NEW:
This is kind of big news. First look at AZOV Battalion in Russian lockdown center.
They are all facing 15 to life and in some cases the death penalty
VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtNS2yD7Q2A

Posted by: Dean Oneil | May 28 2022 16:58 utc | 4

Now that state outlets such as WaPo and the “gray lady” have dropped all pretense of media independence, we have a much broader basis from which to reverse-engineer some idea of what’s really going on. NYT also made news last week by getting suddenly gloomy about Ukraine’s prospects. Now we get to see how quickly this mighty Wurlitzer can shift into reverse! Most telling in last week’s coverage: Democrat party strategists are finally getting a clue that Ukraine will be electoral poison for them, come November, if they can’t back out by then.
That’s a very hard, cantankerous electoral deadline, looming up here in USA, where we’re already dug in so far… Honest to golly, folks: I heard someone on KCBS worried about whether the dollar can remain the international reserve currency! It’s like Monetary Policy for Dummies out there, outside this bar. It’s almost enough to make you feel sorry for incorrigibly oblivious USA.
Just almost, though. As USA’s embarrassment grows, so does global nuclear peril.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 28 2022 17:07 utc | 6

this guy? i don’t hear a strong british accent though, but he is bald! from an hour ago – this update from the new atlas..
Posted by: james | May 28 2022 17:00 utc | 5
Thank you, Sir. That is him. To a Chinese accent guy, he is British. Sorry about that!

Posted by: KitaySupporter | May 28 2022 17:08 utc | 8

Thank you, Sir. That is him. To a Chinese accent guy, he is British. Sorry about that!
Posted by: KitaySupporter | May 28 2022 17:08 utc | 8
To me as a British English speaker he sounds like an eastern European with an American accent.

Posted by: paul | May 28 2022 17:27 utc | 10

Posted by: Ian Kummer | May 28 2022 16:53 utc | 1

True, though compared to Elon Musk or Bill Gates they are beggars

Supposedly Roman Abramovich owns two megayachts – who the f*ck owns two megayachts!

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | May 28 2022 17:40 utc | 12

Posted by: KitaySupporter | May 28 2022 16:56 utc | 2
Is it this one? He fits the description except the accent, he is American. He is generally quite informed. Ex military (marine?) himself from what I understand. He is based in Thailand:
The New Atlas

Posted by: CPY | May 28 2022 17:45 utc | 14

“who the f*ck owns two megayachts!” LightYearsFromHome@12
Someone trying to breed megayachts?

Posted by: bevin | May 28 2022 17:46 utc | 16

h/t to Xymphora for link to Stalkerzone article cited @13

Posted by: PavewayIV | May 28 2022 17:49 utc | 18

Posted by: bevin | May 28 2022 17:46 utc | 16
When one mega yacht is just not enough. It needs a sibling.

Posted by: One Too Many | May 28 2022 17:52 utc | 20

Posted by: james | May 28 2022 17:30 utc | 11
Great! You are right, he has good analytical sense.
It so happened that I used to run bulk chemical business, so been to Ontario a lot, also visited NL, Vancouver, Calgary, and of course, ice wine country by the lake. I had very cordial business friends from Canada, they were a different breed from American businessmen/women.
I can still tell from a Canadian by the way they say “about”. Hehehe…… Have a good day and take care.

Posted by: KitaySupporter | May 28 2022 17:54 utc | 22

Interesting read

For war-torn Ukraine, Starlink has become an information lifeline, keeping battered hospitals connected and serving as a link to drones targeting artillery strikes against Russian forces. Ukraine’s aerial reconnaissance force has used Starlink to connect directly to drones that have knocked out numerous Russian tanks, mobile command centers, and other military vehicles. Kyiv has also given terminals to schools, fire departments, and municipal governments. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, 590 hospitals and clinics had received Starlink terminals to help them remain connected during the fighting as of late March.
Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov reported there are more than 10,000 Starlink terminals are now operating in Ukraine, according to NBC. Unlike cellphone transmission towers, the satellite dishes used by Ukrainian forces for Starlink reception are small—about 23 inches wide—and readily movable to evade detection and retaliation. A Ukrainian soldier identified as Dima—his last name was withheld—told journalist David Patrikarakos: “Starlink is what changed the war in Ukraine’s favor. Russia went out of its way to blow up all our comms. Now they can’t. Starlink works under Katyusha fire, under artillery fire. It even works in Mariupol.”

