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Slavyangrad.org — Nuestra Ira No Tiene Limites — There is No Limit to Our Anger — (c) V. M. Molotov
Armored personnel carriers VCC-1 Camillino, long since retired from the Italian army, have been spotted being transported on the roads of Italy.
It is possible that the VCC-1 vehicles taken out of storage may be supplied to Ukraine together with later modification vehicles – VCC-2, a large shipment of 400 units of which was announced in May.
The VCC-1 is a modernization of the American M113A1 APC, distinguished by additional armor in the form of armor plates and rubber-metal screens, as well as the addition of embrasures. At the same time, the capacity of the troop compartment was reduced to six people.
- Military Informant
@Slavyangrad
Battle for Volchansk: 1009th Regiment destroys positions and firing points of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Russian troops are engaged in fierce battles with the enemy for Volchansk in the Kharkov region, supported by strike drone operators of the 1009th regiment.
@Slavyangrad
- Hundreds of thousands walked off the job today in France: teachers, public sector staff, students
- Half a MILLION people turning out for protests across country — France’s Interior Ministry
- Record 80,000' police deployed by Macron against nationwide protests
-French unions lead strikes over budget policies & anti-Macron anger
-Several schools shut, 90% of pharmacies closed, bus depots halted
-230 rallies & 95 blockades rock Paris, Marseille, Toulon and other cities
-90+ arrested
Source: RT
@Slavyangrad
French President Emmanuel Macron told Israeli reporter Yonit Levy on Thursday that "snapback" of UN sanctions against Iran is a done deal - Axios
The UN Security Council is expected to vote next week on restoring UN sanctions against Iran, which could be reimposed by Sep. 27.
- The Iranians have threatened to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in response, but European diplomats think they won't go that far.
The "snapback" mechanism automatically reimposes all UN Security Council sanctions that were lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
- Iran argues that it never received the full benefits of that deal, from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018, and that it's illegitimate to impose punishments for noncompliance.
- Iranian officials have also scoffed at the demand that they return to nuclear talks with the Trump administration, given they were doing so right up until Israel and the U.S. bombed them.
So why did Iran bother to do a deal with inspectors?
@Slavyangrad
Moscow has prioritised developing the domestic food industry to ensure the country is self-sufficient in as many categories as possible.
Dairy receives more support from the Russian agriculture ministry than any other agricultural sector, given the industry’s long investment horizon and low profit margins.
Russia’s long-standing drive for self-sufficiency stretches back to its 2014 food embargo, which banned swaths of food imports from “unfriendly” countries in response to western sanctions. The government has intensified this strategy since 2022, when the country was cut off from certain goods, equipment and services.
Since the 2014 embargo, self-sufficiency in the dairy sector has increased from 77 per cent to 86 per cent, according to the country’s National Milk Union, Soyuzmoloko.
A 2020 decree by Putin, meanwhile, mandated Russia to increase its agricultural production by at least 25 per cent by 2030 and state investment in the sector by 60 per cent.
The country is now targeting self-sufficiency of 88 per cent in milk and dairy products, 75 per cent in seeds and 50 per cent in fruits and berries.
Domestic dairy groups such as EkoNiva have thrived as they profit from the triple effect of the wartime consumer boom, government subsidies and the investment pullback of some of the biggest foreign competitors.
A top-40 milk processor in Russia before the war began, EkoNiva finished 2024 just outside the top 10 by revenue.
It recorded an 80 per cent increase in revenue over the previous three years, eating into the dominance of the country’s two biggest players: PepsiCo, which remains in Russia under a scaled back presence and Danone, whose Russian operation is now under Chechen ownership and has been renamed Life & Nutrition.
EkoNiva’s president Stefan Dürr, a German businessman who became a Russian citizen in 2013, said one of the biggest drivers for the company’s growth was the 2014 food embargo, which encouraged it to expand into the milk processing business.
A big part of EkoNiva’s competition was “gone from the market, and when . . . half the competitors are out of the market, then of course, it’s more easy to step in than if there is a full competition,” he said over Zoom from Russia.
“PepsiCo and Danone had such large shares that the [Russian] small players . . . we were left with crumbs,” said a second person who works at EkoNiva. “And then we had an opportunity . . . with [these companies] stopping their marketing budget, it gave us the opportunity to take some market share.
