Ukraine – Mediaboss Marketing

Archive for the ‘Ukraine’ Category

Ukraine recaptures nearly 400 square miles of territory; rebuilding Ukraine would cost estimated $349 billion – CNBC

Six vessels set to leave Ukraine carrying 96,181 metric tons of agricultural products

ISTANBUL, TURKIYE - AUGUST 09: An aerial view of "Glory" named empty grain ship as Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the United Nations (UN) of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) conduct inspection on vessel in Istanbul, Turkiye on August 09, 2022. The UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports -- Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny -- for grain that has been stuck for months because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month. (Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The organization overseeing the export of agricultural products from Ukraine said it has approved six vessels to leave the besieged country.

The Joint Coordination Center, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said that the vessels are carrying a total of 96,181 metric tons of grain and other food products.

The ships are expected to depart Saturday and are destined for Spain, Italy, Greece, Libya and Turkey.

Amanda Macias

A Russian serviceman stands guard the territory outside the second reactor of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Energodar on May 1, 2022.

Andrey Borodulin | AFP | Getty Images

The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said that the infrastructure that powers the city of Enerhodar has been destroyed due to shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

"Enerhodar has gone dark and we have seen that once infrastructure is repaired, it is damaged once again," International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement.

"This is an unsustainable situation and is becoming increasingly precarious. This is completely unacceptable. It cannot stand," he said, adding that the city has no running water, power or sewage.

"I therefore urgently call for the immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire area. Only this will ensure the security of operating staff and allow the durable restoration of power to Enerhodar and to the power plant," he said.

Earlier this month, Grossi lead a group of IAEA investigators to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Amanda Macias

EU lawmakers have repeatedly accused Russia of weaponizing energy exports to drive up commodity prices and sow uncertainty across the bloc. Moscow denies using energy as a weapon.

Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

European Union nations struggled to find full consensus on ways to shield the population fromdramatically increasing energy pricesthat threaten to plunge millions into cold and poverty over the winter as Russia chokes off natural gas supplies.

As tensions with Moscow mount overthe war in Ukraine, the energy ministers of the EU's 27 nations could not paper over differences on whether and how to impose a price cap on Russian natural gas, with ever-recalcitrant Hungary refusing to agree, saying it would go against its supply interests.

Other countries differed on whether a price cap should apply only to Russia or to other producers, too.

An immediate solution on allproposals to bring natural gas and electricity prices back to affordabilityhad not been anticipated, but energy ministers gave general recommendations to the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, on options like instituting windfall levies on some energy companies whose profits have risen along with skyrocketing prices.

Associated Press

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and France's President Emmanuel Macron pose for a G7 leaders' family photograph during a NATO summit at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on March 24, 2022.

Michael Kappeler | AFP | Getty Images

Two months after they agreed to explore price limits on Russian oil sales, G-7 countries are still trying to recruit more countries to join their efforts before they enter more detailed discussions about the policy's specifics, according to U.S. and European officials.

"The coalition has to be broader, and this is the diplomatic phase [negotiators] are entering into," said one European official, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations.

They aim to restrict the amount of revenue the Kremlin receives, but keep Russian oil on the market to avoid supply disruptions.

Key importers of Russian oil China, India, and Turkey have not yet said whether they will join in the coordinated price cap or negotiate their own side deals with Russia. Their participation could determine how much leverage Western nations have to set prices.

"It's premature to start discussing the price before the coalition comes together," a senior Treasury official told CNBC.

Ukraines Astronomers Say There Are Tons of UFOs Over Kyiv – VICE

Motherboard explores UFOs, UFO culture, and the paranormal.

Ukraines airspace has been busy this yearthats the nature of war. But scientists in the country are looking to the skies and seeing something they didnt expect: An inordinate number of UFOs, according to a new preprint paper published by Kyivs Main Astronomical Observatory in coordination with the countrys National Academy of Science.

The paper does not specifically address the war, but in the United States, the Pentagon has long hinted, speculated, and warned that some UFOs could be advanced technology from foreign militaries, specifically China and Russia (though it hasnt really given any evidence this is actually the case). The Ukraine paper is particularly notable because it not only shows that science has continued to occur during the war, but also explains that there have been a lot of sightings.

We see them everywhere, the research said. We observe a significant number of objects whose nature is not clear.

The paper is titled Unidentified aerial phenomena I. Observations of events come from observations made at NAS Main Astronomical Observatory in Kyiv and a village south of Kyiv called Vinarivka. According to the papers authors, the observatories took on the job of hunting for UFOs as an independent project because of the enthusiasm around the subject.

