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JP Morgan has stopped processing Russian grain export payments.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-says-jpmorgan-stops-processing-170254121.html

Sorry for long cat. 

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UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -U.S. bank JPMorgan this week stopped processingpayments for the Russian Agricultural Bank, Russia said on Friday, as it demanded action, not promises, from Washington to help Russian grain and fertilizer reach global markets.

JPMorgan had handled some Russian grain export payments for the past few months with reassurances from Washington. However, that cooperation stopped this week, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

“The direct channel between the Russian Agricultural Bank and JPMorgan ... was closed on Aug. 2," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted by Russian media as saying.

The United Nations, the U.S. State Department and JPMorgan declined to comment.

Moscow had allowed the safe export of Ukraine grain via the Black Sea for the past year under a deal it quit on July 17. Russia has a list of demands it wants met before it will return to the arrangement.

Under a related pact - also brokered in July 2022 - U.N. officials agreed to help Russian food and fertilizer exports reach global markets.

"As soon as this is done, this deal will immediately be renewed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

A key Russian demand has been the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT international payments system. It was cut off by the European Union in June 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Zakharov, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said the West and the United Nations "tried to present (payment processing by JPMorgan) as a working alternative to SWIFT."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Thursday that Washington would continue to do "whatever is necessary" to ensure Russia can freely export food if the Black Sea grain deal was revived.

While Russian exports of food and fertilizer are not subject to Western sanctions imposed after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have hindered shipments.

US SAYS RUSSIA HAS STRONG EXPORTS

Top U.S. State Department sanctions official James O'Brien said on Friday that Russia needed to be clear about what it was asking for and what constituted success, suggesting it should be how much food and fertilizer reaches the world.

"It has put forth a number of different demands and all of them having to do with various Russian institutions not getting services from the private sector," he told reporters. "We have made clear that we're prepared to help on any of these matters."

"Russia is exporting record amounts of grain," O'Brien said. "So if the measurement is food for the globe ... Russia's complaints amount to minor allegations about a system that is working very well."

Russia may export at least 55 million tonnes of grain in the 2023/24 marketing season, slightly less than the estimated record-breaking 57 million tonnes in the 2022/23 season, Russia's Grain Union said last month.

Ukrainian exports for the 2022/23 season were almost 49 million tonnes, according to Agriculture Ministry data. Nearly 33 million tonnes of that was shipped under the Black Sea deal.

Western countries have accused Russia of using food as a weapon of war by quitting the Black Sea deal, which had helped bring down global food prices, and then carrying out repeated air strikes on Ukrainian ports and grain stores.

Russia has complained that not enough Ukrainian grain was getting to the poorest countries. The United Nations has argued that the deal helped everyone because it brought prices down 23% from a record high in the weeks following Russia's invasion.

 

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Apparently, it was the company’s management that decided to quit sending the certificates. I assume that is a Prigo call.  I’m also sure that was a decision that the MOD told them to make. But if this was Wagner’s decision, I have to wonder how Wagner’s musicians are taking this news.

Maybe this is nothing more than a  heavy handed policy to get more recalcitrant Wagner employees to join the MOD forces. I may be wrong, but I recall that they had three choices: join the MOD, go to Belarus or disband.

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8 hours ago, KYHorn said:

 

 Trending news in "united like never before" Russia: Several young people in Zabaykalsky Krai beat a Russian soldier who returned from the "SMO" without a leg. Six people, including two women, beat the veteran, calling him a murderer, and mocking him in all kinds of ways.   His friend, also a veteran and also without a leg, tried to help, but no avail. The young people also damaged the car belonging to the veteran.

In Russia, one legged man in ass kicking contest, gets ass kicked

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Zelenskyy really is a master of public relations. It is never tiring seeing a former comedian dragging his nuts all over Putin’s face - once again.  

I still think that Putin being so dismissive of Zelenskyy was one of the bigger pieces of the puzzle that lead Putin to think they could waltz in and take Kyiv. 

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Phillips P. O'Brien's free weekend update has hit:

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The Black Sea War, The Saudi Summit, The Counteroffensive  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
     
 
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Weekend Update #40

The Black Sea War, The Saudi Summit, The Counteroffensive

Aug 6
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Hi All,

This will be a shorter weekend update that normal, as I’m actually on annual leave this week and trying to have a little break. I will be back with my normal verbosity next week. So this is more a shot of espresso than a large cup of cafe au lait.