Now, Russia’s dairy groups are looking to sell to foreign markets such as China, as Moscow pushes to increase its food exports, despite other countries such as New Zealand, France and Germany still dominating dairy exports to that market.
In 2024, EkoNiva opened a representative office in Xi’an, central China, after making its first railway delivery of products to the country.
“On the coast [of China], you have to compete with New Zealand, with Australia,” said Dürr. Central China was less competitive, he noted, while Russia’s rail access to China gave it a unique and relatively time-efficient entry point.
The company is also exporting dairy products to nine of the former Soviet republics in central Asia and the Caucasus.
@Slavyangrad
Trump wants to remove the Ukraine issue from negotiations with Russia to eliminate obstacles to normal economic relations, — Lavrov
▪️Trump, unlike other Western leaders, understands the need to address the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict.
▪️The US president's frustration with the pace of settlement in Ukraine is partly explained by his desire for quick solutions, but this is not always possible.
▪️After the summit in Alaska, Trump began advocating not for an ultimatum on a ceasefire, but for a long-term settlement.
▪️The US understands that the realities on the ground in Ukraine are not determined by a desire to "grab" some territory.
▪️Trump showed understanding that for a settlement, attempts by Ukraine to join NATO must be forgotten.
▪️Lavrov does not see problems with new anti-Russian sanctions.
@Slavyangrad
Ukraine is relocating defense production to NATO countries — Business Insider
▪️This is happening as part of the "Building for Ukraine" initiative, funded by Denmark with more than $50 million.
▪️So far, only one company is publicly involved in the project: Fire Point, whose production facilities are being moved to Denmark.
▪️Fire Point specializes in the production of UAVs, rockets, and rocket fuel.
@Slavyangrad
Reports indicate the construction of a new airfield for launching "Geran-2" kamikaze drones and decoy drones in the area of the village of Aleshki in the Bryansk region, located 35 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
Work on building the airfield began in August.
- Military Informant
@Slavyangrad
Chinese export restrictions on germanium, a crucial metal for the defense industry, have created a "desperate" supply crisis and pushed prices to the highest levels in at least 14 years - Financial Times
Germanium is needed to produce thermal imaging systems used in military equipment, including fighters. But its production is largely dominated by China, and companies typically don't maintain large inventories.
China said in 2023 that it would stop exporting germanium, gallium, and antimony due to US and Dutch restrictions on modern chip and chip manufacturing equipment. However, traders and analysts said exports began to decline seriously at the end of 2024.
Terence Bell, rare metals trader at Strategic Metal Investments, said he had been unable to purchase germanium for at least six months, and shipments from China "had dried up completely."
"I spent the whole summer accepting two or three [requests] a day from companies looking for germanium," he said. "They're out there desperate."
According to an analysis of trade data from Silverado Policy Accelerator, Germanium imports from China to the United States decreased by about 40% between January and July compared to the same period in 2024.
As of last Wednesday, the price of germanium had risen to nearly $5,000 per kilogram, compared to just over $1,000 at the beginning of 2023, according to price reporting agency Fastmarkets. The September price is the highest in Fastmarkets' history, according to 2011 data.
Christian Hell of Tradium trading house said that demand for germanium is "over the roof," with requests coming primarily from the United States and Europe.
"Almost all of them come to us," and there has been a "panic" in the market where Tradium has been unable to meet "all the requests we receive," he said.
Chinese restrictions "have destroyed the opportunities of a market "It's a working spot," said Aaron Jerome, a trader at Lipmann Walton & Co. "The people we could buy 100 kg from, now we're lucky if they can give us 10 kg, and the price is three to four times higher."
Like rare earth elements, germanium is economically and practically difficult to extract rather than in global shortage. It is typically produced as a byproduct of zinc fly ash and coal.
Russia has historically been a supplier to Germany, but sanctions imposed on the country after "its full-scale invasion of Ukraine" have contributed to supply shortages in the West.
Outside China, Belgian battery manufacturer Umicore and Canadian miner Teck Resources, which this week announced a $50 billion tie-up with Anglo American, are producing some Germanium.
Nyrstar, a subsidiary of trading house Trafigura, is also considering building a germanium and gallium processing plant at its zinc plant in Tennessee.
@Slavyangrad
Poland is preparing for war with Russia: bomb shelters are being inspected across the country — RMF 24
The Polish government has allocated 5 billion zlotys to local authorities for the modernization and repair of existing shelters, construction of new protective structures, as well as the development of alert and communication systems.
