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Recent Appearances... Rantburg

Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Qatar Says All Israeli Nuclear Sites Must Come Under IAEA Oversight
2025-03-10
No.
[IRNA] Qatar has called for increased international efforts to place all Israeli nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In a statement on Sunday, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the UN nuclear watchdog to bring all of Israel’s nuclear facilities under its supervision.

The statement followed a meeting of IAEA governors in Vienna attended by Jassim Yacoub Al-Hammadi, Qatar’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations Office and International Organizations in Vienna. It also called on Israel to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

During the meeting, Al-Hammadi stressed the need for the international community and its institutions to uphold their commitments under UN Security Council resolutions.

He called for increased international efforts to make Israel join the NPT, noting that all Middle Eastern countries are parties to the treaty and have established effective safeguard agreements with the IAEA.
Like Iran, you mean? How is that working out for you?
The official further condemned Israel’s aggressive policies toward Palestinians, including calls for the forced displacement of residents of Gaza, blocking humanitarian aid, and intensifying military raids in the occupied West Bank.
War by other means…
Related:
Qatar: 2025-03-09 UN Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Gaza
Qatar: 2025-03-07 Assad remnants launch deadly attacks on Damascus forces in western Syria, 16 HTS turbans toes up UPDATE: Vicious HTS response
Qatar: 2025-03-07 Clashes between Assad supporters and police in Latakia
Related:
IAEA: 2025-03-09 UN nuclear watchdog’s ability to monitor Iran’s nuclear program hindered by US aid cuts — report
IAEA: 2025-03-01 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: February 28, 2025
IAEA: 2025-02-27 Iran’s enriched uranium stock jumped since December, UN watchdog warns
Related:
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: 2025-02-18 Iran claims Israel, US can’t ‘do a damn thing’ against Tehran after threats on nuclear sites
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: 2024-11-21 NATO Will Not Hide. Russia Introduces the Principle of Collective Nuclear Responsibility
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: 2024-06-16 Iran informed the IAEA, one week after anti-Tehran resolution, it’s expanding nuclear program
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran claims Israel, US can’t ‘do a damn thing’ against Tehran after threats on nuclear sites
2025-02-18
Why the pretense? You’ve already given up your cell phones and other electronics because you don’t believe that.
[IsraelTimes] Islamic Republic vows to ‘not show any weakness’ on ‘peaceful’ program, slams ‘threatening’ remark after Netanyahu says Israel will ‘finish the job’ against Axis of Resistance

Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
on Monday vowed to defend its nuclear program and condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that Jerusalem "can and will finish the job" against Tehran’s "axis of terror," saying that Israel and the US "cannot do a damn thing."

Netanyahu made the comment at a joint presser in Jerusalem on Sunday with visiting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration...
, who said Iran was "behind every terrorist group" in the region and that a nuclear Iran could "never happen."

Responding to Netanyahu, Iran’s foreign ministry front man Esmaeil Baghaei said that "threatening others is both a gross violation of international law and the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
 charter."

"When it comes to a country like Iran, [Israel and the US] cannot do a damn thing," he added.

"You cannot threaten Iran on one hand and claim to support dialogue on the other hand," Baghaei said according to state media.

Baghaei said Iran had defended its nuclear program and would not hesitate to continue doing so.

"Iran’s peaceful nuclear program is ongoing, and has been for the last three decades, based on Iran’s rights as a member in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," he said. "Definitely we will not show any weakness in this regard."

Iran, whose leaders are sworn to Israel’s destruction, has formally rejected nuclear weapons. However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
 it has continued to advance its nuclear program, accelerating the enrichment of uranium to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90% needed to assemble a nuclear warhead. Critics say there are no civilian purposes for such highly enriched uranium

On Friday, the UN nuclear watchdog chief said time was running out to rein in Iran’s nuclear program. Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had been cornered by the banditti...
 US intelligence has reportedly assessed that Israel would strike Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming year.

Netanyahu was also said to have discussed a potential strike with US President Donald Trump
...Oh, noze! Not him!...
, and it is further said that the US has supplied Israel with heavy munitions required for the operation.

Trump said earlier this month that he prefers to cut a deal with Iran than "bombing the hell out of it" and that "if we made the deal, Israel wouldn’t bomb them."

In his first term, the US president had backed out of his predecessor Barack Obama
My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it...
’s 2015 deal, which saw Western powers give Iran sanctions relief in return for some oversight of its nuclear program. The deal is set to expire in October.

Military officials have said Israel was preparing to strike Iran after having taken out Syria’s air defenses, following the ousting by rebel forces in December of Syria’s Iran-backed president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now...
Iran’s own air defenses were already degraded following an Israeli strike, which came in response to Iran’s October 1 ballistic missile barrage — its second direct attack on Israel, following a missile and dronezap on Israel the night of April 13-14.

Iran’s October attack came days after Israel killed His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
, the long-time leader of Tehran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, during Israel’s 14-month war against the terror group, which ended with a November 27 ceasefire.

Nasrallah’s successor Naim Qassem
... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
 announced earlier this month that the terror chief’s funeral would take place outside Beirut on February 23, after Israel’s scheduled withdrawal from south Leb
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
 under the ceasefire agreement.

Speaking to news hounds on Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry front man said Tehran would send a "high-level" delegation to the funeral.

Israel has accused Iran of smuggling supplies to its weakened proxy, including cash via civilian flights. Last week, Lebanon blocked an Iranian plane from landing following an Israeli warning, triggering violent mostly peaceful pro-Hezbollah riots.

Hezbollah is part of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance®, which includes Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
’s Hamas
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
 and Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
 rebels. The proxy terror network has attacked Israel and wreaked havoc on Red Sea shipping amid the war in Gaza, sparked when thousands of Hamas-led faceless myrmidons stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
NATO Will Not Hide. Russia Introduces the Principle of Collective Nuclear Responsibility
2024-11-21
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Gevorg Mirzayan

[REGNUM] On November 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving a new version of the country's nuclear doctrine. The document expands the list of situations that Moscow considers a condition for launching a retaliatory nuclear strike.

In particular, the previous version of the doctrine spoke only about the launch of ballistic missiles against Russia, but now it is about the launch of aircraft, hypersonic, tactical and strategic cruise missiles, as well as drones.

In addition, the new doctrine allows for a nuclear strike against a non-nuclear country if that country commits aggression against Russia and/or Belarus “with the participation or support of a nuclear state.”

The West, of course, is unhappy.

"Nuclear deterrence is something that we now completely reject. We condemn any reference to nuclear weapons," says the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell , indignantly, forgetting that nuclear deterrence was, is and will be the most important way to prevent World War III.

And Vladimir Putin, unlike Borrell, outgoing US President Joe Biden and other Western politicians, is trying to preserve this system of containment. Moreover, he is trying to preserve it in an absolutely transparent way - the president is consistent in his actions and decisions to protect Russia.

The new nuclear doctrine is not just an effective, but the only correct response to the West's recklessness in escalating the conflict and creating real threats to Russia. Threats by pumping Ukraine with non-nuclear weapons (missiles, drones, etc.), which may attempt to deliver a "disarming strike." That is, the Kiev regime gains the ability to launch a massive attack/raid with the aim of destroying Russian command posts and silos where nuclear missiles are based. That is why the doctrine provides for the possibility of destroying a non-nuclear country with a nuclear strike.

Moreover, this is a signal not so much to Kyiv as to the West.

"The current threat should demonstrate to the world that Russia remains a major power. And that Washington and its allies should limit their support for Ukraine," Bloomberg acknowledges .

The authors of the American CNN agree with him.

"The revised doctrine is clearly intended to send a strong signal to Ukraine's Western backers about the risks of escalation and to make politicians and the public think twice about the potential consequences of supplying more modern and long-range weapons to Ukraine," the publication writes .

Naturally, there are those in the West who literally shout that the principle that speaks of the possibility of a nuclear strike against a non-nuclear country violates the foundations of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (where countries that voluntarily renounce the creation of military atoms were promised security).

But let's be honest: Vladimir Putin has given the West many times the opportunity to come to its senses and take a step or two back. But instead, the US and its allies have jumped forward. In fact, the signing of the updated doctrine itself took place after the Biden administration allowed the Kyiv regime to fire long-range missiles deep into Russia, that is, it created the opportunity for a disarming strike.

At this point Moscow had no other choice.

However, even now a number of Western journalists are calling for the state of affairs announced by Putin to be ignored.

“Putin has been careful throughout the war not to launch any overt attacks on NATO countries, whose entry into the war he wants to avoid,” writes The New York Times.

And some politicians continue to put on a brave face. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that “Russia’s irresponsible rhetoric” would not affect the level of British support for Ukraine, and that London would provide the Kiev regime with whatever it needs for as long as it needs it.

However, no one doubted the British - the main instigators of the war. As well as their "combat" allies from the Baltic countries. Putin's words were addressed not to them, but to the sane part of the Western European elite, as well as to the new US administration, which shows that it does not seek conflicts with Moscow.

And now French President Emmanuel Macron is making very ambiguous statements: he is calling on Putin to remember the UN Charter and take part in a “collective de-escalation” of the situation in Ukraine.