It describes a specific type of UFO the researchers call phantoms that is an object [that] is a completely black body that does not emit and absorbs all the radiation falling on it. The researchers also observed that the UFOs its seeing are so fast that its hard to take pictures of them.

The eye does not fix phenomena lasting less than one-tenth of a second, the paper said. It takes four-tenths of a second to recognize an event. Ordinary photo and video recordings will also not capture the [unidentified aerial phenomenon]. To detect UAP, you need to fine-tune the equipment: shutter speed, frame rate, and dynamic range.

So the researchers did just that using two meteor monitoring stations in Kyiv and Vinarivka. We have developed a special observation technique, taking into account the high speeds of the observed objects, the paper said. The exposure time was chosen so that the image of the object did not shift significantly during exposure. The frame rate was chosen to take into account the speed of the object and the field of view of the camera. In practice, the exposure time was less than 1 ms, and the frame rate was no less than 50 Hz.

The scientists divided the phenomenon they observed into two different categories: cosmics and phantoms. We note that Cosmics are luminous objects, brighter than the background of the sky. We call these ships names of birds (swift, falcon, eagle), the paper said. Phantoms are dark objects, with contrast from several to about 50 percent.

Sign up for Motherboards daily newsletterfor a regular dose of our original reporting, plus behind-the-scenes content about our biggest stories.

Using the cameras, stationed roughly 75 miles apart, allowed the scientists to make repeated observations of strange objects moving in the sky. The paper didnt speculate on what the objects were, merely noted the observations and mentioned the objects incredible speeds. Flights of single, group and squadrons of the ships were detected, moving at speeds from 3 to 15 degrees per second, the research said. Phantoms are observed in the troposphere at distances up to 10 - 12 km. We estimate their size from 3 to 12 meters and speeds up to 15 km/s.

The easy explanation would be that these are missiles, or rockets, or something else associated with the war. But the scientists insist that their nature is not clear.

UFOs are back in the public consciousness after a string of sightings were caught on camera by Navy pilots. Congress has demanded answers and the Pentagon responded by saying it has seen some strange stuff but needed more time and money to study the phenomenon appropriately. Congress gave them both and the Pentagon opened the AARO to study the strange objects in the sky. A recent addendum in a Senate intelligence budget report said that the threat of UFOs was increasing exponentially and that the Pentagons new office needed to focus on the UFOs that arent man-made.

Boris Zhilyaev, the lead researcher on the paper, declined to comment.

Update 9/13/22: The original version of this article stated that the Kyiv study was a joint venture with the Pentagon and NASA. It was not. VICE has corrected the story and regrets this error.

Link:
Ukraines Astronomers Say There Are Tons of UFOs Over Kyiv - VICE

September 13th, 2022

Comments off

Ukraine may have chance to ‘throw Russians out’, military analyst says – Sky News

Ukraine's military has a chance of removing Russian troops from all the territory they have claimed since February, a senior military analyst has told Sky News.

Professor Michael Clarke said such a development would be a "huge victory" - adding that while recent gains in Kharkiv are important, retaking Kherson in the south would be "very significant".

Kherson sits just north of the Crimea peninsula and is the only major Ukrainian City that Moscow has captured.

Were Ukraine to take it back, the whole of Crimea - which Russia annexed in 2014 - would be within range of Kyiv's artillery and missiles, Prof Clarke said.

That could make Crimea "impossible for the Russians to operate from militarily", he added.

Signs are emerging that the Russian defence in Kherson is beginning to crumble and troops may be running out of ammunition.

"The Ukrainians have got momentum on their side and in battle, momentum matters hugely.

"There are reports - unconfirmed, but a lot of them - that local ceasefires, or local surrenders are being arranged, particularly in the north of the Kherson sector," Prof Clarke said.

"The Russians seem to be out of food and everything. Once they run out of ammunition, they've got no choice but to surrender or run.

"And they can't run because they can't get across the Dnipro River."

Live updates: Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Fri, Aug 19 20226:50 PM EDT

Ukraine was already stocking up on U.S.-made Javelins before Russia invaded. Here a group of Ukrainian servicemen take a shipment of Javelins in early February, as Russia positioned troops on Ukraine's border.

Sergei Supinsky | AFP | Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked U.S. President Joe Biden for the 19th security assistance package.

