In the last hour several media outlets worldwide began reporting that Turkey closed the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits to Russian ships, but, Reuters is now reporting that the rumor – traced to a Turkish official with knowledge of the matter – is false.
Despite the rumor being false the situation could change. Turkey is a member of NATO and, in a recent tweet, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy did thank President Tayyip Erdogan for Turkey’s humanitarian and military support, saying a “ban on the passage of (Russian) warships to the Black Sea” was very important for his country.
Also in the article, this was peculiar regarding sanctions:Ships Damaged
The shipping news, though, suggests insurers have reason to be careful, with at least two merchant ships damaged in the conflict, and unconfirmed reports of a third.
On Thursday, a carrier chartered by Cargill Inc. was hit while sailing in Ukrainian waters in the Black Sea.
The vessel was empty when the incident occurred and taken to safety, the company said. On Friday, a chemical tanker called Millennial Spirit, under the flag of Moldova was hit by a shell in the Black Sea, the country’s naval agency said in a statement on website.
Cargill didn’t confirm the name of the vessel. Istanbul-based YA-SA Holding said earlier that Yasa Jupiter, a Marshall Island-flagged bulker it owns, was slightly damaged by a shell after unloading coal at the Ukrainian port of Odessa.
It was unclear whether the ship was deliberately targeted or who fired the shell, and the vessel is heading under its own power to the closest port for a damage assessment, YA-SA said.
On the Millennial Spirit, a fire broke out, destroying equipment and lifeboats were destroyed, and forcing the crew to abandon ship only in their life jackets, the navel agency said.
“We are seeing activity where vessels are being struck,” said Munro Anderson, founding partner at security advisory Dryad Global. “Any vessel that is sitting off Ukraine waters should have left long ago. It is a warzone, we’ve been saying that for 48 hours. Any vessel in Ukraine waters needs to leave immediately, broadcasting clearly on AIS and making their intentions known.”
Among the most significant pieces of sanctions documentation was a General License issued by the Office of Foreign Asset Control that authorizes payments for energy. And “energy” spans everything from oil to wood.
That’s a sign that commodities and energy will still be able to flow, but there remain multiple issues that traders will have to wrestle with before doing Russian business, according to Daniel Martin, a partner who advises traders, shipowners, insurers and brokers on sanctions at law-firm HFW. On that list are five main issues:
Whether counter-parties or their owners are sanctioned
- Whether banks involved in the flow of payments are able or willing to facilitate them
- Whether the commodity in question comes from a sanctioned region
- Whether the ships required to transport the cargoes are sanctioned, and whether vessels can proceed unimpeded
- Whether cargoes and ships are able to find insurance
That's sad to hear, but also no wonder since the pressure increased with time. And it is also not like the Iraq war in the past, where at least two Nations (France, Germany, Sweden) could stick together and be against a war. Nonetheless, weak from the German side.Germany just offered 500 Stingers and 1000 antitank weapons to the Ukies.
Their spy boss saw in situ (part of)the English donation of idem (of 600million? those things are expensive) while still sitting on the airfield, confiscated by the Russians.
If this goes though, it would make for more blood shedding in Ukraine by the nazis.
A very cynical move, as the spy must know those Ukies also took down MH17. Putin knows, too.
So, i guess Germany just lost the last bit of goodwill. Back to coal, Germany.
And the Estonian sent self powered big Howitzers will get unpacked by the RF airforce?
That could be from the camera lens that was being used, different lenses can cause a face to seem more rounded or thinner. Take a look at this for instance:
Amazing how focal length affect shape of the face
Its always difficult to answer what is the best focal length for a portrait. Here is small preview how different focal lengths can change look of a face.www.danvojtech.cz
View attachment 55592
Wait and see.
«Взрывов не боюсь, боюсь, что не придёте»: украинцы ждут освобождения"I'm not afraid of explosions, I'm afraid you won't come": Ukrainians are waiting for liberation
27.02.2022 - 4:30
"I'm not afraid of explosions, I'm afraid you won't come": Ukrainians are waiting for liberation | Russian Spring
The famous Russian military correspondent Alexander Kotz with the hashtag #Russkishepot published the opinions of residents of Ukraine from different cities.