That being said, there are 3 stories I believe need mention this week that are important.

  Russian navy ship appears to be heavily damaged in Ukrainian sea drone  attack | World News | Sky News  
Russian Ropucha-Class landing vessel listing markedly after Ukrainian sea drone attack
  Video War in Ukraine takes another turn as second Russian ship attacked by  sea drone - ABC News  
Russian tanker in Black Sea being attacked by Ukrainian sea drone

The Black Sea War

One of the reasons Ive been generally optimistic about Ukraine’s prospects in this war, is that the Ukrainian side, being more democratic and fighting for its freedom, has greater societal commitment and creativity on its side. This gives Ukraine a major advantage in adaptability and the ability to create new systems in a short period of time. This week, this adaptability and creativity really revealed itself in the Black Sea. There was first the extraordinary footage of the sea drone attack on this Russian vessel. Here is a link to it.

https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1687365817233461248?s=20

That video reveals so much. Here is a pretty slow sea drone, which has an above water profile, seemingly able to hit a major Russian naval vessel without encountering any major defensive fire (I didn’t see any) or any defensive systems protecting the ship. A few people tweeted out that it was far from Ukraine or at night—who cares. The Russian Navy should be at war footing in an operational zone. This looks far too lax of them.

 

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The Ukrainians followed this up with another attack (not publicly confirmed, but we know who did this) against a Russian tanker (alternately described as an oil tanker or a chemical tanker).

https://twitter.com/Euan_MacDonald/status/1687710262097240064?s=20

Not long after, pictures emerged of flooding in the tanker (see below).

  Image  

What to make of these attacks. While here we are 18 months after the Russian full-scale invasion and it is the Ukrainians that are being the more aggressive and adaptive at the war at sea (which no one though they could even compete in). They are attacking Russian war and commercial vessels in quick succession and getting hits. This poses a great dilemma for the Russians. Do they now deploy more of their surface assets to protect tankers and the like while they transit the Black Sea—which will make those warships inviting targets? Do they try to attack the Ukrainian coast—which has already shown itself to be deadly to Russian forces?

All we know is that the Russian response to these attacks shows just how angry they are. People waking up this morning will have heard of one the largest Russian (expensive) missile attacks for a while, as the Russians launched Kinzhals, Kalibrs, etc, in large numbers at Ukraine last night.

  Image  

Here is the link to the Ukrainian official description of the attack:

https://twitter.com/GeneralStaffUA/status/1688057732996501504?s=20

Ukrainian air defenses are so relatively effective that even this large attack was mostly shot down. However the key thing is that this is how the Russian have to respond to set backs on the war at sea. Its the angry rage, strike back. What will be more important to see is whether the Russians will try to now enforce their blockade against civilian vessels sailing in and out of Ukrainian ports picking up grain. Remember last week, the Russians showed themselves too nervous to actually make that step. Now they might want to to try—and in doing so will expose more of their vessels to attack.

This kinds of thing matters to me in an understanding of war. That the war on the Black Sea is actually one that Ukraine is not only partaking in, but actually showing success in, is an excellent example of why the war is one that Ukraine has fought and will continue to fight so well.

The Saudi Summit

I still don’t know what to make of the summit in Saudi Arabia to discuss a possible peace deal in Ukraine that just started a few hours ago. At first I was very skeptical and paid it little attention. Both sides in this war seem to want to fight it out this summer/fall and see what the campaign reveals about the military balance.

  Saudi Arabia kicks off Ukraine talks that exclude Russia | Russia-Ukraine  war News | Al Jazeera  
A May picture of Pres Zelensky meeting with Saudi Crown Prince MBS.

However, as the week went on, some interesting wrinkles showed up. These are not wrinkles large enough to make you think that a peace deal is in the making, but at least that Ukraine’s international support might be stronger (outside of the west) than people think.

First, the Ukrainian government spoke very positively about the possibilities for the upcoming talks. Zelensky Advisor M. Podolyak was maybe most outspoken on this (but there were others) saying:

“In Saudi Arabia, in fact, the foundations of a new global political architecture are being laid. This architecture will no longer have the "aggressive subjectivity of the Russian Federation", which has provoked key instabilities over the past 15-20 years, and a return to stable rules in the form of modernized "international law" is possible in its framework.”

https://twitter.com/Podolyak_M/status/1687369282517082112?s=20

What Podolyak is referring to is the fact that all the great global forces in this war will be represented in Saudi Arabia—except Russia. Most importantly China has decided to partake, and the Saudis have been able to convince powers from the global south to be there as well.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-seeks-global-support-peace-blueprint-saudi-talks-2023-08-03/

In other words, its not just a gathering of Ukraine’s friends, its actually a large and powerful international bloc. These meetings can either fizzle out, or they can go down suprizing routes. This one will try to start writing down principles for a possible peace deal for Ukraine. If China is there, and endorses principles that are acceptable to the Ukrainian state—that would be extremely worrying for Russia.