But for this to happen, firstly, Macron needs to stop escalating himself, that is, supplying the Kyiv regime with weapons and training/equipping Ukrainian troops. Secondly, he should carefully read the new nuclear doctrine, then the owner of the Elysee Palace would understand that it concerns not only the situation in Ukraine: the document clearly outlines a list of events that Moscow perceives as a military threat.

The list includes the build-up of military groups on our borders (for example, in Finland or the Baltics), the creation of military infrastructure in space, the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of non-nuclear states (for example, in Poland), actions to isolate part of the Russian Federation (for example, the blockade of the Kaliningrad region, which some Baltic countries hinted at), military exercises near the Russian borders, attempts to create environmental and social disasters (in particular, the attacks on the Kursk and Zaporozhye nuclear power plants, which the Kiev regime tried to undertake), as well as the uncontrolled proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The list of these conditions once again proves that, contrary to Western propaganda, Russia's nuclear deterrence policy remains exclusively defensive. Moscow allows the use of nuclear weapons only and exclusively to protect its territory, sovereignty and legitimate interests. Which, according to NATO Military Committee Chairman Rob Bauer , would be trampled if Russia did not have a nuclear sword.

But it is and will be. And the risks of a nuclear war will increase until collective de-escalation begins. But not in Macron's understanding, when Moscow must surrender its interests, but real de-escalation - from the West. Not in the form of shifting responsibility for the escalation to the outgoing Biden administration, European hawks or the Kiev regime.

Russia is making it clear that playing “good cop, bad cop” will not work. That aggression by any NATO member, be it close Poland or distant Britain, will be seen as an attack by NATO on Russia, with all the consequences that entails.

And finally, this collective responsibility includes not only the member countries of the Alliance, but also the states that are NATO proxies, that is, for example, Ukraine. The irresponsible behavior of any of them will cause a response for all. Moreover, as stated in the doctrine, the response is “inevitable.”

Of course, we would like to do without demonstrations of military power and threats. But over the past decades, the West has shown that it understands only and exclusively the language of force. This means that Russia will speak it until the West learns to understand another.

Link


International-UN-NGOs
Iran informed the IAEA, one week after anti-Tehran resolution, it’s expanding nuclear program
2024-06-16
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

The Times of Israel adds:
US slams Tehran for ‘expanding nuclear program in ways that have no credible peaceful purpose,’ threatens to respond ‘accordingly’; Khamenei adviser: Iran ‘won’t bow to pressure’

Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
has started up new cascades of advanced centrifuges and plans to install others in the coming weeks after facing criticism over its nuclear program, the United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
’ atomic watchdog said Friday. The US called the moves "nuclear escalations."

Spinning up new centrifuges further advances Iran’s nuclear program, which already enriches uranium at near-weapons-grade levels and boasts a stockpile enough for several nuclear bombs if it chose to pursue them. However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
 the acknowledgement from the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency did not include any suggestion Iran planned to go to higher enrichment levels amid wider tensions between Tehran and the West as the Israel-Hamas
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
 war rages in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
 Strip.

The IAEA said its inspectors verified Monday that Iran had begun feeding uranium into three cascades of advanced IR-4 and IR-6 centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment facility. Cascades are a group of centrifuges that spin uranium gas together to more quickly enrich the uranium.

So far, Iran has been enriching uranium in those cascades up to 2% purity. Iran already enriches uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Iran also plans to install 18 cascades of IR-2m centrifuges at Natanz and eight cascades of IR-6 centrifuges at its Fordo nuclear site. Each of these classes of centrifuges enrich uranium faster than Iran’s baseline IR-1 centrifuges, which remain the workhorse of the country’s atomic program.

Tehran did not immediately acknowledge the decision. However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
 it comes after Iran threatened to take action following a vote earlier this month at the IAEA’s Board of Governors that censured Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency.

The decision immediately drew criticism from State Department front man Matthew Miller.

"Iran aims to continue expanding its nuclear program in ways that have no credible peaceful purpose," Miller said in a statement. "These planned actions further undermine Iran’s claims to the contrary. If Iran implements these plans, we will respond accordingly."

Miller did not elaborate on what steps the US and its allies might take. However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
 Iran already faces grinding economic sanctions from Washington and others that have deeply cut into its economy and sent its rial currency tumbling over recent years.

Ali Shamkhani, a former top security official within Iran’s theocracy who still advises Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
, wrote on the social platform X that Tehran remains committed to nuclear safeguards though it "won’t bow to pressure."

"The US and some Western countries would dismantle Iran’s nuclear industry if they could," Shamkhani wrote.

Since the collapse of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers following the US’s unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018, it has pursued nuclear enrichment just below weapons-grade levels. Western powers say there is no credible civilian reason for that. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful but officials have recently said it could change its "nuclear doctrine" if it is attacked or its existence threatened by arch-foe Israel. That has prompted alarm at the IAEA and in Western capitals.

Iran, as a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, has pledged to allow the IAEA to visit its atomic sites to ensure its program is peaceful. Tehran also agreed to additional oversight from the IAEA as part of the 2015 nuclear deal. However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
 for years it has curtailed inspectors’ access to sites while also not fully answering questions about other sites where nuclear material has been found in the past.

The IAEA’s director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, visited Iran in May in an effort to boost inspections, but there hasn’t been any major public change in Iran’s stance.

All this comes as the Islamic Theocratic Republic also appears to be trying to contain the risk it faces from the US after launching an unprecedented attack on Israel. The assault — a response to a suspected Israeli strike on April 1 which killed two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps generals and others in Damascus, Syria — further pushed a yearslong shadow war between Israel and Iran out into the open.
Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: March 28th, 2023
2023-03-29
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 22:57 Russian propagandists launched a new fake online: they released a video in which allegedly "Ukrainian military" stopped a civilian car and began to offend a woman with a child. The fake was picked up even by the Russian Foreign Ministry, despite the fact that even the Kremlin military correspondents have already managed to debunk it. More details - in the material The shooting of the car .

22:34 As of March 28, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have destroyed more than 1,500 drones of the Orlan-10 operational-tactical level at the front, not counting quadrocopters and tactical-level UAVs, Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force Command, said. He also noted that the grouping of enemy aircraft, which attacks Ukraine from several dozen airfields, has increased quantitatively, but has become much worse in quality.

22:20 The Institute for the Study of War in a new report analyzes the actions of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and predicts the course of hostilities in Ukraine. More details - in the material There are no hopes for the world .

21:59 Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin believes that Ukraine, thanks to the significant depletion of Russian forces and the supply of Western weapons, has a "very good chance" of a successful counteroffensive in the spring of 2023. In his opinion, Ukraine has a "significant advantage" in comparison with Russian forces, although the front line has changed from one side to the other in recent times.

"The Ukrainians inflicted significant losses on the Russians, and they depleted their stocks of armored vehicles in a way that no one could ever imagine. And now we see how Russia will re-mothball the T-54 and T-55 tanks due to the level of losses that the Ukrainians inflicted," - said the US Secretary of Defense. He added that Russia's resources are running out, it is increasingly lacking artillery ammunition and is forced to turn to Iran and North Korea for help.

“Therefore, I think that we will see an increase in hostilities in the spring, as the conditions for maneuvering improve, and also based on what we have already done and continue to do. I think that Ukraine will have a very good chance of success,” Austin emphasized. .

21:41 At least 2,000 Russian officers died in the war in Ukraine, the KIU OSINT project calculated on March 28 according to open data.

20:44 British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that China's recent actions regarding the war in Ukraine undermined its status as a neutral side, and called on Beijing to take constructive steps.

20:26 The United States stops the exchange of data on strategic nuclear forces with Russia after Moscow announced the suspension of participation in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, writes WSJ.

20:13 Peskov in December 2022, during a meeting with one of the Russian officials, where representatives of the cultural and political elite were present, said that the war against Ukraine would continue for a very long time, writes The Guardian. According to the publication, the guests raised a toast to the establishment of peace, after which Peskov said: "Everything will be much more complicated. It will take a very long time." This spoiled the mood of the guests, who spoke in private conversations against the war with Ukraine, the sources of the publication shared.

19:24 The National Resistance Center under the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has compiled a map of the camps where the Russians are taking deported Ukrainian children. The map was created on the basis of data from open sources and will be supplemented. As can be seen from the geography of the camps, the process of taking children to the Russian Federation is systematic and prepared in advance.

18:56 The first three strike companies of the UAV are already ready for battle - they have been fully equipped, pickup trucks, shock copters and Starlinks have been handed over, Mikhail Fedorov, head of the Ministry of Digital Development, said. He stressed that all the drones are Ukrainian-made, and the equipment for the shock companies of the Drone Army was purchased by private donors.

18:32 Due to the incident in the Black Sea with the downing of an American drone in early March, the United States decided to send reconnaissance drones further from Crimea, which limited their ability to collect information, CNN reports, citing a US senior official. The decision to bypass the area of ​​potential collision with Russian aircraft, according to a CNN source, is part of the Biden administration's efforts to "avoid excessive provocation" between Washington and Moscow. At the same time, the official did not rule out that reconnaissance flights of drones will resume in the usual mode in the future.