How Elon Musk’s Starlink Got Battle-Tested in Ukraine
How did Starlink manage to outwit Russian countermeasures?

When Russia resorted to electronic countermeasures, Starlink simply pushed out software updates to prevent these, according to Dave Tremper, director of electronic warfare at the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense. Temper said the speed at which Starlink countered the attack was “eye-watering.”

Starlink provided communication access to the Ukrainians trapped in Azovstal

Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦
@IAPonomarenko
·
May 21
Russia has completely failed to jam the Starlink connection used by the Azovstal garrison.
They had stable internet access until the final hours of their presence at the plant.
Russia’s super expensive radio-electric warfare tools couldn’t do anything about it.
Just a fact.

Posted by: Down South | May 28 2022 18:00 utc | 24

@ james | May 28 2022 17:08 utc | 7
Yes. now you mention it there is a parallel with Syria. The Russians are very pragmatic and they want those areas onside, otherwise what is the use of taking them? Their opponents (in both Ukraine and Syria) are doing the opposite, using them as human shields, neglecting their welfare and enforcing compliance to their ideology.

Posted by: MarkU | May 28 2022 18:06 utc | 26

Yet another excellent Strategic Culture editorial, “U.S. and NATO Allies Blockade Russia’s Economy, Then Blame Russia for World Hunger.” The outrageous audacity of the Empire of Lies is on full display for the whole world to see and reject. The end products of the West versus those of the East are on open display as are the philosophies present on both sides. Here again is the link to Xi’s proposed Global Security Initiative. As revealed in the last thread, the Outlaw US Empire’s Congress has threatened every African nation with Hybrid Warfare if they don’t conform to the Empire’s Diktat, and that was passed just prior to the confab held in Moscow celebrating Africa Day. And much more as to the direction the wind’s blowing can be gleaned from the documents produced and speeches delivered at recent trade conferences that I’ve linked to. Read Lavrov’s very long interview with RT Arabic that’s aimed at all Arabic speakers and understand that the balance there has shifted from being Outlaw US Empire aligned to Russia/China aligned–and the significance of that development. Egypt is an SCO, BRICS and EAEU Observer member; UAE is an EAEU Observer; Saudi Arabia is an SCO observer; and so forth. Algeria has signed onto a Strategic Partnership with Russia. Mali seeks Russian help to escape France’s neocolonial tentacles. Nigeria seeks Russia help with its hydrocarbon extraction. And there’s much more to cite.
What the SC editorial portrays is the hysterical desperation of the Neoliberal/Neocolonial world in its death throes. The revulsion that began with Yugoslavia then Serbia followed by Afghanistan and Iraq, then Libya and Syria has done much to overturn the West’s dominance, with the Hybrid war against Russia being the proverbial Straw breaking the Camel’s back at long last. No, it’s not nearly over as this phase has only just begun. But now that the utter desperation of the Outlaws is on display, we can gain solace that the world’s order and its direction will change for the better while doing what we can to forward that outcome.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 28 2022 18:09 utc | 28

Even the Chinese are worried about Starlink

“A combination of soft and hard kill methods should be adopted to make some Starlink satellites lose their functions and destroy the constellation’s operating system,” the researchers, led by Ren Yuanzhen, a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications, which is part of the Chinese military’s Strategic Support Force, wrote in the paper. Hard and soft kill are the two categories of space weapons, with hard kill being weapons that physically strike their targets (like missiles) and soft kill including jamming and laser weapons.
China already has multiple methods for disabling satellites. These include microwave jammers that can disrupt communications or fry electrical components; powerful, millimeter-resolution lasers that can nab high-resolution images and blind satellite sensors; cyber-weapons to hack into satellite networks; and long-range anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles to destroy them, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. But the researchers say that these measures, which are effective against individual satellites, won’t be enough to scuttle Starlink.
“The Starlink constellation constitutes a decentralised system. The confrontation is not about individual satellites, but the whole system,” the researchers wrote. The researchers also outlined how an attack on the Starlink system would require “some low-cost, high-efficiency measures.”

Chinese scientists call for plan to destroy Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites

Posted by: Down South | May 28 2022 18:13 utc | 30

I used to know an Indian guy claiming his perfect British English was fouled up by having lived in Houston, TX, for twenty years.
British English was probably not the only thing “fouled up” by living in Houston.