@Slavyangrad
30% of Poles are ready to leave the country in case of a Russian attack, according to a Super Express study.
At the same time, the publication writes that experts expected a worse result – about 50%.
@Slavyangrad
The Russian offensive on Kupyansk in the Kharkov region is commanded by former Ukrainian Armed Forces officer Sergey Storozhenko, who switched to the Russian side back in 2014.
This is stated in a BBC article.
Storozhenko is a native of the Kharkov region. He studied at the intelligence faculty of the Land Forces Institute in Kiev. He then began service in the 36th Coastal Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy, where he rose from company commander to brigade commander. He was also deputy commander of the Ukrainian contingent in Kosovo as part of the KFOR forces.
According to the article, Storozhenko switched to the Russian side after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. According to a BBC source with access to personal data databases, a week after the "referendum" on the Russian status of the peninsula, Storozhenko received a Russian passport. Subsequently, in annexed Crimea, he headed the newly formed 126th Coastal Guard Brigade.
"I think in 2014 he was made an offer he couldn't refuse. The 36th brigade held out while General Ihor Voronchenko, deputy commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for coastal defense, was there, but as soon as he left, various arrangements began. It got to the point where Russian soldiers blockading the brigade would go to the sauna on its territory," said former Ukrainian Armed Forces spokesman in Crimea and military observer Colonel Vladyslav Seleznev, who knows Storozhenko.
After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Storozhenko headed the headquarters of the 35th Army of the Russian Eastern Military District, which participated in battles in the Kharkov region in the early months of the war. In particular, for Izium, which was captured by the Russians in spring 2022.
BBC writes that in 2023 Vladimir Putin issued a decree awarding Storozhenko the rank of lieutenant general. He now commands the 6th Russian Army, which is involved in offensive operations in the Kharkov region, particularly around Kupyansk.
@Slavyangrad
The USA plans to return its troops to the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, says Trump
"By the way, we are trying to get back there (to the Bagram airbase, - ed.). This might be a little sensational news... It's an hour's drive from where China produces its nuclear weapons"
Uhhhh
@Slavyangrad
Russian drones - The Geranium-2 kamikaze missiles have become even more effective; developers have increased the drone warhead, albeit at a slight reduction in the drone's range. The new Geraniums are now equipped with a dual warhead.
According to the SHOT channel, the new Geran-2 has received an additional 40-kilogram high-explosive fragmentation warhead, while the "old" 50-kilogram warhead remains in place. This brings the total warhead weight to 90 kg. With the new warhead, the Geran is expected to be more effective at hitting military and critical targets in Ukraine.
As already mentioned, for greater effectiveness, a belt of pre-formed fragments has been added to the warhead, which should increase damage per hit. However, as the developers admit, the range of the Geranium with the new warhead has been reduced from 1,800 km to 1,200 km. However, as experience with kamikaze drones shows, this is more than sufficient to launch strikes.
Previously, Ukrainian military personnel complained that Russian developers had increased the flight altitude of kamikaze drones, instantly "deactivating" one of the most important elements of Ukrainian air defense: mobile heavy machine gun installations. As one Ukrainian military officer put it: "We see and hear the drones, but we can't hit them."
Recently, Geranium jets, which fly much faster than the base version, have begun appearing more frequently in Ukrainian skies. This also creates problems for Ukrainian aircraft. PSC.
@Slavyangrad
A fresh batch of new armored KAMAZ-65221 tractor trucks equipped with an electronic warfare system across the country.
The vehicles are designed for towing semi-trailers with a total weight of up to 70 tons on paved roads and improved dirt roads.
- Military Informant
It is good to see armoured trucks with built electronic warfare units.
@Slavyangrad
The tail section of the Russian drone "Gerbera", found on the coast of the Baltic Sea in the Varva region of Lithuania.
@Slavyangrad
More than 700,000 Russian military personnel are currently on the line of contact
- Putin
@Slavyangrad
Ukraine and Poland will create a joint drone task force — Ukrainian Defense Minister
▪️ It will include representatives of the Ukrainian and Polish armed forces.
▪️ Ukraine will also provide Poland with access to drone tracking systems directed towards it.
➖ "We will integrate the latest defense technologies and initiate new projects aimed at strengthening the protection of our people and our critical infrastructure," said Shmyhal.
