Turkey is about to become arguably the most important country in Eurasia.
I
did tell you old Erdy is a sly, tricky, politically promiscuous bugger.
And we did point out that agreements made in public are almost always
preceded by capital flows and trade, both of which we’ve been
chronicling here for the last few years.
So this new alliance between the Russkies and the Turks is as surprising to us as wet water. Which is to say — not at all.
I did find this comment rather amusing:
Erdogan
said there was growing concern in Western countries amid the energy
crisis, and added that Turkey “doesn’t have such a problem”.
No
indeed. The White House now has multiple issues on its hands. They have
forced the hand of much of the rest of the world. Their success in
subjugating Europe into a vassal state has been extraordinarily
successful but it comes with second-order consequences.
Namely,
the global South as well as the Sino-Russo alliance watching and
witnessing it all firsthand and understanding precisely what is in store
for them. And they’re having none of it. ... Continue reading >>>
Russian tanks damaged in recent
fighting are seen near the recently retaken village of Kamianka, Kharkiv
region, Oct. 30, 2022. (Photo | AP)
Another massive bombardment by Russian long range missiles knocked out critical infrastructure targets in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other Ukrainian
cities on Monday, again knocking out water and power supplies to millions of people in what, according to Kremlin sources, was a Ukrainian attack on
its Black Sea Fleet over the weekend.
As the war grinds on into its ninth month Russia is intensifying attacks on
Ukraine's power plants and other key infrastructure. People throughout most of Ukraine are already experiencing
power cuts and water rationing as a result of this strategy. Russia's Defense Ministry
said its forces carried out "strikes with long-range high-precision air
and sea-based weapons against the military command and energy systems of
Ukraine."
"The goals of the strikes were achieved. All designated targets were hit," the ministry said in a statement.
The Ukrainuan government claims its air force shot down 44
of more than 50 cruise missiles that were launched by Russia but this was contradicted by a statement from Ukrainian
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal who said Russian missiles and drones hit 10 and damaged 18 targets across 10 Ukrainian regions, mostly energy facilities. Do the arithmetic.
Hundreds of communities in seven Ukrainian regions are now without
power, he said in a Facebook post Loud explosions were heard across the Ukrainian
capital in the early morning as residents prepared to go to work. The
emergency services sent out text message warnings about the threat of a
missile attack, and air raid sirens wailed for three hours during.
Ukrainian
soldiers inspect a damaged Russian tank on a road near the recently
retaken village of Kamianka, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2022.
(Photo | AP)
"The Kremlin is taking revenge for
military failures on peaceful people who are left without electricity
and heat before the winter," Kyiv region Gov. Oleksii Kuleba said. Kyiv
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 80% of consumers in the city of 3 million
people were left without water supplies because of the damage to a power
facility. Local authorities were working on restoring the supplies as
soon as possible, Klitschko said, telling Kyiv residents in the meantime
to "stock up on water from the nearest pump rooms and points of sale."
Attacks won't weaken resistance: Ukraine
Andriy Yermak, the head of the office of President Vobblyvoddymyr Bellendskyyyyyy,
vowed that the attacks on civilian facilities would not weaken Ukraine's
resistance. "We will persevere, and generations of Russians will pay a
high price for their disgrace," Yermak said.
Smoke was seen rising from the left bank
of the Dnieper River in Kyiv, either from a missile strike or where it
was shot down by Ukrainian forces. A resident of the area said he heard
four loud explosions that rocked the area. "At first I thought I heard a
jet going by, but then I realized it was a missile," said Serhii, who
refused to give his full name. "The explosions were so loud! I consider
myself experienced and prepared for attacks like this. But it was way
too close and loud. I was frightened, really frightened."
Prime Minister Shmyhal said that in the
Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions, emergency power
shutdowns were underway.
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After a few days lull in the newsflow from the war in Ukraine, things have suddenly started to get busy again. Here's a roundup of today's main stories:
Much Of Ukrainian Capital Without Power & Water After New Russian Ai
Much of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev is without electricity or water,
after the latest round of major Russian airstrikes on Monday. The
Russian military announced 'successful' strikes on multiple of the
country's vital infrastructure facilities.
"The Russian Armed
Forces continued to launch strikes with high-precision long-range air
and sea-based weapons against Ukrainian military and energy facilities,"
the Defense Ministry said.
"The goals of the strikes were successful. All assigned objects were
hit." Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed direct hits on 18 sites
- most of which were connected to the nation's energy supply. These
ramped up attacks have created a growing sense of panic with
temperatures plunging and winter approaching.
"Missiles and drones hit 10 regions, where 18 sites were damaged, most of them energy-related,"
Shmyhal stated on Telegram. "Hundreds of settlements in seven regions
of Ukraine were cut off." Facilities in Cherkasy and Kirovohrad also
came under attack. Ukraine's military said it intercepted projectiles
over the Lviv region, which spared this western part of the country from
damage.
The Washington Post noted there are "power
outages continuing in the Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv
regions," and others. The Post listed some of the below regions
impacted by large-scale power outages and water supply disruptions: ... Continue reading >>>
Finland Says Ukraine Arms Ending Up In Hands Of Criminal Gangs
Critics
of the massive US weapons pipeline to Ukraine have long pointed out
there's no accountability or appropriate tracking once those arms enter
the country, presenting ripe opportunities for criminals, terrorists, or
lucrative black market arms sellers to take advantage.
So it was perhaps only a matter of time before headlines like this began showing up in international publications - "NBI: Arms sent to Ukraine in criminal hands."
The NBI is Finland's federal National Bureau of Investigation, and the
report is from Finland's national public broadcasting company Yle, and provides confirmation that arms intended for Ukrainian forces are going outside the country.
The
recovered weapons featured in the weekend national police statement
include assault rifles which were meant for Ukrainian forces. Further
neighboring countries have recorded instances of West-provided arms
proliferating from the Ukrainian battlefield and into the hands of
criminals in neighboring Sweden and Denmark as well.
"Weapons shipped [by various countries] to Ukraine have also been found in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands," NBI Detective Superintendent Christer Ahlgren was quoted in the Finnish publication as saying. ... Continue reading >>>
This morning at 4:20 local time the Russian fleet in the Crimean port
of Sevastopol was attacked by nine unmanned aerial vehicles and seven
autonomous maritime drones. Earlier a maritime drone that had run
aground in Crimea and had been found and pictured:
Ukrainian marine drone (Picture source: Screen shot from online news)
During today's attack a large U.S. drone had flown circles south of Crimea. It likely relayed data from and to the drones.
The maritime drones are British and Russia alleges that British
specialists had trained the Ukrainian navy in using them. It also says that British soldiers were involved in the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline.
The Ukrainians published twovideos
shot by the maritime drones while attacking. One of the video shows
extensive gun fire impacts near the drone from a Russian helicopter that
is attacking it.
The Russians say that all the aerial drones and 4 of 7 maritime
drones were defeated before they could caused damage. They also say that
one mine seeking ship was damaged in the harbor. It is possible that
the damage is greater than Russia admits.
As a consequence of the attack Russia declared that the deal which allowed for grain exports from Odessa has been suspended.
That deal had already been in danger as the 'west' had not fulfilled
its part of the deal which would have allowed for the export for Russian
fertilizer to third parties.