Odessa
"I will tell you honestly that I have already lost faith that justice will prevail someday. That someday I will be able to speak freely again what I think about.
And when I woke up at 6 in the morning from my mother's call that the war had begun, I was not afraid for a second and did not feel sad.
I've been waiting for this for 8 long years.
I just want our victory to be as fast as possible and it was actual and irrevocable! So that we are no longer left to the mercy of fate!"
Dnepropetrovsk
"I am looking forward to the end of this nightmare called Ukrainization. I fully support your operation! It's about time!
I'm Russian, my grandfather fought. I see how the people of Ukraine are degrading. They are totally clogged, uneducated. They don't know either Russian or Ukrainian. And I am also outraged by your artists!
Sobchak is your disgrace, how can you show it, and "Rain"?! It's in general! I want my grandson to study in his native language and not have his immature brain clogged with nationalism. Don't stop halfway, throw these inhumans out quickly."
Krivoy Rog
"I have been waiting for you for 8 years. Half of the family is fucked up. My wife wants to go to Bulgaria or Poland with her son. I hope everything will work out. I'm not afraid of explosions, I'm afraid you won't come."
Kiev
"I just started writing, how loudly it shied very close, where is the military unit of the National Guard…
We are waiting for the arrival of Russia, its just return to the native Russian Kiev hills.
This stillborn non-state is falling apart because its entire short history is a deception, the meaning of its existence is anti-Russia, the authorities are infinitely corrupt and thievish.
From the very beginning, since the 90s, an irreconcilable course was taken to suppress and exterminate all Russian. First, Russian schools disappeared in Russian-speaking Kiev, then television… Russian Russians, Russian-speaking people of Kiev speak about Russia in Russian with hatred and contempt, but it's not for me to list it all to you, but the fact is terrible: Russians, Russian-speaking people of Kiev speak about Russia with hatred and contempt.
It comes to scandals, divorces, discord in families. Because of such disagreements, we quarreled with my late father, my brother thought I was crazy… Alas! Propaganda has not worked in vain for 30 years, and what to do with it now, how to treat it, is not clear!
Militant dullness and monotony, illiteracy, the decline of education, art and science, religious strife. What awaits our children and grandchildren?
I remember a crowd of Maidan fighters with black and red flags in Bessarabka. Even then, I was struck by the lack of these scumbags' faces. All equally compressed lips and glassy eyes. I will not forget the burning of people in Odessa live, the fighting in Slavyansk, the shooting from the plane in Lugansk. I can't forgive them Olesya Elderberry!
Sasha! This hatred, the gap created artificially between people of the same blood— is a terrible crime. It must be punished. This monster must be destroyed. This will not happen while the state of Ukraine is on the map.
We want to go home. Let western Ukraine go where it so longed for, we will not live together anyway…
Disabled notifications from employees in the group on Viber. You can't even imagine what they are posting there now. In order not to get involved in meaningless discussions and not to get upset, I went out for a while.
Sorry for the emotion. I write under the gunshots."
Russian throw-ins and fakes.I want to share an article that, in my opinion, makes you think about what will happen after. After the war. No matter how painful and scary it is to tears for what is happening now in Ukraine, we must understand that the war will end and will end soon enough (maybe these are my dreams), but the nightmare arranged by the Nazi authorities will not end there. It will be necessary to do something with all these "glass eyes", in the words of one of the heroines of the article below. Some of them will be able to wake up from this "fainting", but what about those who will not wake up? The nightmare is still ahead. I hope that there is an understanding that tears and snot should be wiped away and continue to do because if we don't do it, it will only get worse.