18:10 According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the settlements of Belogorovka, Bakhmut, Avdeevka, Maryinka and their environs remain at the epicenter of hostilities. During the day, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled 24 enemy attacks in the indicated directions.

17:44 In the next six months, the Ukrainian energy system will have enough electricity to cover the needs of consumers, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, chairman of the board of NPC Ukrenergo, predicts. At the same time, he added that "it is necessary to prepare well for the next winter: to resume, first of all, the operation of those power units at thermal and hydroelectric power plants that were damaged, and to mobilize all the resources of the energy system to the maximum in order to pass the winter with dignity, without blackouts."

17:40 The Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee recommended that international federations allow Russians who do not support the war against Ukraine to start as neutral athletes, said IOC head Thomas Bach. At the same time, teams from Russia and Belarus cannot be considered as participants in international competitions.

The IOC also recommended not to allow Russian athletes associated with the armed forces and security agencies to participate in the competition. In particular, among the Russian athletes, many are listed in the CSKA sports society, some represent the National Guard.

Bach said that the decision on the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympic Games will be made by sports federations. The IOC Executive Committee recommended that international federations create separate commissions on the issue of admitting Russian athletes to competitions.

17:34 Propaganda Russian media write with reference to emergency services that near the railway tracks near the village of Svitino in New Moscow, they found "wreckage, presumably of a drone." According to them, there is no damage at the site of the discovery of the wreckage. Meanwhile, the telegram channel Baza reports that the drone had the inscription "Glory to Ukraine" and publishes a photo.

17:07 Zelensky held a coordination meeting in Sumy with the leaders of the armed formations and law enforcement agencies on the arrangement and protection of the state border and the security situation in the Sumy region.

17:00 In Poland, three more suspected of collaborating with Russian special services have been detained. The Polish Cabinet reported that they were charged with espionage activities, all of them are in custody.

16:55 Under Melitopol, according to preliminary data, a substation was blown up near the village of Fedorovka of the Terpinovsky village council, Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov said.

16:52 In Mariupol, a total cleansing and search activities after yesterday's explosion of the car of "the head of the city police department" Mikhail Moskvin. According to the adviser to the mayor of the city, Petr Andryushchenko, there are patrols of military occupiers and "policemen" on the streets. Mostly men are stopped regardless of age and women under the age of 40. They check documents, gadgets, personal belongings.

Moskvin himself was hospitalized with a shell shock after the explosion of his car, but today he was taken by helicopter from Mariupol to Taganrog. His condition is unknown, "but definitely far from stable-good," Andryushchenko added.

16:41 Blinken called proposals for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine a "cynical trap" to freeze the conflict.

16:26 Zelensky said that in the Sumy region he got acquainted with the service of border guards to cover the borders of the state. The President checked the fulfillment of tasks by the units of the State Border Service on the border with Russia.

15:42 The Ukrainian military showed that inside the downed Iranian drones.

15:03 In Bakhmut, Russia is reinforcing the PMC Wagner mercenaries with units of its regular army, primarily paratroopers, said Sergey Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “The main striking force remains PMC Wagner. However, due to huge daily losses and due to the fact that they can no longer replenish their ranks as quickly as before, including at the expense of former prisoners, we see that they are being reinforced by regular army units, primarily airborne troops. Cherevaty added that the Wagnerites have problems with ammunition and manpower.

14:54 The “Supreme Court of the DPR” sentenced a serviceman of the Azov Battalion, Dmitry Smitiy, to 20 years in a strict regime colony for allegedly shooting a resident of Mariupol.

14:25 The European Union at the summit in December will consider the issue of starting negotiations on the accession to the EU of Ukraine and Moldova, said the head of the European Council Charles Michel.

14:23 Zelensky is on a working trip to the Sumy region today. In particular, he presented Akhtyrka with "an honorary distinction of a hero city, a city-defender, a city-winner."

13:46 In Bakhmut, the number of military clashes has decreased over the past three days - it is possible that the Russians are regrouping, said Sergey Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, "the coming days - a week will show what is the cause in reality."

13:17 The Russians fired two missiles, previously S-300, at the city of Bogodukhov, Kharkiv region, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said. Previously, no casualties.

13:14 France will double the supply of 155-mm artillery ammunition for Ukraine - up to 2000 per month, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said. He also said that the SAMP-T air defense system will arrive in Ukraine "in the near future." In addition, the French government is considering the possibility of increasing funding for the EU fund to help Ukraine. According to the minister, the 200 million euro allocated by Paris has already been fully used.

13:01 Ukraine received three Leopard 2A6 tanks from Portugal, the country's Ministry of Defense reported.

12:45 The order to bombard the Drama Theater in Mariupol, as well as the maternity hospital and the children's hospital was given by the commander of the military unit, Serhiy Atroshchenko, investigators of the InformNapalm international community found out. He was born in Ovruch, Zhytomyr region.

12:14 The US State Department supports the creation of a special tribunal to investigate the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine, said Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Skaak. At the same time, she added that there was not yet a final consensus on the model for such a tribunal. Thus, two models are being considered: a Ukrainian tribunal, which will have international support, and a court that the UN General Assembly can create. The Ukrainian authorities want to create a separate international institution, but there are fears that it will not be possible to collect the necessary votes in the General Assembly for its creation, the ambassador said.

According to her, the United States came to the conclusion that the most effective way to ensure accountability for crimes of aggression involves the creation of an internationalized court within the Ukrainian judicial system, that is, a hybrid option. Such a court could generate greater international support, and would not require a General Assembly resolution to establish a new independent international institution, which would take time and resources.

11:32 Zelensky may visit Poland soon, but even when an agreement is reached, the visit will not be reported until the last moment for security reasons, said Deputy Polish Foreign Minister Pavel Yablonsky. He added that the leaders of Poland and Ukraine are actively maintaining contact.

10:47 The Russians fired mortars at a hospital in the Dnipro district of Kherson at night, the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin, said. The main building and the heating system were damaged, there were no casualties.

10:21 The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said that the deployment of nuclear warheads on the territory of the country without transferring control over them to Minsk would not contradict the provisions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

10:15 Motor Sich President Vyacheslav Boguslaev blocked the delivery of a combat helicopter for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense in April 2022 in favor of Russia, the SBU reported. According to the investigation, he received an order from representatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense for the transfer of a MI-2 helicopter to the department for a fee to carry out combat missions at the front. However, Boguslaev instructed his subordinates to disassemble the aircraft into parts and hide the operational documentation for it.

09:46 Reznikov showed a video with British Challenger 2 tanks that arrived in Ukraine.

09:23 British intelligence reports that in recent days Russia continues to prioritize the operation to encircle Avdiivka, but has made little progress at the cost of heavy losses in armored vehicles. Analysts estimate that the 10th Tank Regiment probably lost most of its tanks trying to encircle Avdiivka from the south. The regiment is part of the 3rd Army Corps, the first major new formation that Russia sent to Ukraine in August 2022.

Despite training in Belarus, the 3rd Army Corps still demonstrates limited combat capability, intelligence notes. The losses of the 10th Panzer Regiment were probably mainly due to tactically erroneous frontal attacks. There were similar losses in other unsuccessful attacks by Russian armored vehicles, for example, in the Ugledar region.

09:12 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests that the Russian military leadership involved a certain number of highly trained Wagner PMC units in the attack on Avdiivka in order to consolidate recent limited tactical successes in the area.

Also, ISW drew attention to rumors about the resignation of the commander of the Eastern Military District of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Rustam Muradov, as well as the possible dismissal of the commander of the Western Military District, Colonel General Yevgeny Nikiforov, whose troops are operating along the line Kupyansk - Svatovo - Kremennaya. Analysts cannot confirm these rumors, but note that potential dismissals of commanders are related to areas of operations in which Russian troops have failed to make significant progress or have suffered significant losses. At the same time, the Russian authorities and bloggers focused on finding and punishing individual commanders, and not on investigating and solving systemic problems in the army.

08:59 In the Kherson region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, five people were injured, the OVA reported.

08:46 The Russians launched an airstrike with a guided aerial bomb on Belopolye, Sumy region, one person was injured, the President's Office reported.

08:35 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 28.

  • personnel - about 171,730 (+570) people liquidated,

  • tanks - 3602 (+7),

  • armored combat vehicles - 6966 (+13),

  • artillery systems - 2653 (+15),

  • MLRS - 525 (+2),

  • air defense systems - 277 (+0),

  • aircraft - 305 (+0),

  • helicopters - 291 (+0),

  • UAV operational-tactical level - 2235 (+19),

  • cruise missiles - 911 (+0),

  • ships/boats - 18 (+0),

  • automotive equipment and tankers - 5502 (+9),

  • special equipment - 287 (+2).

08:11 According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at night the Russians used 15 attack UAVs of the Shahed type, 14 of which were destroyed.

The army of the Russian Federation is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. The fiercest battles go for Bakhmut, Avdeevka and Maryinka. Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces repulsed 62 enemy attacks in the indicated directions.

The Russians have recently introduced more and more restrictions on the free movement of Ukrainian citizens between settlements in the occupied territories. In particular, in the Gorlovsky district of the Donetsk region, as well as in the Kakhovsky district of the Kherson region, it is impossible to get into individual settlements without local registration.