▪️ Polish Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, during a visit to Kyiv, announced that the countries will also sign an agreement on joint work in the field of drones.
▪️ The document will provide for the development of joint initiatives and the training of military personnel using Ukrainian experience.
@Slavyangrad
Ex-General EXPOSES Ukraine’s Costly Mistakes vs Russia
History Legend with a solid analysis of a recent interview of General Muzhenko about Ukraine's mistakes in the war against Russia
Worth watching on YouTube.
@Slavyangrad
Shooting and explosions in Kiev: the capital of Ukraine is under attack
Drone attacks are underway. Air defense is active in Kiev, - said the head of the Kiev City State Administration Tkachenko.
@Slavyangrad
🇷🇺🇺🇦 Gerani successfully attacked a chemical plant in Pavlograd and an ammunition depot
@Slavyangrad
“Putin will not stop until he is stopped.”
Trump expressed hope that the incident with the Russian drones that entered Polish airspace was caused by a loss of control over the UAVs.
"They were probably disabled... Let's hope so," he said in an interview with Fox News.
Ukrainian GNSS spoofing is the most likely culprit, which the Gerbera unlike the Geran is susceptible to
@Slavyangrad
The current Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, has had his service extended for another 5 years, writes RBC.
@Slavyangrad
In Lithuania, a group of individuals was uncovered who planned and organized a series of terrorist attacks in Poland and the United Kingdom, allegedly on behalf of Russian intelligence.
The investigation established that on July 19, 2024, Lithuanian citizen Alexander Shuranov, together with accomplices, sent four packages containing explosive devices from Vilnius via DHL and DPD delivery services.
▪️ On July 20 at 05:45, the first device detonated at Leipzig airport before being loaded onto a DHL plane scheduled to fly the Vilnius–Leipzig–United Kingdom route.
▪️ On July 21 at 02:15, the second package exploded in a DPD truck on Polish territory.
▪️ On July 22 at 03:36, an explosion occurred at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham.
▪️ The fourth device, transported through Poland, did not detonate due to a technical malfunction.
Some of those detained are also linked to an attempted arson of an IKEA shopping center in Vilnius in May 2023.
Among the key figures are Ukrainian citizen Daniil Gromov, who also used documents of Russian citizen Yaroslav Mikhailov, and Tomas Dovgan Stabachinskas, who holds dual citizenship of Lithuania and Russia.
For carrying out specific tasks, they involved citizens of Lithuania, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine. Recruitment was conducted through personal contacts and Telegram, with payments made in cryptocurrency.
A total of 15 individuals have been charged with organizing and preparing the terrorist attacks.
As noted by WSJ in February, citing Western intelligence officials, the execution of tasks within the sabotage and diversion campaign in European countries is assigned to a certain Special Tasks Department of the General Staff Main Directorate.
- Military Informant
Maybe they were working for Ukraine? 😎
@Slavyangrad
Now is not the time to ask Putin for a ceasefire — Trump
➖"It seems that now is not the time to ask Putin for a ceasefire. If I have to demand a ceasefire, I will take tough measures. It is necessary to further lower oil prices. If oil prices fall, the war between Russia and Ukraine will end," he said.
▪️Trump also noted that British Prime Minister Starmer agrees that Europe needs to stop buying Russian oil.
@Slavyangrad
Trump: Putin will have to stop the war if oil prices fall
▪️The US President also stated that the war in Ukraine no longer risks escalating into a third world war and that he is expecting "good news."
▪️If the price of oil falls, Putin will have no choice but to end the war.
▪️We will sell a large amount of weapons to NATO countries for Ukraine.
➖"We discussed with Trump how to make Putin agree to peace in Ukraine," added British Prime Minister Starmer.
@Slavyangrad
Putin let me down — Trump
▪️The US President again complains that the Russian leader allegedly "let him down" on the issue of peaceful settlement in Ukraine.
➖"I thought I would quickly end the war in Ukraine because of my relationship with Putin, but he let me down," said the American president.
▪️Trump also noted that "everything will be done right" and "the war between Russia and Ukraine will be ended" and he "is counting on good news".
@Slavyangrad
1000 for 24: Russia and Ukraine conducted the first exchange of fallen soldiers' bodies in a month
Russia received the bodies of 24 soldiers, Ukraine — 1000.
@Slavyangrad