Posted by: Duncan Idaho | May 28 2022 18:19 utc | 32

Down South @ 24
I think the Starlink system used in the Ukraine employs a small panel antenna and not a dish. Add a small solar panel and some batteries and you have off the grid communications. The frequencies are so high that ground based EW is not going to work. In other words, at these high frequencies you have excellent bandwidth but poor terrestrial propagation at ground level.
Starlink appears to be a mesh system in space. I suspect something will be devised to counter Starlink eventually.
I think you would have to directly target all the satellites in the mesh as the come in and out of orbit over the country of interest. Programs like that are not hard to write and are available now. Beam EW directly at the satellites up-link and down-link frequencies with large dish arrays might work to take them out over the country or area of interest.
It appears to me in order to do that you would have to set up dish arrays fairly close to the action areas. A few arrays in Belarus might cover a good part of the area needed.

Posted by: circumspect | May 28 2022 18:25 utc | 34

Isn’t it possible that Russia didn’t jam Azovstal’s Starlink connection because they found it a useful source of intelligence?

Posted by: Lysias | May 28 2022 18:33 utc | 36

@ circumspect | May 28 2022 18:25 utc | 34
Saker’s latest sitrep has this to say:

Starlink? Satellite systems have ground stations. The Russians are taking trophies of these ground stations, or just kicking them around a bit, so, how long will that network last?

This Starlink business is all Greek to me. I have no sense of how important such a communication facilty might be to either side.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 28 2022 18:34 utc | 38

Transferred from yesterday’s thread:
…I just don’t see that a constitution foisted on a country during a military occupation will really do the trick.
Posted by: MarkU | May 28 2022 17:26 utc | 304
To uphold such a view you would have to assume that Ukrainian regime foisted on the country in a violent coup in 2008 and supported by foreign governments and local oligarchs actually has widespread support among the population. You also have to remember that this same population, given to what they believed was a choice, overwhelmingly voted for change Zelensky promised. That they were duped (like millions in the US when presented with Obama a candidate who promised hope and change) is just typical of Western political manipulation.
In that sense it is not improbable that the majority of the population in Ukraine would see Russian takeover as liberation.

Posted by: Pagan | May 28 2022 18:38 utc | 40

Posted by: Pagan | May 28 2022 18:38 utc | 40
Sorry, that should read … a violent coup in 2014.

Posted by: Pagan | May 28 2022 18:41 utc | 42

Posted by: Pagan | May 28 2022 18:38 utc | 40
good point (I think the coup was even more recent, in 2014). you would also have to assume that the Ukrainian Nazis were not capable of effectively taking over the country by threats and intimidation, which seems to have happened in 2019, as a well armed minority.

Posted by: pretzelattack | May 28 2022 18:44 utc | 44

I’m pretty sure that NATO (i.e.: the U.S.) recognizes that Russia has held back its top 90% (80%?–please correct me on this) troops in anticipation of being forced to fight a war against NATO.
I’m also rather confident (a substitute for “pretty sure”) that NATO and the U.S. currently recognize that Russia’s worst, most inexperienced troops are grinding their middling-equipped, standard-trained Ukrainian proxies into the ground.
1+1=2, no?
If Russia’s weakest troops can steadily overcome NATO’s best-trained and best-equipped Ukrainian troops even when fighting with inferior numbers, then what chance does the rest of Europe stand against the remaining Russian reserve troops–which are all battle-hardened, the best and most secretly and excellently equipped?
It is my firm belief that with every passing day NATO recognizes that Russia is ready-and-willing to fight WWIII, at this moment.
What we’re seeing is a remarkable and unexpected eruption of hostilities that may be (hopefully is) the first major war between NATO and the Eurasian (formerly “Communist”) bloc that does not (again: hopefully) involve nuclear weapons.
This is a war that NATO and the US/uk will lose: that’s undeniable. I think what is also undeniable is that no NATO-allied nation is willing to risk war with Russia and Russia knows this–or Russia is willing to take on the rest of Europe in a full-scale war, bar the consequences.
Clearly, Russia (as RSH, Don Bacon, etc have many times stated) considers this an existential war, a war that quite literally defends their homeland, and all things such a concept encompasses.
Russia will not back down and it’s pretty damn clear to the rest of the world–no matter which bloc one hails from–that challenging Russia will only elicit a wartime response.
No: I am confident that the Biden administration will not “overtly” escalate the US’s aggression against Russia. It may well send some borderline munitions over to see how Russia responds, but so long as those munitions are easily overcome by Russian weapons, I don’t see Russia responding with an attack on any NATO-allied country.
OIOW: the further delivery of pretty much any NATO weaponry (which in large part is sadly inferior to Russian weapons) will likely provoke no new response.

Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 28 2022 18:50 utc | 46

Again, I post this definition because, at this time we have NO liberals in our present Govt., here in the U$A.
Only Bernie Sanders even comes close to the actual definition, and he’s consistently being subverted by our corporate Fascists. The word Neoliberal was contrived to distract.
Yep, this is for “obviously confused” @ #1
https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=liberal+definition&fr=yfp-t-s&fp=1&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

Posted by: vetinLA | May 28 2022 18:51 utc | 48

@Norwegian | May 28 2022 18:44 utc | 43
Note the second video I linked to link refers to an article The US government reportedly paid to send Starlink terminals to Ukraine

Despite SpaceX implying that the US didn’t give money to send Starlink terminals to Ukraine in March, a report from The Washington Post reveals that the government actually paid millions of dollars for equipment and transportation. The report found that the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, paid $1,500 apiece for 1,333 terminals, adding up to around $2 million. USAID disclosed the number of terminals it bought from the company in a press release from early April that has since been altered to remove mentions of the purchase.

We know from e.g. Gonzalo Lira that internet works fine in Ukraine (his connection is up again after recent one day disruption), so this was probably to the benefit of the Nazis in Azovstahl…

Posted by: Norwegian | May 28 2022 18:54 utc | 50

fyi
“….the danger of a nuclear conflict ……not a bastion of human rights…..”
https://twitter.com/SNMilitary/status/1530614313798574080
Ex German intelligence chief Hans Maassen has spoken out against arms deliveries to Ukraine: “From my point of view, when we deliver weapons, not helmets, not bandages, it means that we are automatically running the risk of becoming a party to a war”.
“Germany could become a Target for Russian attacks without having any clear objectives of its own, unlike Ukraine Itself, or Russia, or the US” – Ex German Intelligence chief H. Maassen
EX German Intelligence Chief Maassen claims contrary to what the German media says: “Ukraine is not a bastion of human rights, of freedom, peace and Western values”. He called on German leadership to answer why they are exposing the country to the Danger of a Nuclear conflict.
https://twitter.com/SNMilitary/status/1530623923221676032

Posted by: michaelj72 | May 28 2022 19:02 utc | 52

“I used to know an Indian guy claiming his perfect British English was fouled up by having lived in Houston, TX, for twenty years.”
I do not have a good musical ear, so I have hard time telling differences between accents, especially “perfect” and “not so perfect”. Long time ago, I got a new colleague, an Indian who got his degree in Belfast, in the Irish part of the United Kingdom. As he had wife, baby and no car as a fresh arrival, we went together to our shopping mall (in those parts there is only one). There he attempted to buy a bouncing chair in the department store. WHAT? A sales lady never heard about such a things. Since every family with a baby in Northern Ireland apparently owns one, that seemed impossible to my friend, and he asked several times, with much effort put into proper British enunciation and accent, and saying with full dignity BOUNCING CHAIR.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | May 28 2022 19:07 utc | 54

Oops:

“but what if it isn’t something the elites are willing to accept?”

Should read:

“but what if it isn’t something the elites are unwilling to accept?”

Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 28 2022 19:09 utc | 56

My rhetorical skills have steeply declined, in recent years.

…but what if it isn’t something the elites are willing to accept?

should be:

…but what if it isn’t something the elites are UNwilling to accept?

Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 28 2022 19:19 utc | 58

Two years ago he reappeared under his own name. (I was surprised by his young age. I expected him to be about 30 years older.)
Posted by: Petri Krohn | May 28 2022 18:51 utc | 47
Thank you. That is great background information. Got to know him more.
The first time I heard his analysis, I was struck by his clear, concise, and logical analysis. Two days ago, I lost his bookmark, now I have a hard copy of where he resides. Thanks again.