07:38 In the Dnipropetrovsk region, two enemy drones were shot down by air defense forces at night, another one hit a private enterprise in the Dnieper. There was a strong fire on the area of ​​4000 sq. m, said the head of the OVA Sergey Lysak. The fire has already been extinguished and no one was hurt.

07:05 At night, 12 Shahed-type enemy kamikaze drones were detected and destroyed by air defense forces in the airspace of Kiev, Sergey Popko, head of the KGVA, said.

02:17 Germany and the Netherlands will continue to provide humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine, supply weapons and train the military, as well as take care of compliance with anti-Russian sanctions, a joint statement says following the results of government consultations between the two countries.

02:14 The Russians attacked Ukraine with Shahed-136/131 strike drones and guided aerial bombs. According to the command of the Air Force, 12 Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs and one reconnaissance drone Granat-4 were destroyed. In total, the enemy used 13 kamikaze drones, one reconnaissance UAV Granat-4 and two guided bombs.

The attack of "shaheeds" was carried out from the northern and south-eastern directions. Su-35 fighters took off from the Morozovsk airfield in the Rostov region and attacked the Kherson region with two guided aerial bombs.

01:02 In the Svyatoshinsky district of Kiev, as a result of the fall of the wreckage of a downed kamikaze drone, a fire broke out in the store, people were not injured, the city authorities said.

00:10 Since March 27, the military command has transferred Avdiivka, Donetsk region, to the red zone. The city is closed to entry. This also applies to accredited journalists and volunteers. Read more about the situation in the city in the material Avdiivka in the red zone .

Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: March 26th, 2023
2023-03-27
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 21:14 Public utilities are being evacuated from Avdiivka, Donetsk region, due to constant Russian shelling. In addition, mobile communications will be turned off in the city, said the head of the city military administration, Vitaly Barabash. He explained this by the fact that there are informants of Russian occupiers in the city. "A couple more days, and there will be no opportunity to charge the phone. A couple more days, and there will be no one to serve the generators and the mobile tower," Barabash said.

18:47 An explosion occurred in the Kireevsky district of the Tula region of the Russian Federation, three people were injured. The emergency services said that the alleged Ukrainian drone Tu-141 Strizh with ammunition became the cause of the explosion.

17:26 Borrell said that the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus would mean "an irresponsible escalation and a threat to European security." The diplomat stressed that Minsk can still stop this - it's his choice. "The EU is ready to respond with further sanctions," Borrell added.

16:43 Ukraine demands to immediately convene an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council regarding Russia's plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called this intention of the Russian Federation "another provocative step" that undermines the foundations of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the architecture of nuclear disarmament and the system of international security as a whole.

Ukraine appeals to the Belarusian society to prevent the implementation of Putin's criminal intentions, which will further turn this country into a hostage of the Kremlin and will have catastrophic consequences for its future. Kiev also asks the G7 states and the EU to warn the Belarusian authorities about the far-reaching consequences for Belarus if it agrees to accept tactical nuclear weapons from Russia on its territory.

15:55 The defense forces were able to stabilize the situation in the Bakhmut area, but the fighting there is still ongoing, said Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, the number of enemy assaults has decreased, but it is possible that "it is the enemy's maneuver on reserves." Cherevaty added that the Russian army has activated artillery in the Limansko-Kupyansky direction, so the shelling does not stop there.

14:39 The German Foreign Ministry called Putin's statement about plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus "another attempt at nuclear intimidation." The department emphasized that the deployment of nuclear weapons in NATO countries, cited by the Russian president as an example, "is misleading and cannot justify the step" announced by Moscow. In addition, the German Foreign Ministry reminds that Belarus has repeatedly pledged at the international level not to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory.

14:12 The Russians launched a missile airstrike on two high-rise buildings in Avdiivka, Donetsk region. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties.

13:50 Head of the Donetsk OVA Pavel Kirilenko showed how Vuhledar looks like now:

13:18 Danilov said that the Russian Federation took Belarus as a nuclear hostage: "Putin's statement on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is a step towards internal destabilization of the country - it maximizes the level of negative perception and public rejection of Russia and Putin by the Belarusian society. The Kremlin took Belarus into nuclear hostages.

12:41 Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Budapest's call to stop the fire in Ukraine and start peace negotiations does not mean that Russia should receive all Ukrainian territories that it now controls: "Stop the war and sit down at the negotiating table does not mean that you accept status quo... When the war stops and peace talks begin, it is not necessary that the borders will be where the front line is. We know this from our history... The ceasefire must come now."

11:57 The government of North Macedonia will consider the decision to transfer Mi-24 helicopters to Ukraine on March 29 - after the country's General Staff approved such a proposal, Defense Minister Slavyanka Petrovskaya said. She noted that this decision will not affect the combat capability of the army of North Macedonia. We are talking about equipment, which, according to the plans of the country, is about to expire. These will be 12 Mi-24 helicopters that North Macedonia bought from Ukraine in 2001. Some of them have not been used for some time.

According to Defense24, six helicopters have been upgraded - they have been adapted for interaction with NATO forces and have received new aircraft that allow the use of night vision goggles and the Aviators night vision system. Also added is a modern navigation system, infrared lighting, and "other minor upgrades."

11:35 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that Putin launched another information campaign against the backdrop of failures at the front. So, he is trying to promote the false story that the West cannot support the supply of weapons to Ukraine due to limited production. In addition, he renewed nuclear threats, announcing that Russia would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by July 1.

According to ISW analysts, the Russian president wants to create the impression that further Ukrainian resistance and Western support for Ukraine is useless. He argues that the increase in defense production planned by the West is significantly inferior to the capabilities of the Russian defense industry. According to Putin, by the end of 2023, the Russian Federation will build more than 1,600 new tanks, but Russia's only plant for the production of tanks (Uralvagonzavod) produces 20 units per month, experts say.

The Kremlin will likely continue to remove old tanks from storage and may try to upgrade some of them. But even Putin's announced unrealistic production targets are actually close to the minimum level needed to make up for Russia's losses on the battlefield, analysts said.

They also believe that the announcement of the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus does not increase the risk of nuclear war.

11:28 Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom arrived in Ukraine. He visited the children's center Spіlno, which is supported by UNICEF.

10:47 Putin said that Russia does not create a military alliance with China and "does not threaten any countries." But the West, in his words, is beginning to build a new axis "similar to the one that was built by fascist Germany and militaristic Japan."

09:39 British intelligence reports that since the beginning of March, Russia has launched at least 71 Shahed drones on the territory of Ukraine - these attacks followed a two-week pause in late February. Analysts believe that the Russian Federation began to regularly replenish the stocks of shock UAVs.

Drones are launched from two directions - from the Krasnodar Territory and the Bryansk Region. This allows Russia the flexibility to target a wide sector of Ukraine and shortens the flight time to targets in northern Ukraine. Probably, this is also another attempt to stretch the air defense of Ukraine, according to intelligence.

09:35 In the Donetsk region on March 25, as a result of Russian shelling, two people were killed - in the North and the city of Chasov Yar. Another person in the region was injured, Pavel Kirilenko, head of the OVA, said.

09:19 Russians over the past day 49 times attacked the settlements of the Kherson region, including three times fired at the residential areas of Kherson. Nine residents of the Kherson region were injured, the OVA reported.

09:01 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 26.

  • personnel - about 170,550 (+660) people liquidated,

  • tanks - 3595 (+15),

  • armored combat vehicles - 6947 (+15),

  • artillery systems - 2631 (+8),

  • MLRS - 522 (+2),

  • air defense systems - 277 (+1),

  • aircraft - 305 (+0),

  • helicopters - 291 (+0),

  • UAV operational-tactical level - 2216 (+2),

  • cruise missiles - 911 (+0),

  • ships/boats - 18 (+0),

  • automotive equipment and tankers - 5486 (+3),

  • special equipment - 282 (+3).

08:43 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. On them, the Defense Forces repelled more than 85 enemy attacks, the General Staff said in the morning summary .

In Berdyansk, Zaporozhye region, the Russian occupation "administration" ordered local residents to receive passes from the city commandant's office before April 1 to move around the occupied territories of the region. Passes will be issued upon successful filtering, separately for people and vehicles.

04:20 The International Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) condemned Putin's intention to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus. "As long as President Putin has nuclear weapons, Europe cannot be safe," ICAN said.

In turn, the Pentagon said that so far they see no reason to change the readiness of the US nuclear forces, since they see no signs of the readiness of the Russian Federation to use nuclear weapons: "We have seen reports of Russia's statement and will continue to monitor the situation. We have not seen any reason to changes in the readiness of our nuclear forces, nor signs that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons."

Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Ukrainian war report for the night. Monday, October 24
2022-10-25
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[LB] Repulsed enemy attacks in Kharkiv region and Donetsk region, Ukraine's reaction to Russian lies about the "dirty bomb", anti-Putin rally in Georgia.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports that over the past day, the Defense Forces have repelled attacks by invaders in the areas of Zemlianka and Chugunivka settlements of Kharkiv region, as well as Soledar, Bakhmut, Andriivka, Klishchiivka, Novomykhailivka, Maryinka, Nevelske, Pervomaiske and Avdiivka of Donetsk region.