Хочу поделиться статьей, которая, на мой взгляд, заставляет задуматься, о том что будет после. После войны. Как бы ни было до слез больно и страшно за то, что происходит сейчас на Украине, надо понимать, что война то закончится и закончится довольно скоро (может это мои мечты), однако кошмар устроенный нацистской властью на этом не закончится. Надо будет что то делать со всеми этими "стеклянными глазами", по выражению одной из героинь нижеприведенной статьи. Кто то из них сможет очнуться от этого "обморока", а что с теми кто не очнется? Кошмар еще впереди. Я надеюсь, что есть понимание того, что слезы и сопли надо утереть и продолжать делать потому что если не делать будет только хуже.
«Взрывов не боюсь, боюсь, что не придёте»: украинцы ждут освобождения
Germany approved a transfer of lethal weapons to Ukraine on Saturday to aid the country’s embattled military against the Russian invasion, the German Defense Ministry told Reuters, marking a significant shift in Germany’s longstanding policy of not allowing German-made lethal weapons to be sent to conflict zones.
Germany To Send Thousands Of Weapons To Ukraine In Reversal Of Longtime Stance On Lethal Military Aid
German officials have defended the country’s policy preventing the transfer of lethal weapons in recent weeks, which was aimed at finding other ways to secure peace across the continent.www.forbes.com
Germany just offered 500 Stingers and 1000 antitank weapons to the Ukies.
Their spy boss saw in situ (part of)the English donation of idem (of 600million? those things are expensive) while still sitting on the airfield, confiscated by the Russians.
If this goes though, it would make for more blood shedding in Ukraine by the nazis.
A very cynical move, as the spy must know those Ukies also took down MH17. Putin knows, too.
So, i guess Germany just lost the last bit of goodwill. Back to coal, Germany.
And the Estonian sent self powered big Howitzers will get unpacked by the RF airforce?
I'm not seeing what the grand plan is from Russia - is anyone? All I'm hearing is that there's some master plan that is beyond our ability to perceive or comprehend.
Guys, no one is cutting anyone off and doing just fine. This is an interconnected system! Don't be mistaken, the US and EU are powerful as hell and are well versed in destroying other countries - in fact they have a proven track record of this. Tomorrow better bring some good news and this nonsense between all these countries better stop! There needs to be some diplomacy.
The problem though is that it doesn't look like it'll matter if Russia actually wins militarily or if it can actually do it. What does winning militarily mean practically in this situation? Taking Kiev? Destroying all strategic military places in Ukraine? I'm not sure any if these will constitute victory in the long run.... Again, what's the plan?
The more industrialized eastern part of the country is mostly(?) Russian-speaking, so it won't just be the Donbass that's on the side of Russia.
Btw, don't take this the wrong way @SOTTREADER , but I have to say that your recent posts remind me a lot of your posts from the beginning of the Plandemic.
Don't panic and give the bastards what they want. This is the greatest show in the universe and we got the front row seats. The universe will go ahead according to its cycles and the Cs tell us this time it's the good guys' turn to win.
Diplomacy from who exactly? I never said US and Europe would be fine, I said Russia and China will be fine if it comes to that. What does the US provide to the world? What does the UK provide to the world? These are honest questions that deserve honest answers.
But I also think that everything you see and read right now about sanctions and retaliation, is narrative control. The leaders of the west are stuck, they have to tread a fine balance of not looking too weak but also not shooting themselves in the foot.
It's important to remember there are so many factions that are working at cross purposes right now. It's way too early to say how this all will end.
From a higher perspective, this de-Nazification may the very best thing that could be happening on the planet at this time.
This is the battle, being fought in my time, and Russia is the force that is igniting the world, of those that can listen and hear, to make a choice.
Putin seems to have changed in that video. I wondered if he has a double. Seems to have put on weight and become a bit rounder and softer or something. Doesn't seem as chiselled and fit as some other videos.
Maybe he has a lot of pression and that's why he is a little fatter. But I am always looking if he can have a double, that's very normal when you are a Premier, you have a double. Even Franco had a double, imagine. Specially bad guys have doubles.
Anyone else thinks that this could be opening phase of an attempt to put an end to US/NATO dominance by China and Russia? Which could mean WW3, off course. And what we are seeing are just the opening moves?