It probably wont get that far (being a pessimist) but the fact that Ukraine is being treated in this way and Russia is being excluded is worthy of note.

The Counteroffensive

The line moved only a little this week, though there were reports that the Ukrainian have reached the main Surovikin line. That being said, these advances are not the key thing. As has been the situation for the last few weeks, the Ukrainians are not committing their reserves to try for another major combined arms advance. They are continuing to use range fires on Russian artillery, logistics, C/C as they have for a while now. Actually, the Institute for the Study of War had a good update on all of this, this morning—and as I would say much of the same things, and I’m on holiday, will link to them.

https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1688001958102151168?s=20

Stay well everyone.

 

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Zelenskyy really is a master of public relations. It is never tiring seeing a former comedian dragging his nuts all over Putin’s face - once again.  
I still think that Putin being so dismissive of Zelenskyy was one of the bigger pieces of the puzzle that lead Putin to think they could waltz in and take Kyiv. 

Comedians write their material and stink it up for a while while they learn their craft. They have no one to blame but themselves for their failure. He has been tested and his confidence in his conviction knows that he will win out in the end, but also not to dwell on the jokes/failures along the way.

Putin had no idea what he was going up against. He is surrounded by yes men, and thinks he is the tough guy, because he had some critics murdered. As his plan is a failure and has crippled the russian image of projecting strength and technology, he has someone else to blame for this and thinks he just need to be a little tougher to get the results he wants, even if that means his own people are getting slaughtered.
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7 minutes ago, Podrick's Magic Cock said:

Is it correct to assume that Russia leveraged Ukrainians to hack the world and now are being hacked themselves by the same individuals?  Russia seems too dumb/drunk to do anything on its own. 

It sure seems like it.  Of course, it cleared the playing field for China to grab a bigger share.

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Grain dust explosions are a real thing, and very dangerous.  Could be that.  Or Kurdish separatists.  Or Russians.

An explosion occurred approximately at 2:40pm (11:40 GMT) near Turkish Grain Board (TMO) silos, Seddar Yavuz, the governor of Kocaeli where the port is located, said on Monday.

“Initial evaluations show that an explosion occurred due to wheat dust compression during the transfer of wheat from a ship to the silo,” he added.

“We were told that it is technically possible that a blast could occur due to compression of wheat dust, but we are investigating every possible reason,” Yavuz said.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/7/explosion-rocks-grain-silos-at-turkeys-derince-port

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56 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

the trident with Big Ben in it is cool

Speaking of tridents, Russia is angry that Ukraine replaced the Soviet-era symbols on the Motherland statue with a trident:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/07/europe/kyiv-statue-motherland-trident-symbol-intl/index.html

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Kyiv last week replaced the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol with a trident – the Ukrainian coat of arms – on the shield of the Motherland Monument, which dominates the capital’s skyline.

“We believe that this change will be the beginning of a new stage in the revival of our culture and identity, the final rejection of Soviet and Russian symbols and narratives,” the Ukrainian culture ministry said. The week-long operation to dismantle the Russian insignia was completed on August 6, according to the ministry.

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The Russian Foreign Ministry insisted on Sunday that “mother cannot be renamed.”

“In Kiev, a trident was installed on the monument ‘Motherland,’” the ministry’s spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said on Telegram, using the Russian spelling of Kyiv. The Ukrainian government’s campaign to switch the international name from the Russian Kiev to Ukrainian Kyiv was part of pre-war efforts by the Ukrainian government to get rid of old Soviet names and establish a stronger sense of national identity.

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“This is the whole essence of the Kiev regime and the cyborgs led by it. Mother cannot be renamed. She is one. And the only thing you can do with it is to love. And they don’t know how.”

Excuse Me Wow GIF by Mashable

So...

1) Cyborgs lead Ukraine

2) Mother cannot be renamed. She is one.  And the only thing you can do with it is to love.

 

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