The occupiers launched two rocket and 28 air strikes, fired 65 rockets from multiple rocket launchers. Objects of civil infrastructure in the settlements of Bakhmut, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Novotavrycheske of the Zaporizhia region were hit by enemy attacks.

The General Staff also informs that over the past day, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have destroyed another 470 Russian occupiers . In total , the Russian Federation has already lost 67,940 military personnel in Ukraine .

Other enemy losses are in the news.

In the Donetsk region, as a result of enemy shelling, six civilians died , five more were wounded.

"Russia is killing civilians! On October 23, it became known about six civilians of Donetsk region killed by Russians: three in Kurdyumivka, two in Velyka Novosilka and one in Bakhmut. Another five people were injured yesterday," said the head of OVA Pavlo Kyrilenko.

It will be recalled that in the morning of October 23, the Russian occupiers shelled the hospital in Bakhmut, Donetsk region .

Because of Russia's false statements about Ukraine's alleged preparations for the use of the so-called "dirty bomb", Ukraine invites monitoring missions of the UN and the IAEA and demands compliance with the fourth paragraph of the Budapest Memorandum.

"Every day, the Ukrainian army frees our land from Russian filth. The thought of a "dirty bomb" is disgusting to us. We invite the monitoring missions of the UN and the IAEA to visit Ukraine. The world must respond to Russia's nuclear blackmail. We demand compliance with Clause 4 of the Budapest Memorandum," he wrote in Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Twitter.

Clause 4 of the Budapest Memorandum refers to the confirmation of the signatories' obligation to seek immediate action from the UN Security Council to provide assistance to Ukraine as a non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, in the event that Ukraine becomes a victim of an act of aggression or the object of a threat of aggression with the use of nuclear weapons.

Dmytro Kuleba responded to provocative statements about the "dirty bomb" . He said that Russia's statement about Ukraine's "plans" to use a "dirty bomb" is an absurd lie, and Russians often accuse others of planning their own.

Later, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that if someone can use nuclear weapons in our part of Europe , then it is only one subject. In addition, the president called on the world to respond to this as harshly as possible.

The Kakhov dam was partially mined by the Russian military. Its detonation will cause an ecological disaster, but it will also have consequences for the occupiers.

The head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, said this in an interview with UP. He emphasized that the work necessary for the complete demolition of the dam has not been carried out.

Full blasting will cause flooding of the left bank of the Kherson region. As a result, the Russians will lose even the theoretical possibility of supplying water to the Crimea through the North Crimean Canal. In addition, detonation will completely destroy the possibility of the ZNPP's existence.

"Well, of course, they will make it difficult for us to advance for a certain period of time. And this, by the way, is not a very long period of time, it will be somewhere around two weeks. But they will be forced to retreat directly to the Crimea. In other words, if we make a continuous destruction, then this is the scenario. Are they ready for it? I think not," Budanov said.

When asked whether the defense forces will be able to retake Kherson by the end of the year, Budanov replied: "I think so."

The most complete picture of today will definitely be on our website.

Let's hold on and bring Victory closer!

Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: August 1st, 2022
2022-08-02
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 23:32 Trump said that Zelensky should have abandoned the idea of ​​​​returning Crimea, agreeing to an agreement with Putin. In addition, according to Trump, Zelensky should have abandoned the idea of ​​​​mandatory entry of Ukraine into NATO - in this case, the war could have been prevented. The ex-US president claims that Putin was ready to negotiate with the Ukrainian authorities on such terms. Now it is much more difficult to negotiate, but in any case, we must try to negotiate, he believes.

23:10 Zelensky said in an evening video message that over the years of occupation, Russia has turned Crimea into a large military prison camp, the victims of which were tens of thousands of people: "Crimea has become a springboard for strikes on the free territory of our country ... Weak and insufficiently principled reaction to The occupation of Crimea in 2014 and in subsequent years was one of the prerequisites for Russian aggression to grow to such proportions. Gradually, we will restore justice to our Crimea."

22:55 Biden signed a Memorandum on the allocation of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $550 million. The new deliveries will include 75,000 shells for 155mm M777 howitzers, as well as missiles for HIMARS systems.

22:43 Zelensky said that he asked Macron to unblock macro-financial support for Ukraine: "I want to remind all leaders that this is 9 billion euros. These are not trifles for us, but important social things - these are our pensions, these are our salaries, support for IDPs , and therefore we expect the relevant decisions of specific statesmen."

22:14Zelensky, in an evening video message, explained why the grain corridor is so important for Ukraine: “The first ship carrying 26 thousand tons of corn left the port of Odessa today. As of now, it is not the time to draw any conclusions and predict further events. But the port started to work, the export movement began, and this can be called the first positive signal that there is a chance to stop the development of the food crisis in the world... For our state, this also has significant benefits. about half a million Ukrainians are involved in agricultural crops, and if we add related industries, this is plus a million jobs, hence the corresponding state attention to the implementation of the export initiative.This is what our people really need."

22:06 The Russians shot down an evacuation minibus with civilians near the village of Dolgovoe in the Kherson region, said Alexander Vilkul, head of the military administration of Krivoy Rog. He said that there was an attempt to evacuate seven civilians from the occupied village of Staroselye by minibus. In the vicinity of the village of Dolgovoe, the invaders fired at point-blank range at this bus with an anti-tank guided missile. Two civilians were killed, five were evacuated to Krivoy Rog. Two of them are in serious condition with burn shock.

21:44 The grain deal, despite the provocations of Russia and the shelling of Odessa, still earned. The Russian Federation has been blocking Ukrainian ports since February, but with the mediation of Turkey and the UN, it was possible to agree on the resumption of supplies. Read more about how this will work in the material First went .

21:37 Attorney General Andrei Kostin said that he had signed an order to conduct an internal investigation of employees of the prosecutor's office of the front-line regions, and next week a meeting of the leadership of all law enforcement agencies would be held to clear the security forces collaborating with the Russian Federation. According to him, suspicions of collaborationism have already been handed over to five prosecutors and three civil servants, one case has been sent to court, and more than 600 prosecutors who crossed the border are being checked.

21:14 The United States will approve a new $550 million defense aid package for Ukraine tomorrow , Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing at the White House. The package will include ammunition for HIMARS and artillery.

20:52 International experts are confident that Russian thermobaric weapons were the cause of the explosion in the colony with Ukrainian prisoners of war in occupied Yelenovka, Prosecutor General Andrey Kostin said.

20:49 Law enforcement officers do not exclude that the house of the owner of the agricultural company Nibulon Alexei Vadatursky, who died as a result of the shelling of Nikolaev, could have been targeted, Prosecutor General Andrey Kostin said on the air of the telethon: "One of the versions is the targeted murder of Mr. Vadatursky and his family."

20:43 Ukraine will limit the shipment of grain to three ships a day for the next two weeks, Infrastructure Minister Alexander Kubrakov said in a Bloomberg commentary.

20:32 BP Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets said on the air of the telethon that the Russians still have not provided access to the site of the murder of Ukrainian prisoners in Yelenovka to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the UN does not respond to the Ombudsman's requests about this situation.

Lubinets also said that he had received a "signal" that the Russian side was considering his request to visit Yelenovka and communicate with wounded Ukrainian prisoners. And to the question whether Russia is ready to return the bodies of the prisoners who died in Yelenovka to Ukraine, Lubinets replied: “We received a signal that they are ready to return the bodies of our heroes. have not received".

Meanwhile, the office of the UN Secretary General reported that the UN received requests to conduct an investigation into the events in Yelenovka simultaneously from Ukraine and Russia.

20:11 Macron, in today's conversation with Zelensky, called the events in Yelenovka "a massacre perpetrated by the Russian armed forces," the Elysee Palace said. Also, the President of France "confirmed his support for the Ukrainian people and their resistance" and spoke about the results of his visit to Africa.

19:52 Blinken also made a statement on nuclear weapons: "As long as nuclear weapons exist, the fundamental role of US nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear attacks on the United States, on our partners and allies ... The US will consider the use of nuclear weapons only in extreme conditions - with to protect the vital interests of the United States and our allies."

19:47 In the Slavic direction, not far from Mazanovka, the Defense Forces exposed and neutralized the enemy reconnaissance group. In the Bakhmut direction in the Yakovlevka area, the enemy tried to conduct reconnaissance with the forces of the reconnaissance group, the invaders suffered losses, the remnants of the group fled. By assault actions, the enemy tried to improve the tactical situation in the areas of Soledar, Vershina and Bakhmut, but had no success, retreated. Also, the Armed Forces of Ukraine nullified all attempts by the invaders to advance in the direction of Maryinka, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports in the evening report .

19:06 In the US, both parties - Democratic and Republican - support the provision of ATACMS guided ballistic missiles to Ukraine for HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems. Calls from US lawmakers for immediate supplies intensified after the publication of a video of the brutal torture and murder of a Ukrainian soldier and a terrorist attack in Yelenovskaya prison. For more details, see Bute at 300 km .

18:22 Putin in a greeting to the participants of the X Conference on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: "We proceed from the fact that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed."