"I highly appreciate another U.S. military aid package in the amount of $775 million. Thank you @POTUS for this decision," Zelenskyy wrote. "Ukraine will be free," he added.

The latest weapons package brings U.S. commitment to approximately $10.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Biden's presidency.

Amanda Macias

Fri, Aug 19 20224:47 PM EDT

"The situation in Ukraine shows that the U.S. is trying to prolong this conflict," said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The British government said Russia does not have the moral right to attend the G20 in Indonesia while the Kremlin carries on its war in Ukraine.

"We welcome Indonesia's efforts to ensure that the impacts of Russia's war are considered in G20 meetings, as well as indications that Ukraine may be represented by President Zelenskyy at the G20 Leaders Summit," a spokesperson for the British foreign office said in a statement.

Earlier on Friday, Rishi Sunak, one of the two candidates vying to replace Boris Johnson as British prime minister, said that Indonesia should bar Russian President Vladimir Putin from attending.

The G20 is set to take place in November.

Amanda Macias

Fri, Aug 19 20224:16 PM EDT

A view of devastation after conflicts as Ukrainians trying to rebound back to life Irpin near Kyiv, Ukraine on June 21, 2022.

Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Ukraine's gross domestic product in the remaining months of 2022 may fall by 35 to 40% due to Russia's war, according to Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

"According to our calculations, according to the macroeconomic forecasts made by the Ministry of Economy, the curtailment of the economy by the end of the year may be at the level of 35-40%," said Svyrydenko, who also serves simultaneously as Ukraine's first deputy prime minister.

The National Bank also predicts that Ukraine's real GDP in the third and fourth quarters of 2022 will contract. According to the National Bank estimates, the economy will also slip by another 19% in the first quarter of 2023.

Amanda Macias

Fri, Aug 19 20223:46 PM EDT

Smoke rises after explosions were heard from the direction of a Russian military airbase near Novofedorivka, Crimea, on Aug. 9, 2022.

Stringer | Reuters

Pro-Ukrainian saboteurs were involved in the recentspate of explosions at Russian military sites in Crimea, a Ukrainian government official told NBC News.

The series of blasts hit military depots and airbases in the annexed peninsula over the past week, hinting at a growing ability by Ukraine's military or its backers to strike deep behind enemy lines, a development that could shift the dynamics of the war.

Kyiv has stopped short of publicly claiming responsibility for the explosions.The government official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to disclose information about the Crimea strikes to journalists.

Experts have speculated that guerrilla fighters, known colloquially as "partisans,"may have played a role, given the nature of the blasts.

The official declined to say whether the Ukrainian military or special forces were also involved in the attacks. But he added, "Only thanks to the people who oppose Putin in the occupied territories and in Russia today, resistance is possible."

After six months of bloody and terrible war, what exactly does Putin want from Ukraine? – The Guardian

Nearly six months after Russias invasion of Ukraine, there is still widespread disagreement in the west on Vladimir Putins motives.

This is of more than academic interest. If we do not agree why Putin decided to invade Ukraine and what he wants to achieve, we cannot define what would constitute victory or defeat for either of the warring sides and the contours of a possible endgame.

At some point, like all wars, the present conflict will end. Geography condemns Ukraine and Russia to live beside each other and that is not going to change. They will eventually have to find a modus vivendi. That also applies to Europe and Russia, although it may take decades before the damage is repaired.

Why, then, did Putin stake so much on a high-risk enterprise that will at best bring him a tenuous grip on a ruined land?

At first it was said that he was unhinged a lunatic, in the words of the defence secretary, Ben Wallace. Putin was pictured lecturing his defence chiefs, cowering at the other end of a 6-metre long table. But not long afterwards, the same officials were shown sitting at his side. The long table turned out to be theatrics Putins version of Nixons madman theory, to make him appear so irrational that anything was possible, even nuclear war.

Then western officials argued that Putin was terrified at the prospect of a democratic Ukraine on Russias border, which would threaten the basis of his power by showing Russians that they too could live differently. On the face of it, that seemed plausible. Putin hated the colour revolutions that, from 2003 onwards, brought regime change to former Soviet bloc states. But Ukraines attractions as a model are limited. It is deeply corrupt, the rule of law is nonexistent and its billionaire oligarchs wield disproportionate power. Should that change, the Russian intelligentsia may take note but the majority of Russians those fed on state propaganda who make up Putins political base would not give two hoots.

