Russo-Ukrainian War Thread - Page 34

MOSCOW — Retailers in Russia will limit sales of essential foodstuffs to limit black market speculation and ensure affordability, the government says, as sanctions imposed over Moscow’s military incursion into Ukraine began to bite.

The trade and industry ministry says there have been cases where essential foodstuffs had been purchased “in a volume clearly larger than necessary for private consumption (up to several tons) for subsequent resale.”

Trade organizations representing retailers had proposed retailers be allowed to limit the volume of specific goods sold to individuals at any one time, the ministry’s statement says.

“The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture supported the initiative of trade organizations,” the release says, noting that the organizations themselves would work out the policy.

Essential goods, whose prices are subject to state controls, include bread, rice, flour, eggs and selected meats and dairy products among others.

Moscow has been hit with a damaging package of financial and cultural penalties by Western countries since the Kremlin initiated what it has called “a special military operation” in neighboring Ukraine on February 24.

On March 07 2022 02:15 Starlightsun wrote:
Are the roads going to turn to slush when the snow starts to thaw?

One of Ukraine’s negotiators in ceasefire talks with Russia says there has been a perceptible shift on the Russian side, after 10 days of warfare that have seen Ukraine put up unexpectedly fierce resistance.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a top aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky, also called again for a NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine, a step that has been rejected by the 30-country alliance. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Saturday that any countries that tried to impose a no-fly zone would be considered “participants of the military conflict.”

Mr. Podolyak said that while the Russian side hadn’t yet altered its demands for a Ukrainian capitulation, he sensed that its attitude was shifting as the war and unprecedented Western sanctions took their toll.

“At the very start of the war, they were insisting on total domination. They weren’t expecting that Ukraine would deliver such severe resistance,” he said in an interview on Saturday. “They are starting to realize the real price of war only now. And now we are starting to have constructive negotiations.”

Mr. Podolyak made the comments after taking part in two rounds of talks with Russian officials at the Ukraine-Belarus border over the past week. He said a third negotiating session would happen “in the next day or two.”

He said that the scale of Russia’s military operation – 15 of 24 Ukrainian oblasts, or regions, have been attacked – meant that Russian officials had taken some time to develop a real understanding of the fact that the invasion was proceeding more slowly than expected, and that the Russian military was sustaining heavy losses.

“They have lost massive amounts of equipment and manpower. Sanctions like we’ve never seen before are collapsing their economy. Their country has become an outlaw on the international scene and their propaganda doesn’t work at all,” Mr. Podolyak said, speaking inside a heavily guarded government building that was surrounded with cement-and-sandbags fortifications in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

The political adviser was dressed in a military green sweatshirt and wore a pistol on his belt. Several times during the 30-minute interview, he stood up from his chair to peek out through vertical blinds at the city below.

Mr. Podolyak said that while the two sides had agreed not to publicly discuss details of the negotiations, Ukraine’s goals for the talks remained the same: an immediate ceasefire, security guarantees that Ukraine won’t be attacked again, and “significant” compensation for the loss of civilian life and the damage to Ukrainian cities. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday that the Russian demands included the disarmament of Ukraine and the recognition of Crimea – which Russia seized and annexed in 2014 – as Russian territory.

Ukraine claims to have inflicted massive losses on the Russian military through 10 days of war, including 10,000 dead soldiers and hundreds of destroyed tanks. The figures, if accurate, would represent a stunning setback for the Russian military. By comparison, the Soviet Union acknowledged 15,000 deaths during its 10-year war in Afghanistan during the 1980s.

According to Russian state media, 498 soldiers had been killed in Ukraine as of Wednesday.

Ukraine’s military losses have been estimated at 1,500 troops. More than 2,000 civilians have reportedly been killed as Russia’s air force and cruise missiles have repeatedly struck civilian neighbourhoods and critical infrastructure.

The talks led to an agreement on a temporary ceasefire that would have allowed civilians to leave the besieged eastern Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha on Saturday. The ceasefire never happened, but Mr. Podolyak said he believes the problem was one of poor discipline among Russian troops.

“We appointed the locations for civilians to gather to be evacuated. Unfortunately, the Russian Federation can’t effectively control their soldiers on the ground, who continued shelling the evacuation routes. We are actively working on this now,” he said. “It could also be bad intentions … but I mostly believe it was bad discipline and bad communications with the forces on the ground.”

Mr. Podolyak also repeated Mr. Zelensky’s demands for NATO to provide air cover to Ukrainian civilians. In an angry speech on Friday following a NATO meeting at which the idea of a no-fly zone was formally rejected, Mr. Zelensky told the alliance that “all the people who will die from this day will die because of you, as well.”

Mr. Podolyak said Mr. Zelensky was reflecting the opinion of all Ukrainians. “Of course, we are extremely irritated because closing the sky would drastically change the pattern of this war,” he said. “A no-fly zone means that Russia loses its tactical advantages, and peace negotiations would immediately go into another framework. Most importantly, it would stop the killing of civilians, including children.”

While Western countries say they’re worried that sending NATO planes into action over Ukraine would provoke a wider war, Mr. Podolyak argued that a global conflict had already begun – and that the only question was whether it would be fought now in Ukraine, or later somewhere else in Europe. He said a no-fly zone “would stop the development of World War Three.”

On March 07 2022 03:17 PoulsenB wrote:
Green light given by the US for NATO (most probably Poland) to send jets to Ukraine. I don't know how to feel about this, could be used as a pretense by Putin to do something very stupid.

https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1500523777335209987

On March 07 2022 03:36 aseq wrote:


I don't understand why this has to be posted publicly. Is it to score 'helping hand' points as a government? Why not keep this under the radar, Russians don't need this info either...

On March 07 2022 03:46 Gorsameth wrote:
Because its unlikely they could organise something like the transfer of fighters without Russia finding out anywhere so there is no point keeping it a secret, might aswell score some points while your at it.

On March 07 2022 03:51 Manit0u wrote:


It's still a tough deal for Poland. On one hand you get a deal with NATO that'll replace your older jets with newer stuff. On the other you kind of paint a bullseye on your forehead.