Posted by: KitaySupporter | May 28 2022 19:22 utc | 60

i don’t hear a strong british accent though, but he is bald! from an hour ago – this update from the new atlas..
Russian Ops in Ukraine: West Changes Tune as Russian Gains Continue
Posted by: james | May 28 2022 17:00 utc | 5
The presenter in this video has a better pronunciation of Russian names like Kherson than most non-Slavic people, so he is probably a non-native speaker of English with a good knack for speaking foreign words correctly (at least to me, I would not stress the second syllable of Kherson, but I am not a Russian either, Russian stress is tricky, ruki means “hands” or “[of] hand”, dependent on stressing the first or the second syllable, other switch of accent turns “to paint” into “to pee”).

Posted by: Piotr Berman | May 28 2022 19:25 utc | 62

But now that the utter desperation of the Outlaws is on display, we can gain solace that the world’s order and its direction will change for the better while doing what we can to forward that outcome.
Posted by: karlof1 | May 28 2022 18:09 utc | 28
Looks like everything’s coming up roses…. Hmmm… Where is Israel in all this… Are they pivoting with Saudis too?

Posted by: Scorpion | May 28 2022 19:32 utc | 64

@ KitaySupporter | May 28 2022 17:54 utc | 22
thanks.. i can tell the different accents, but it comes from a lifetime of recognizing different accents used by those speaking english… outside of my ignorance in only speaking one language, it is what it is!! it is perhaps a curse and a blessing that on the internet, we don’t have to take this into consideration! those who speak more then 1 language probably like yourself – have my admiration.. of course music is like a different language, but generally that doesn’t count!!
@ MarkU | May 28 2022 18:06 utc | 26
i agree with your observations… it is hard to know what russia’s longer term vision is here, but i can’t help but think they are counting down the years that the unipolar vibe fades into the rear view… but of course it is a very dangerous time too which i liken to cornering a predator…. we’ll see how things unfold here.. i can see russia freezing things, moving very slowly, or appearing to be stopped.. of course the west will be doing the exact opposite and everything in their power to drag russia into a bigger conflict.. that is a given as that is what they do with any country that doesn’t fall into the ”unipolar” line of thinking..
@ Pacifica Advocate | May 28 2022 18:50 utc | 46
i mostly share your viewpoint.. thanks for saying all that..
@ Pacifica Advocate | May 28 2022 19:06 utc | 53
i can’t see that happening with the usa backs down and makes peace, or tries to alter the russia-china relationship here.. they are too far beyond that at this point. maybe i am wrong..
@ Piotr Berman | May 28 2022 19:25 utc | 62
yes – the fellow speaks very good english and is able to articulate very well russian names and etc – something i can’t say for myself!! i barely pass spelling correctly!

Posted by: james | May 28 2022 19:44 utc | 66

@c1ue | May 28 2022 19:32 utc | 63
I suspect civilian use of Starlink is a cover for the real purpose: Military application
The idea that Starlink provides “Facebook to children in Africa” or whatever seems a bit stretched.

Posted by: Norwegian | May 28 2022 19:51 utc | 68

circumspect@34 – “The frequencies are so high that ground based EW is not going to work.” Starlink terminal uplink is Ka- and V-band. Gateway uplink is Ku- and V-band. All are well within the Russian EW jamming and/or eavesdropping spectrum. If a satellite doesn’t see an uplink from a device, it’s not going to hear a request for or blindly send data down to that device. Ground jamming equipment is directed at the satellite to interfere with the uplink, not directed at the ground terminal/gateway to interfere with the downlink.
“Beam EW directly at the satellites up-link and down-link frequencies with large dish arrays might work to take them out over the country or area of interest.” Might work, but probably overkill. Consider the size and puny transmitting power of Starlink ground terminal/gateway dishes or panels. You just have to drown that uplink in noise of, say, an order of magnitude higher in power. Russian (and American) EW have both done that for years to interfere with Ka-band satellite phones. This can be done from tens of miles away by the smaller jamming rigs directed at the satellite.
You can’t jam distant downlinks to the phones/terminals/gateways without knowing their general location and without a great deal (magnitudes of) power, but there is equipment on all sides that can do that to varying degrees. But that’s why all sides have airborne EW/ECW platforms, where you can jam both uplinks and downlinks (or intercept them) without needing a great deal of additional signal power.
Starlink terminals/gateways also have an unfortunate vulnerability by using extremely high frequency bands: ground positions of those chatty emitters can be located to within meters of accuracy by airborne sensors and to some degree by ground sensors. There’s no particular need to crack any encryption or actually see the data. Send a drone in to snoop around for the emitter – you can decide if that transmitting device located in the middle of a forest is a lonely lumberjack or enemy HQ for a mechanized artillery battalion. If it’s someone you don’t like, then send coordinates to your 2S7 or 2S4 guys waiting for a target. No jamming necessary.
Starlink’s earlier claim of changing one line of code to somehow prevent hacking or jamming is nonsense to anyone who understands EW. I’m sure it fixed some kind of vulnerability, but was meaningless overall in a modern EW environment.