18:16 UN Secretary General António Guterres called on countries to make new commitments to reduce all types of nuclear arsenals, activate multilateral agreements and mechanisms in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, reaffirm the norm on the unacceptability of the use of nuclear weapons: "Today, humanity is separated only by one misunderstanding, one miscalculation from nuclear destruction. We need the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons more than ever ... This is an opportunity to work out measures that will help avoid certain catastrophe."

17:48 Ukrposhta announced that from today, for the first time since February 24, it stops working on the territory not controlled by Ukraine. Until yesterday, work continued in Zaporozhye, and before that in Kherson. The company explained that now the threat to the lives of workers has increased significantly and cases of robberies by the invaders have become more frequent.

17:35 Yermak, Kuleba and Zaluzhny had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Biden's National Security Adviser Jacob Sullivan and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. The Ukrainian side informed the American side about the situation at the front and the defense needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The parties also agreed on the need to organize a conversation between Zelensky and Biden in the near future.

17:26 Turkey will receive the first ship with Ukrainian grain tomorrow. The joint coordinating center monitors how the ship passes through the grain corridor, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said. According to him, the ship will arrive in Istanbul on August 2 at 15:00.

17:14 Zelensky had an hour and a half telephone conversation with Macron - they discussed the supply of new modern weapons and defense assistance already provided, war crimes of the Russian Federation, the OP said.

17:06 In Mariupol, a movement of a large amount of military engineering equipment and manpower towards the exit to Zaporozhye was recorded. The main number is pontoon crossings, the equipment is marked with the letter V, said the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petr Andryushchenko.

16:59 Ukraine received more than 700 million hryvnias from electricity exports to the EU in a month. The funds will be used to prepare for the heating season - the purchase of coal and the repair of power units of power plants and networks, said the head of Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytsky.

16:38 Russians in the occupied territories resort to threats to speed up the introduction of the ruble and force local residents to pay utility bills to the occupying "authorities". According to the Center for National Resistance, in Kherson, the invaders gathered the heads of condominiums and threatened with "preventive measures" if the residents of the houses did not pay "in the interests of the Russian Federation." However, such meetings did not yield any results.

The Center also reports that only about 10,000 residents of the occupied Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, that is, about 1% of the adult population, have currently received Russian passports. This is despite the fact that there is an active issuance of 10 thousand rubles in exchange for obtaining a Russian passport.

16:04 The "DNR" said that they would "judge" the next foreigners who fought on the side of Ukraine and were taken prisoner in Mariupol. According to the "DNR", they served in Azov. The "defendants" are citizens of Sweden, Croatia and Great Britain Gustavsson Matias, Prebeg Vekoslav, Harding John, Hill Dylan and Hill Andrew. They are accused of "mercenarism" - earlier on the same charge, two Britons Sean Pinner and Aiden Aslin and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun were "sentenced" to death on the same charge.

15:40 Four additional HIMARS have arrived in Ukraine , Reznikov said.

15:27 Biden said that his administration is ready to promptly discuss with Russia a new arms control system. He also said that he expects Moscow to be ready to resume work with Washington on nuclear arms control.

15:03 The first ships can start entering Ukraine along the grain corridor by the end of the week, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said: "At the end of the week, we expect the first ships to call at our ports ... The first two ports - Odessa and Chernomorsk - are ready, and already this week we will both send ships from them and expect ships to come in. By the end of the week, we hope that the Yuzhny port will also be ready."

The minister added that ships could start calling at the Yuzhny port from the beginning of next week, and the port of Nikolaev could also be connected to the work of grain corridors.

14:48 The Ukrainian military liberated 46 settlements of the Kherson region, said acting. head of the OVA Dmitry Butriy. Most of them are in the northern part of the region, which borders on the Dnipropetrovsk region, and also a little in the south - on the border with the Mykolaiv region. Butriy said that in the de-occupied territory "there are villages that are 90% destroyed - they are still under constant shelling today, the population has mostly left." He stated that now the situation in the Kherson region is critical, and called for evacuation to safer territories before the liberation of the region.

14:44 The occupiers have opened a recruiting center for collaborators in the Zaporozhye region, who should create extras at the so-called "spontaneous actions" in support of the "referendum". This, according to the organizers, will help to reduce the degree of dissatisfaction with the war and will create an appropriate picture on TV for citizens of the Russian Federation. According to the GUR MOU, Russian specialists have already arrived in Melitopol to conduct PR campaigns.

However, there are few people who want to participate in such events, the occupiers are forced to import "activists" from the occupied Crimea. Also, the importation of so-called "humanitarian cargo" from the territory of the Russian Federation continues - the conditions for receiving "humanitarian aid" or its monetary compensation are participation in "actions in support" of the occupation regime and the provision of passport data.

14:35 Western countries have postponed the introduction of a ban on insurance of sea transportation of Russian oil due to fears of inflation and the energy crisis, writes the Financial Times. The publication notes that the EU announced the ban two months ago, counting on coordination with the British government, but the UK banned only ships carrying Russian oil into the country, and then after December 31, and Brussels itself eased sanctions. The US is also worried that a global ban on marine insurance will drive prices up.

Podolyak said on this occasion that "the refusal to immediately introduce a ban on insurance for the transportation of Russian oil, as well as the delay in recognizing the Russian Federation as a terrorist country, is a green light for the Kremlin to continue killing and terror."

14:19 The authorities plan to evacuate more than 50,000 children and 200,000 adults from the Donetsk region, Vereshchuk said: "Those who will be evacuated need to call the administration, write online in chat bots. Everything is recorded in the OVA, and to such people they will come, pick them up, transport them to the place of evacuation. It can be a bus or a train."

13:56 The EU sent Ukraine 1 billion euros of exceptional macro-financial assistance. The first tranche of 500 million euros has already been credited to the NBU account, the second tranche is expected to arrive tomorrow, Shmyhal said. This is part of a large package of support for Ukraine in overcoming the financial consequences of the war, totaling 9 billion euros. The funds will help finance priority budgetary needs.

13:52 German multiple launch rocket systems MARS II arrived in Ukraine , Reznikov said. On July 26, Germany announced that it had transferred three MARS systems to Ukraine. They are similar to the American M270, but adapted to the needs of the German army.

13:19 Over the past two or three weeks, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have destroyed about 15 ammunition depots of the Russian troops in southern Ukraine, said Natalya Gumenyuk, head of the coordination press center of the security and defense forces of the South. According to her, the use of S-300 systems by the enemy indicates that the Russians do not have enough ammunition: "About 15 warehouses in our operational zone alone were destroyed."

13:01 In Ukraine, the state portal for searching for children, the Children of War information platform , launched to help law enforcement agencies collect data on Ukrainian children who suffered during the war, including those who went missing or were moved to temporarily occupied territories and deported to Russia.

12:56 The head of the Transcarpathian OVA, Viktor Mikita, denied the statement of the head of the regional council Volodymyr Chubirko about the imminent resumption of the airport in Uzhgorod: "Now the statements about the resumption of the airport's work are nothing more than desires and intentions." According to Mikita, the airport does not have the appropriate permits, which means it is not ready to receive or send civilian flights to the EU.

12:51 Law enforcement officers detained a volunteer of the Territorial Defense, who previously held the position of deputy head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, on suspicion of selling humanitarian aid, the Office of the Prosecutor General reports. According to the investigation, the man, being away from the collision line, was selling bulletproof vests and other protective equipment supplied to Ukraine by European countries as part of the assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Law enforcement officers detained the man directly during the sale of humanitarian aid. He faces five to seven years in prison with confiscation of property.

12:47 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that two HIMARS installations were allegedly destroyed by a missile attack on the Ukrainian Energy Machines plant in Kharkov, and a launcher of the Harpoon anti-ship complex was allegedly destroyed near Veliky Dalnik in the Odessa region.

12:44 New Zealand has expanded sanctions against Russia. Restrictions are being introduced against the insurance company Sogaz, Russian Railways and defense enterprises involved in the development, production and testing of military equipment for the Russian army.

12:31 The National Bank of Ukraine announced that within the framework of the Smiliva hryvnia charity event , over the next three months it will collect coins in denominations of 10, 50 kopecks and 1, 2, 5, 10 hryvnias. The amount of funds raised will be transferred to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to the regulator, more than 14 billion coins worth over UAH 5 billion are currently in circulation. Almost a third of them (28.5%) - with a face value of 10 kopecks, another 9% - with a face value of 50 kopecks. These coins are often not used by citizens and lie in piggy banks or pockets. The NBU calculated that 5 billion hryvnia in coins is about 70 Bayraktar drones, or 25 HIMARS, or 50 T-90 tanks, or 150 combat infantry vehicles.

You can donate coins for the needs of the army from August 1 to October 31, 2022 at Oschadbank and FUIB branches.

12:20 Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko said in an interview with Suspilny that the military exercises for Ukrainians organized by London are designed primarily for volunteers who still have not had basic military training: "We are talking about a ten thousandth group of people who should receive basic military training in accordance with NATO and British Armed Forces standards." The training should last 120 days, and it is planned that every 120 days the next 10,000 will be trained.

