billion per month. In March, the growth rate of foreign assets accelerated by 5 times: more than $10 billion remained in bank accounts abroad in excess of the usual amounts.
"Goods are exported, but the money does not arrive," says Evgeny Suvorov, an economist at CenterCreditBank and author of MMI. As a result, "accounting" indicators and "real" export earnings are very different, he points out. Although the Central Bank reports a record trade surplus for more than a year ($16.7 billion in March), in fact, almost every fourth dollar for goods sold abroad is "stuck" in foreign accounts.
Bank problems increased sharply at start of the year, as almost all major banks refuse to transfer to Putinistan. According to Reuters, even payments for oil and petroleum products, a key source of export earnings for the economy, which account for every second dollar of export revenues, fell under the financial blockade. Banks in Turkey and the UAE, the main anti-sanctions hubs of Russian business, began to close accounts and block transactions, followed by Chinese banks, including large and state-owned ones.
In addition to exporters, the problems also affect importers, points out Suvorov from CenterCreditBank: the supply of foreign goods to Z-landia collapsed by 18% year-on-year. "This is a dangerous situation," the expert warns, "As reserves are depleted, there will be a threat of shortages with a subsequent acceleration of inflation."
Source
@freerussia_report
Scholz refuses to talk to Putin before the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees no point in resuming dialogue with Putin as long as the war in Ukraine continues. Asked by the taz when such contact would be possible, the German politician replied: "When ruZZia realizes that there will be no peace under dictation, and Putin realizes that he needs to stop his campaign and withdraw his troops."
The last time he talked with Putin was in December 2022. According to the chancellor, talks make only sense when they can really affect the situation, but now everything points to the Kremlin's reluctance to end the war, so Germany "will have to supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine for a long time." Scholz stressed that he would support Kyiv for as long as it takes.
"We can't accept that power gives you the right [to do anything]. Putin wants to move the borders by force. By doing so, he threatens the entire world order in Europe. And what he's doing now was announced long before that. In his articles and speeches, Putin argued that Belarus and Ukraine are not independent states, but belong to ruZZia. We should all have taken it literally."
Scholz noted in the interview that "in Germany, the peacemaking effect of economic contacts was certainly overemphasized. No one is under any illusion of this today. Putin's war shows that power can also override economic rationality. Economically, the war makes no sense whatsoever for ruZZia. If the revenues from the sale of raw materials did not flow into the military and into the pockets of the oligarchs, but benefited Russian society as a whole, Russia would be a richer and more powerful country today."
According to him, ruZZia is waging an "imperialist war" in Ukraine, and it must not be allowed to win. At the same time, Scholz noted that in this matter "it is important to act wisely." "That is why I am combining my strong support for Ukraine with a policy that prevents the escalation to a war between ruZZia and NATO," he added.
Putin had asked him to recognize Crimea as ruZZian territory on the ninth day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to the chancellor, the head of the Kremlin told him on the phone about his view of the situation and voiced options for "a compromise", pointing to the need to "demilitarize and denazify." Ukraine.
Source
@freerussia_report
Scholz wants Xi to force Russia to stop the war. Xi wants Europe to stop trade war — Politico comments on the results of the first day of talks between the leaders of China and Germany in Beijing.
During the meeting with Scholz, Xi noted that Beijing "does not pose a security threat," so Sino-German cooperation should not be perceived as an (investment) risk.
"Whether it is traditional industries such as machinery and automobiles, or new areas such as green transition, digitalization or artificial intelligence, the two countries have enormous potential for mutually beneficial cooperation," Xi said.
Scholz, surrounded by a business delegation of top German executives eager to preserve their lucrative business prospects in China, focused his opening remarks not on trade but on Ukraine, urging Xi to do more to promote a just peace there:
"Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and Russia's rearmament have had a very significant negative impact on security in Europe. It directly affects our core interests."
In turn, Xi offered no new commitments to Ukraine:
"All our efforts are aimed at the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and the timely convening of an international peace conference recognized by both Russia and Ukraine."
He called for "equal participation of all parties and discussion of all peace plans" — a strong hint that Europe should invite Russia to the negotiating table.
Xi also urged the West not to "add fuel to the fire," an apparent reference to stopping arms deliveries to Ukraine.
This morning my cat that was completely feral 4 years ago made her first trip into my lap of this spring. She is an outdoor cat as long as the temperature is above 20⁰
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian Z fascist invaders.
I am a 73 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
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