Posted by: PavewayIV | May 28 2022 20:04 utc | 70

Scorpion @64–
Thanks for your reply. The Zionists are Colonialists/Settlers in demographic dire straits and are inside a cauldron of their own making as Crooke describes here, which is similar yet differs from the one constructed by the Boers/Afrikaners, although their fate will be similar. Occupied Palestine’s Settler polity is very deeply divided, quite likely beyond repair as religious and political fundamentalisms are at its root. The Zionists continue to hoist the fear of invasion in order to keep their otherwise untenable political position. The Arc of Resistance was correct to adopt the long game that recognizes the demographic reality as the ultimate weapon for liberating Palestine, yet the Arc is prepared to act if rabidly radical Settlers attack al-Aqsa, which will visit catastrophic defeat onto the Zionists and end their Colonial adventure.
As for relations between Russia and Occupied Palestine, the realignment of the Arabic and Islamic worlds with Russia speaks volumes as that wouldn’t be happening if Russia was seen as Pro-Israeli. Might Russia do more? Yes, but Russia has its own Long Game for the Persian Gulf region which is moving along nicely, so I doubt if it will make any drastic changes unless forced to do so, although that appears very unlikely.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 28 2022 20:12 utc | 72

emersonreturn @69 & et al–
I’ve posted today’s SC editorial at this link.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 28 2022 20:20 utc | 74

@LightYearsFromHome | 12
Their f**king oligarchs buy megayatchs. Not OK.
Our f**king billionaires buy hundred thousands acres of farmland. That’s OK.
OK?

Posted by: young | May 28 2022 20:26 utc | 76

Today, MFA’s Zakharova was asked about the food issue and provided a very detailed answer that was mostly repeated by English language Russian media. Since the truth of the matter is told, I very much doubt any of it will be published by Western media. Again, I’ve posted the entire Q&A here, but here’s a very important excerpt:

The jump in prices for agricultural products occurred in 2020 and is by no means a consequence of a special military operation. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to serious disruptions in supply chains and a significant increase in the cost of food transportation services.
FAO experts have repeatedly noted that prices reached a record high level until February 2022, so, from 2019 to February 2022, the food price index increased by almost 50%. This happened not through the fault of Russia, but because of the pandemic money emission, high prices for energy, fertilizers and other agricultural resources.
The main catalyst for the existing negative trends was the anti-Russian sanctions of the West, which led to the severance of ties in the field of global logistics and transport infrastructure. The United States and the EU have banned ships under the Russian flag from using their coastal infrastructure. The world’s largest cargo carriers have joined the sanctions against Russia, their ships do not enter Russian ports. The EU sanctions list includes the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port, through which up to 50% of Russian grain was previously shipped for export. The EU has introduced a quota regime for the import of fertilizers. All this – together with sanctions against the transportation of goods from Russia, difficulties with payment for supplies, bans on transactions and customs problems – led in March this year to a reduction in the shipment of Russian fertilizers to the EU countries by 40%.
As a result, the prices of wheat, maize and barley, which were already at record highs, rose even more. According to the UN, by the end of March 2022, the cost of food exceeded last year’s figure by 24%, and in the EU countries the price of wheat soared by 70% over this period.
The zeroing of duties on grains, corn, oilseeds made in the EU led to the fact that the Ukrainian authorities organized a daily mass export of their agricultural products to Europe.
The United States and the EU intend to export 20 million tons of grain from Ukraine within 2.5 months, allegedly for their transfer to the countries of Africa and the Middle East in order to prevent a food crisis. However, in reality, grain is transported to warehouses in Europe. Rail, road and river routes have been organized for its delivery to destinations in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria.
The statement of US President Joe Biden on May 10 of this year on the need to find opportunities for the export of 20 million tons of grain from Ukraine coincided with the signing of the law on Ukrainian “lend-lease”. It turns out that Kiev will pay for weapons with wheat. In fact, the Americans themselves are provoking a food crisis in Ukraine, depriving it of grain reserves. [My Emphasis]