According to Prystaiko, these are volunteers, men and women aged 25 to 40, from "all possible professions." In addition, Britain also offers more professional narrow-profile training, in particular for sailors.

12:09 In Kiev, ground public transport will stop for the duration of the air raid alert , according to the Kyiv City State Administration. All ground transport, including private carriers, during an air raid must stop moving in a safe place in accordance with the Rules of the Road. Passengers must leave the cabin and go to the nearest shelter. The Metro will still not carry out transportation on ground sections during the air raid and will close the work of open-type stations.

12:00 Andriy Melnyk, who is leaving the post of Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, said in a commentary to the Financial Times that he saw no alternative to his "shock diplomacy". The sometimes undiplomatic approach, he said, woke up German officials, many of whom still want to revive a "special relationship" with the Kremlin and keep buying Russian gas. "They just have to give up these fantasies," Melnik said.

11:42 In the occupied Kherson region, the main role in organizing the "referendum" is assigned to the Volunteers for Russia organization , the SBU reports. Members of the organization must imitate the support of local residents and participate in the creation of stories for Russian television. According to the intelligence service, local organizers report to Russian curators about the lack of support for the "referendum" among the locals.

11:33 In July, 80 Russians applied for visas to Ukraine, Andriy Demchenko, speaker of the State Border Guard Service, said on the air of the telethon: "During this month, about 80 citizens of the Russian Federation submitted information for obtaining a visa, but not one of them received a visa and, in fact, none of them could cross the border if they had a visa."

11:07 The head of the Luhansk OVA Serhiy Gaidai said that today in Uzhgorod, together with the head of the Transcarpathian OVA Viktor Nikita, he signed an Agreement on cooperation and partnership between the Transcarpathian and Lugansk regional military administrations. "West and East are together," Gaidai wrote.

10:39 A technopark will be made from Azovstal in Mariupol, "there will be jobs there," said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin. He also assured that the first residential buildings in Mariupol will be commissioned in September, and the population of the city by 2035 will increase from 212 to 500 thousand people.

10:14 As a result of Russian shelling of Saltovka in Kharkiv, two people were injured, one of them died in the hospital. Also, one person in Merefa was injured by the shells of the invaders, one person died in the Bogodukhovsky district, said the head of the Kharkiv OVA Oleg Sinegubov.

09:53 On August 1, an embargo on the purchase of Russian coal by EU countries came into force. Such a measure is provided for by the fifth package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, which was approved in April 2022, the press service of the European Commission reports.

09:49 The Turkish Ministry of Defense reported that the first ship with Ukrainian grain left the port of Odessa - it will reach Istanbul on August 2 and pass inspection there. Sudono is carrying 26,000 tons of corn to Lebanese Tripoli.

09:30 In Kharkiv, the Russians fired again at a public transport stop this morning, a man who was waiting for the bus was wounded, he was taken by an ambulance. Also in the Saltovsky district in the courtyard of a high-rise building, a person was injured and cars were damaged, Mayor Igor Terekhov said.

09:17 Tonight Russians fired at a number of civilian objects in Nikolaev among which a new trauma center. The building was partially destroyed, windows in neighboring medical departments flew out from the shock wave and debris. The staff and patients were not injured, said the mayor of the city Alexander Senkevich.

09:03 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy on the morning of August 1. The enemy suffered the greatest losses in the Donetsk and Krivoy Rog directions.

  • personnel - about 41,030 (+200) people liquidated,

  • tanks - 1768 (+5),

  • armored combat vehicles - 4011 (+7),

  • artillery systems - 932 (+16),

  • MLRS - 259 (+0),

  • air defense systems - 117 (+0),

  • aircraft - 223 (+0),

  • helicopters - 190 (+0),

  • UAV operational-tactical level - 736 (+1),

  • cruise missiles - 174 (+0),

  • ships/boats - 15 (+0),

  • automotive equipment and tankers - 2912 (+10),

  • special equipment - 82 (+2).

08:58 Great Britain will provide warships to Ukraine, Ukrainian Ambassador to London Vadim Prystaiko said in an interview with Suspіlny. According to him, these will be anti-mine ships, so far we are talking about the transfer of two ships - the Ukrainian military is already being trained on them. The ships will be updated and will add equipment needed by Ukraine.

08:50 British intelligence reports that over the past four days, Russia continued to make tactical attacks in the Bakhmut direction northeast of Donetsk, but moved slowly. The Russian Federation is likely to move a significant part of its forces from the northern sector of Donbass to southern Ukraine and is adjusting the operational plan of its advance into Donbass after failing to achieve a decisive operational breakthrough in accordance with the plan it has been following since April. Analysts believe that, most likely, Russia has identified the Zaporozhye front as a vulnerable area that needs to be strengthened.

08:39 The Russians made three attempts at tank pressure in the Luhansk region, used air support for assault operations three times, and in all cases were forced to retreat to previously occupied positions, said the head of the Luhansk OVA, Sergei Gaidai.

08:36 In the Donetsk region, three civilians per day died from Russian shelling - two in Bakhmut and one in Soledar. Another 16 people were injured, Pavel Kirilenko, head of the OVA, said.

08:30 In Kharkiv, the invaders attacked the Saltovsky district, two people were injured, the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov said.

08:22 In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russians fired at two districts at night - Nikopol and Krivoy Rog. In particular, more than 60 shots from Gradov were recorded at Marganets and the Krasnogrigoryevsk community. Two people were wounded, one of them in serious condition, said the head of the OVA, Valentin Reznichenko.

08:16 The first ship with grain from the port of Odessa will leave for Lebanon today at 8:30, the Turkish Defense Ministry reports with reference to the Joint Coordination Center. In particular, the dry cargo ship RAZONI under the flag of Sierra Leone, loaded by Egypt, will leave the port.

08:01 During the five months of a full-scale war, Russians attacked civilian objects 60 times more often than military ones. According to the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the invaders inflicted 17.3 thousand strikes on civilian targets and about 300 on military ones. According to the National Security and Defense Council, the Kremlin expects that the shelling will encourage local residents to stop resistance.

07:45 The Russians are advancing in the Bakhmut area, assault operations were carried out in the direction of Vershina and Soledar, they were not successful, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in the morning report . In the Avdeevsky direction, the enemy launched an air strike in the Veseloye area, led an assault in the direction of Pesok, also unsuccessfully. In the Maryinka area, the enemy tried to conduct reconnaissance in force, and withdrew.

06:32 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that Russian troops have held positions in the Balakleya and Bolshaya Kamyshevakhi areas for several months and can use these two areas as springboards for an offensive operation. In particular, they can use their positions in the Balakleya area to resume the assault on Kharkov from the southeast. At the same time, it is very unlikely that Russian forces will capture the Kharkiv region or Kharkiv, given the pace of Russia's advance in the Donbass and problems with the formation of forces and logistics, experts say.

Russian troops resumed local ground attacks northwest and southwest of Izyum. In recent days, they have already made unsuccessful attempts at assault and combat reconnaissance in the direction of Chepyl, Shchurovka and Gusarovka (north-west of Izyum) and resumed assaults in the direction of Dmitrovka and Brazhkovka (south-west of Izyum).

In addition, the Russians continued ground attacks northwest of Slavyansk, northeast of Seversk, east and south of Bakhmut. They made minor gains in the Avdiivka area and continued their ground attacks towards Avdiivka and Peski.

02:14 Mayor of Nikolaev Alexander Senkevich reported that the city is under attack again - powerful explosions thundered in different areas.

00:07 US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink reacted to the shelling of the colony in Yelenovka: "The shelling of the pre-trial detention center in Yelenovka is unacceptable, as is the message about the barbaric treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian military. We will continue to seek accountability and provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend against Moscow's horrendous aggression".

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Nuclear armageddon: Why did Ukraine almost give Europe a second Chernobyl
2022-07-22
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
Kp.ru special correspondent Dmitry Steshin suggested that Ukraine attacked the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in order to hide nuclear developments from the IAEA

According to official information, there were three kamikaze drones that attacked the Zaporozhye NPP on July 20, 2022 from Ukraine. Judging by the surviving, rather large fragments of drones, the attack was stopped by air defense covering the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

It is difficult to understand where the drones were aiming. Judging by the shooting from street cameras, the drones fell near the cooling ponds. According to Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the military-civilian administration of Zaporozhye, the attack did not damage the nuclear reactors. The nuclear power plant is operating normally.

Question: Why then did Ukraine decide to attack a nuclear facility?

Handmade blackout?

Oddly enough, the electricity generated by the station is supplied to the entire south-east of Ukraine, and if the nuclear power plant is shut down, an energy collapse will begin throughout the region. It is unlikely that Ukraine planned to de-energize Odessa, Nikolaev or Dnepropetrovsk. And the liberated territories would get out.

As the head of Zaporozhye Evgeny Balitsky noted: "We will get food, but they will have problems." Agree, it’s a shame to watch from the darkness how the light is on behind the front line, in the liberated territories ... Seditious thoughts may arise: are the commanders of the Square doing everything right?

The version of a man-made blackout disappears - Ukraine will have to do worse in this case. Moreover, close to Zaporozhye is the energy-surplus Donbass.