The invasion has also been portrayed as a straightforward imperialist land grab. A passing reference to Peter the Great earlier in the summer was taken as confirmation that Putin wanted to restore the Russian empire or, failing that, the USSR. Otherwise sensible people, mainly in eastern Europe but not only, held that Ukraine was just a first step. I wouldnt be surprised, a former Swedish minister told me last week, if, in a few years, Estonia and Latvia are next in line.

Given that Putin once called the collapse of the Soviet Union the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century, that may seem to make sense. But he also said: Anyone who does not regret [its] destruction has no heart; anyone who wants to see it recreated has no brain. Leaving aside the fact that the Russian military is already hard-pressed to achieve even modest successes in Ukraine, an attack on the Baltic states or Poland would bring them into direct conflict with Nato, which is the last thing that Moscow (or the west) wants.

In fact, Putins invasion is being driven by other considerations.

He has been fixated on Ukraine since long before he came to power. As early as 1994, when he was the deputy mayor of St Petersburg, he expressed outrage that Crimea had been joined to Ukraine. Russia won Crimea from the Turks! he told a French diplomat that year, referring to Russias defeat of the Ottoman empire in the 18th century.

But it was the possibility, raised at a Nato summit in 2008, that Ukraine should become a fully-fledged member of the western alliance that turned his attitude toxic.

Bill Burns, now the head of the CIA, who was then the US ambassador to Moscow, wrote at the time in a secret cable to the White House: Ukrainian entry into Nato is the brightest of all red lines for the Russian elite (not just Putin). In my more than two-and-a-half years of conversations with key Russian players, from knuckle-draggers in the dark recesses of the Kremlin to Putins sharpest liberal critics, I have yet to find anyone who views Ukraine in Nato as anything other than a direct challenge to Russias interests Todays Russia will respond.

Successive American administrations ignored Burnss warning and Putin did respond. In 2014, he annexed Crimea; then he fomented a separatist revolt in the Donbas; finally, in February of this year, he launched a brutal, undeclared war to bring Ukraine to heel.

Nato enlargement was merely the tip of the iceberg. Many other grievances against the west had accumulated in the two decades Putin had been in power. By the end of 2020, when planning began for a renewed push against Kyiv, the wheel had come full circle. The young Russian leader who had so impressed Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, who had backed George W Bush to the hilt after 9/11 and who had insisted that Russias place was with Europe and the western world, had slowly morphed into an implacable adversary, convinced that the US and its allies were determined to bring Russia to its knees.

Western politicians dismiss that as paranoid. But the problem is not western intentions, it is how the Kremlin interprets them.

Putins goal is not only to neutralise the regime in Kyiv but, more importantly, to show that Nato is powerless to stop him. If in the process he extirpates Ukrainian culture in the areas Russia occupies, that is not collateral damage: it is a bonus.

Whether he succeeds will depend on the situation on the battlefield, which in turn will depend on the extent of western support over the autumn and winter, when energy shortages and a soaring cost of living risk putting Ukraines western partners under intense strain.

Moscow does not have to achieve a great deal for Putin to be able to claim victory. It would be enough for Russia to control all of the Donbas and the land bridge to Crimea. He would certainly like more. If Russian troops take Odesa and the contiguous Black Sea coast, it would reduce Ukraine to vassalage. But even more modest gains would show the limits of US power. It is possible that Ukraine, with solid western backing, will be able to prevent that. But it is far from certain.

The war in Ukraine is not happening in isolation. While Russia is contesting the US-led security order in Europe, China is challenging it in Asia. A geopolitical transition has begun whose results may not be fully apparent for decades. But the post-cold war order that has governed the world for the past 30 years is drawing to a close. From its demise, a new balance of power will emerge.

Philip Short has written authoritative biographies including Putin: His Life and Times, Mao: A Life and Pol Pot: History of a Nightmare, following a long career as a foreign correspondent for the BBC in Moscow, Washington and other world capitals

More:
After six months of bloody and terrible war, what exactly does Putin want from Ukraine? - The Guardian

August 22nd, 2022

Comments off

Mediaboss Marketing

Archive for the ‘Ukraine’ Category

Ukraine recaptures nearly 400 square miles of territory; rebuilding Ukraine would cost estimated $349 billion – CNBC

Ukraines Astronomers Say There Are Tons of UFOs Over Kyiv – VICE

Ukraine may have chance to ‘throw Russians out’, military analyst says – Sky News

Live updates: Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

After six months of bloody and terrible war, what exactly does Putin want from Ukraine? – The Guardian

About

Pages

Categories

Media Sites

Recommended Sites

Archives