As usual, the criminals are the Collective West. And the Global South knows that all too well. What the Outlaws fail to see is that every lie they tell and every unilateral, non-UN approved move they make further drives the Global South to align with the forces/nations defending the UN Charter and multilateralism. The Tar Baby tale is repeated over and over with predictable results yet the West remains blind to its own self-defeating actions.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 28 2022 20:52 utc | 78

Posted by: Lysias | May 28 2022 18:33 utc | 36
I believe Starlink satellites uses end-to-end encryption – although it’s possible Russia has broken the encryption.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 28 2022 20:55 utc | 80

Ian Kummer:
https://twitter.com/MarkAmesExiled/status/1224511443258761218
Russia has an oligarchy like any other country. Remember the kerfluffle when people started calling Mike Bloomberg an oligarch after he bought his way into the Democratic Party primary? The responses were generally racist orientalist characterizations like “Mike is not an oligarch, oligarchs are murderous thugs found in Russia.”

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 28 2022 21:01 utc | 82

Posted by: emersonreturn | May 28 2022 19:55 utc | 69
And anyone in Canada who cannot access Strategic Culture – Get a VPN service. In fact that’s good advice for a lot of Internet activities as well. I pay $75/year for one that lets me choose exit point servers (IP addresses) in practically any country in the world.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 28 2022 21:04 utc | 84

@Norwegian #68
That might make sense except for the billions of dollars of military satellites already up.
Oh and the fact that any form of ground to orbit transmission, by definition, requires far more energy than to a ground based transmitter.
Which as Paveway notes – more energy emissions = very bad for anyone near said transmitter.

Posted by: c1ue | May 28 2022 21:07 utc | 86

re: karlof1 | May 28 2022 20:12 utc | 72
Apparently there is a Persian saying that says “The reward of patience is more patience.” For resilence, transcending the need for instant gratification is a must. The west doesn’t have a chance.
Pacifica Advocate – the prospect of a wedge between Russia and China, now and or in the near future is delusional. The only bignose/roundeyed/ghostmen the Chinese would trust speak Russian.

Posted by: tucenz | May 28 2022 21:07 utc | 88

IMO, the situation described in this article is hilarious as a Neoliberal Parasite takes aim at a morsel within the land where Neoliberalism began and is backed by the Neoliberal Mafia Don:
“Washington is reportedly threatening to limit defence cooperation with the UK if Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng attempts to block the 2.6 billion pound ($3.2 billion US) sale of Ultra Electronics Holdings, a major British defence electronics company, to Advent International, a US-based private equity firm.”
The term “private equity firm” serves as obfuscation for the proper term Corporate Raider which is synonymous with Neoliberal Parasite. And that’s no assumption by me as we read further on in the article:
“Kwarteng launched the investigation and froze the Boston-based hedge fund’s buyout of Ultra last August, following reports that a number of British defence sector companies had already been sold or were in the process of being taken over by US competitors who proceeded to hollow them out, sell off assets, and lay off employees. ‘The UK is open for business, however foreign investment must not threaten our national security’, the minister wrote in a tweet announcing the probe.”
Well, the Mafia Don begs to differ and won’t take no for an answer. The Outlaw US Empire is actually waging war on all nations, allied or not.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 28 2022 21:10 utc | 90

Posted by: Boomheist | May 28 2022 17:45 utc | 15
With all due respect, but any amount of time spent at MoA should tell you not everything is as it appears, and that is most certainly the case with Texas incident, et al. Following the money is a good rule of thumb, along with “What additional freedoms are TPTB trying to remove from the unwashed masses?” It should be a given by now that ALL Western MSM narratives are suspect. Err on the side of caution, i.e. NOT true