"Second Chernobyl"

Three drones and ten kilograms of explosives can't really catastrophically damage nuclear reactors. Their protection was originally designed to withstand the fall of an aircraft weighing 20 tons at a speed of 720 km/h.

In recent history, there have been attempts to undermine nuclear power plants from the inside. In the summer of 1979, Basque militants planted a bomb right in the turbine hall of the Spanish Lemonis nuclear power plant. The turbine was slightly damaged, five tons of oil caught fire. Two years later, five anti-tank missiles hit the reactor building of the French Saint-Alban nuclear power plant. Of the damage - destroyed 80 meters of the concrete containment of the reactor.

It is difficult to imagine that Kyiv was going to arrange a "Second Chernobyl" in Zaporozhye. There, of course, they are capable of everything. But Europe would not like the explosion of the largest nuclear power plant on the continent. Kyiv understands this.

Dirty Ukrainian bomb

Post-Maidan Ukraine has never hidden that it dreams of nuclear weapons. Back in 2014, the Bandera people from the Rada introduced a draft law on the denunciation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and even calculated on their knees that Ukraine needed $3.4 billion and 2 years to return to the "club of nuclear powers." However, Ukraine did not leave this club - in terms of the number of operating nuclear reactors, it is in fifth place in Europe.

In February 2020, just before the start of the special operation, Vladimir Zelensky threatened that Ukraine could create an atomic bomb.

And when the Zaporizhzhya NPP was liberated and it was possible to inspect it, amazing and ominous discoveries awaited Russian specialists. According to the Director General of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency. - Auth.) Rafael Grossi, provided to the Wall Street Journal, 30 tons of plutonium and 40 tons of enriched uranium were found at the station. These are only those finds that have leaked into the public space. About other surprises, our authorities speak in a streamlined way.

I quote Vladimir Rogov: "There was a large amount of nuclear materials at the nuclear power plant that are not needed for the operation of the station and could not appear here just like that."

Ending with a host of other interesting moments. What are these moments - the IAEA commission, which has been meeting with an inspection at the Zaporizhzhya NPP, should have seen it since spring. But, the IAEA likes to emphasize that it is out of politics, therefore, it will not work in a war zone. And the IAEA does not want to believe the conclusions of Russian nuclear experts that Ukraine was seriously preparing to make an atomic bomb on its knee. After all, this proves that Russia is right in launching a special operation.

Therefore, Ukraine has chosen the cheapest, albeit risky, way to cancel the inspection of nuclear workers - to arrange a "war" at nuclear power plants. Just think about these words - SEND DRONES WITH EXPLOSIVES TO THE LARGEST NUCLEAR PLANT IN EUROPE!

For that, the truth will not be revealed. And Western support will continue as usual.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran threatens to end some nuclear inspections next week
2021-02-16
[IsraelTimes] Iranian foreign ministry says it’ll prevent certain visits by UN watchdog if other parties to nuclear accord ’fail to meet their obligations’.

Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
on Monday reiterated its warning that it will halt certain nuclear inspections if other parties to the 2015 deal limiting the country’s atomic program "fail to meet their obligations" by February 21.

The Iranian foreign ministry said the move would see Iran end its adherence to the "additional protocol" of the nuclear accord, which prescribes intrusive inspections of its nuclear facilities.

"All these measures will be reversible, provided the other parties adhere to their obligations," ministry front man Saeed Khatibzadeh said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Iran’s envoy to the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency said the UN watchdog was informed of the move.

A bill passed by the conservative-dominated legislature in December, despite opposition from a reformist government, mandates the government to stop "the implementation of the additional protocol" to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on February 21, if the US does not lift unilateral sanctions or other key parties to the deal with Iran do not help Tehran to bypass those sanctions.

At present, such inspections are carried out under this protocol, in addition to regular IAEA inspections. Iran is threatening that the latter will continue but the former will stop.

Khatibzadeh’s warning came just days after the IAEA confirmed that Iran has started producing uranium metal, in a further violation of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Uranium metal can be used as a component in nuclear weapons. Iran had signed up to a 15-year ban on "producing or acquiring plutonium or uranium metals or their alloys" under the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015 with world powers.

Iran previously told the UN nuclear watchdog that it was advancing research on uranium metal production, saying it is aimed at providing advanced fuel for a research reactor in Tehran.

The European parties to the nuclear accord said Iran’s production of uranium metal undermined chances to fully realize the deal reducing sanctions in exchange for limits to its nuclear program.

The landmark deal between Iran and the United States, China, Russia, Britannia, La Belle France, and Germany to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions has been largely in tatters, since former US president Donald Trump
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
 withdrew from it in 2018 and reimposed harsh sanctions.

US President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden
...Candidate for president in 2020. You're a lyin' dog-faced pony soldier...
 has said he is ready to return to the deal if Iran returns to compliance. Both sides have demanded that the other act first to return to the deal, putting them at a stalemate, for the moment.

Recent Iranian breaches have included exceeding the stockpile limit on enriched uranium, enriching beyond the permitted purity level and using more advanced centrifuges than permitted under the deal.
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India-Pakistan
Japan and India Near Nuke Deal
2017-06-09
The nuclear cooperation deal between Japan and India, first negotiated in November, just cleared a big hurdle in Tokyo. The Nikkei Asian Review reports:

Japan's ruling party on Wednesday pushed a nuclear cooperation deal with India through the upper house of parliament, clearing the way for Japanese exports of materials and technology to the South Asian country.

The deal is contentious because India has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT. […]

India stands to become the first nonsignatory to get access to Japanese nuclear tech. The governing Liberal Democratic Party accounted for most of the "aye" votes in the Diet, or parliament.

Following the approval, the government intends to revise relevant rules under the Nuclear Regulation Authority ‐ Japan's industry watchdog. Once India takes similar steps and the governments exchange documents, the deal will take effect, possibly by this summer.

On both economic and strategic grounds, this is a natural fit for both countries. Japan has immense nuclear expertise, but little domestic appetite for the technology after the Fukushima disaster; India is thus a natural export market. And Tokyo and New Delhi have been getting closer for several years now as they seek to balance against a rising China.
*cough* Pakistan *cough*
The deal's opponents argue that Japan is tacitly endorsing India's status as a nuclear armed-state, even though it has provisions that would void the deal if India resumes nuclear tests. But somehow, we suspect the United States‐which signed its own civilian nuclear deal with India in 2008, despite India's status outside the NPT regime‐is not too upset to see China's two most prominent regional rivals getting cozier.
Let's see....doesn't India have some nuke warheads laying around? What could they offer in trade, hmmmm?
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China-Japan-Koreas
As North Korea Loses Its Use, China Loses Its Patience
2017-03-06
[SCMP] China’s move to effectively cut off North Korea’s revenue lifeline by banning coal imports is the first significant signal that Beijing is willing to work with the United States to rein in its defiant neighbour after President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
’s repeated complaints.

This latest move might also indicate a willingness to break the deadlock between China and the US since Pyongyang quit the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 2003.

Trump has made repeated calls for China to get tough on North Korea, saying Beijing could end its neighbour’s nuclear programme "very quickly and easily".

China does provide most of North Korea’s food and fuel; it has long played a crucial role to effectively keep the regime afloat and avoid a repeat of the famines of the 1990s. But the solution China truly seeks is not what the US anticipates.

China’s strategists have long-feared any tough action against the reclusive state might lead to its collapse, triggering a refugee wave at China’s borders and leave Beijing without a geopolitical buffer to US forces under a unified Korea.

There also remains a significant ideological and historic bond between the two nations since fighting together during the Korean War.

However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by...
 China has failed to tame North Korean leader Kim Pudge Jong-un
...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished...
 since his ascension in 2011, a year before President Xi Jinping (習近平) took power in China. Xi has met his South Korean counterpart many times, but has never met Kim.

Since he came to power, Kim has purged bigwigs with close links to China in fear of a Beijing conspiracy to replace him, and accelerated Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes despite China’s objections. During Kim’s five years in power, North Korea has implemented 36 ballistic-missile tests and three nuclear tests.

The recent killing of Kim Jong-nam, the leader’s estranged brother, might be the last straw. While Pyongyang denies any role, the use of the VX chemical agent ‐ a weapon of mass destruction according to the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
 ‐ might prompt Beijing to further distance itself from Kim’s dynasty.

China may now realise that continued inaction on North Korea conflicts with its rising international clout and contradicts its national interest. Kim’s weapons of mass destruction pose the same risk to China as they do to South Korea, Japan or the United States.

North Korea’s relentless weapons build-up has fuelled an arms race in the region. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India and Australia are scrambling to upgrade their defences. South Korea’s decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system to contain the North’s nuclear capability is perhaps the highest-profile reaction, a move that Beijing is fiercely fighting against for fear it could also be used to curb China.

All this risks triggering a nuclear domino effect in Northeast Asia. Trump has even suggested that Japan and South Korea acquire nuclear weapons to counter any challenge from North Korea.

In this volatile environment, China’s continued support of a regime widely seen as a state sponsor of terrorism and a major threat to peace in the region will only damage Beijing’s international image and undermine relations with most of its important trade partners ‐ South Korea, Japan and the US, among others.
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