Posted by: ianMoone | May 28 2022 21:19 utc | 92

Latest Russian MoD briefing…

Briefing by Russian Defence Ministry
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine.
As a result of joint action by People’s Militia of Donetsk People’s Republic and the Russian Armed Forces, Krasnyi Liman has been completely liberated from Ukrainian nationalists.
High-precision air-based missiles of the Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed the forward comand post of the 30th mechanized brigade of the AFU in Bakhmut and command post of the territorial defence brigade in Soledar.
In addition, 5 command and observation posts, 17 areas of Ukrainian military manpower and military equipment concentration, and 4 ammunition depots near Nyrkovo, Bakhmut and Mironovka of the Donetsk People’s Republic have been hit.
Operational-tactical and army aviation have hit 6 command posts, 1 communications centre, 4 ammunition depots, 2 Grad MLRS batteries, as well as 50 areas of manpower and Ukrainian military equipment concentration.
The attacks have resulted in the elimination of more than 260 nationalists.
In addition, fighter aircraft have shot down 2 Su-25s of the Ukrainian Air Force over Zagradovka, Kherson Region, and Barvenkoe, Kharkov Region.
Russian air defence means have shot down 1 Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter near Orekhovo, Zaporozhye Region.
Also during the day, 18 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been shot down in the air over Zhovtnevoe, Pitomnik, Russkaya Lozovaya, Liptsy, Volokhov Yar, Glubokoe, Strelechya, Petrovskoe, Mikhailovka, Mospanovo, Malye Prokhody in Kharkov Region, Pervomaisk in Lugansk People’s Republic, and Voznesensk in Nikolaev Region. Including 1 Ukrainian Bayraktar TB-2 unmanned aerial vehicle shot down near Pokrovka, Nikolaev Region.
In addition, 1 Ukrainian Tochka-U ballistic missile have been intercepted near Svatovo, Lugansk Region, and 7 Smerch rockets have been shot down near Sukhaya Kamenka, Kharkov Region, and Golaya Pristan, Kherson Region.
Missile troops and artillery have hit 57 command posts, 618 areas of manpower and military equipment concentration, 42 Ukrainian artillery and mortar units at firing positions and 2 batteries of Grad multiple-launch rocket systems.
In total, 182 Ukrainian aircraft and 128 helicopters, 1,045 unmanned aerial vehicles, 324 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,297 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 444 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,714 field artillery and mortars, as well as 3,245 units of special military vehicles were destroyed during the operation.
#MoD #Russia #Ukraine #Briefing
@mod_russia_en

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 28 2022 21:31 utc | 94

Bereft of new ideas, DARPA goes back to the future with ancient Soviet designs. Make sure you visit the linked Caspian Sea Monster page after marveling at those sleek Iranian craft.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 28 2022 21:38 utc | 96

MarkU | May 28 2022 18:06 utc | 26
Earlier there was much comment in the threads about how Russia would firstly eliminate current nazi’s/nationalists and maintain the long term eradication of them. Those comments usually revolve around the military elimination of the nazi’s across Ukraine, occupation and installing a neutral or friendly government. That does not fit with anything Putin or Lavrov have said.
In fact when asked, Lavrov stated that – Russia does not do regime change. That is what the west does.
Around the matter of Ukraine leadership Lavrov seems to be of the opinion, and it seems to be Russia’s standing doctrine that the people of a country must choose there own leadership.
I ran onto something about Georgia’s stance on the SMO. They are staying neutral, are not sending weapons, I don’t think they have joined the sanctions and wish to maintain friendly/neutral relations with Russia. I suspect the Georgian leadership are looking at Ukraine with a bit of pity knowing it has been led to its destruction by the US.
There has been much written about why the op that appears to be moving slowly is not. That the flows of weapons coming in makes no difference ect ect. Russia has slowed the supply line but not stopped it. Diesel trains still run unmolested. Where there is a concentration of equipment Russia destroys it but a lot still gets through to the front lines.
Apparently Russia is only using about 10% of its military force for the op. By dragging the conflict out Russia has the extra expense of destroying the incoming weapons supply plus the loss of equipment casualties ect. By not sending in a larger force, not cutting supply lines Russia is incurring an extra cost financial and human.
Zelensky won the vast majority of the vote by campaigning on a peace policy. The majority of Ukrainians want peace not destruction. I think this phase of the operation is as much about bringing the Ukrainians to a point where they will eliminate their American controlled government and install a non nationalist government that is willing to negotiate with Russia and ignore the US/UK.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 28 2022 21:41 utc | 98

My friend runs the http://www.sitrepworld.info aggregator site and he can’t get Strat Culture either so I have been emailing him their articles and he has been posting them. I will ask him to clearly label them as SC articles.

Posted by: Scorpion | May 28 2022 21:44 utc | 100