Oorlog in Oekraïne #909 Poetinpijper

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Op donderdag 21 december 2023 15:33 schreef 3rr0r het volgende:
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Op donderdag 21 december 2023 18:47 schreef Ulx het volgende:
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Op donderdag 21 december 2023 18:36 schreef 3rr0r het volgende:
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Op donderdag 21 december 2023 19:44 schreef oheng het volgende:
Andrew Perpetua's observaties. Google Docs bron.
Disclaimer: dit zijn alleen de verliezen die zijn gefilmd + geupload, en daarna gevonden door Perpetua op Twitter/Telegram.
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Op donderdag 21 december 2023 21:14 schreef polderturk het volgende:
Stijn Mitzer

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G7 countries agree to postpone Ukraine's debt repayment until 2027
A group of Ukraine's official creditors from the G7 and the Paris Club have agreed to postpone payments on Ukraine's official debt until 2027.

Source: press service of the Ukrainian Finance Ministry

Details: Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko signed amendments to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Suspension of Official Debt Payments on 21 December.

Today's signing will extend an agreement signed on 14 September 2022 with a group of Ukraine's official creditors from the G7 and the Paris Club to the end of March 2027, which provides for the suspension of payments on public and publicly guaranteed debt.

These stipulations correspond to the completion of the current IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.

Representatives of the governments of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom signed the agreement.

"I am grateful to our partners from the G7 countries for understanding Ukraine's needs in the time of war. Today's agreement on the revision of debt obligations allows us to reduce the burden on the budget until the end of the IMF programme and save foreign currency liquidity to ensure social spending.

This voluntary debt payment suspension is part of the US$122 billion international support package provided by the partners of Ukraine," Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko stressed.

The finance ministry emphasised that the group of official creditors noted the work of the Ukrainian government in fulfilling the conditions of the IMF's EFF programme and implementing crucial reforms, including in debt policy, underpinning the country's economic recovery.

Background: Gavin Gray, Chief of the IMF Mission to Ukraine, noted that the moratorium on Ukraine's external debt repayments will be in place until 2027 and that the restructuring will be completed by mid-2024.

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Russia is Worried About Video Games Painting It in a Bad Light
Ever since the Cold War Russia has had an image of a villain in the Western world. It just so happens that the West is where most of the largest video game studios exist.
It is not even surprising that Russia is a villain in video games. On top of that, now that Russia has brought back a large-scale armed conflict back to Europe, the villainous image of Russia is going to be solidified. And so the State Duma of the Russian Federation is now worried about the threats of the “Kyiv regime” in video games.

Russian children can “form a negative image of Russia” thanks to video games, said Anna Kuznetsova, deputy speaker of the Russian State Duma, their legislature body.

Kuznetsova did not provide examples of such games. It is likely that she is not very well-versed in this area. However, she is not too far off. In many military-style video games, such as first-person shooters, Russia is one of the villains. And now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, this image is going to become more popular.

And the worries of the Russian State Duma go deeper than that. According to Kuznetsova, some game studios (again, it is not clear which ones) transfer money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but children and adult players of the game do not know about this. Kuznetsova called for “setting priorities that correspond to the national interests of the country.” That is, try to prevent Russian children from playing potentially pro-Ukrainian or anti-Russian games.

“I propose to send an appeal to Roskomnadzor, Rospotrebnadzor with a proposal to prepare a set of measures to protect against threats posed by the Kyiv regime in video games,” said Anna Kuznetsova. She also suggested asking the Russian Ministry of Education to provide a set of measures or strengthen them “to protect schoolchildren from involvement in destructive activities of Ukraine.”

Roskomnadzor is the Russian Federal Service for Communications, Information Technology and Public Information Means, while Rospotrebnadzor is the Russian Consumer Rights Protection Service. Both these institutions do not shy away from engaging in censorship, hunting down allegedly “Russophobic” products.

You may count on this – FPS games in the near future will have elements from the war in Ukraine. And Russia will be the invader, occupier, war criminal, sponsor of terrorism. That is just how things go in this area. Also, multiplayer games are a digital space where all sorts of ideas can be shared and Russian players may learn a thing or two about themselves there too.

It is interesting that the highest Russian political institutions are worried about the image of Russia in video games. However, their image in video games is not worse than in other parts of life.

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Ukrainian Forces Hit Russian Ammo Depot in Occupied Mariupol

In a successful operation, Ukrainian forces targeted Russian ammunition depots and concealed equipment in the occupied city of Mariupol. The strike, centered around the former Mariupol Khladokombynat, a cold storage facility, resulted in 10 Russian casualties, as revealed by Petro Andryushchenko, an advisor to the exiled mayor of Mariupol.
Reports from local residents confirmed explosions in Mariupol on Wednesday, with Russian forces attributing the blasts to air defense operations. Contrary to this claim, Andryushchenko argued that the air defense measures were ineffective. Taking to his Telegram channel, he stated, "Yesterday, 'heavenly punishment' struck the territory of the former Kladokombynat in Kalmiusky district, where the occupier had recklessly hidden ammunition and equipment."

According to Andryushchenko, Ukrainian forces successfully hit all intended targets, resulting in "at least 10 fewer Russians" who were reportedly taken away in serious condition. The development adds to the ongoing dynamics in the region as Ukrainian forces continue to resist and respond to the Russian occupation.

Andryushchenko expressed his satisfaction, stating, "Twice in a week. A nice record. Just an awesome day."

As of now, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has not issued an official comment on the current situation.

Back in early November, Andryushchenko had informed that the Russian military was establishing operational and technical depots in the city, utilizing structures like hangars, garages, and former granaries.

Recent reports from Ukrainian partisans in Mariupol, speaking to Kyiv Post, highlight an uptick in Russian occupation patrols actively searching for members of the Ukrainian resistance movement in the Berdyansk-Mariupol area. The partisans noted a resurgence in searches, door-to-door visits, and increased patrols throughout the city, signaling heightened tensions in the region.

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Russian military commanders accused of extorting money from their troops
A former prisoner and Storm Z soldier from the Primorsky region in the Russian Far East has told Novaya Gazeta Europe that he deserted from his unit in Ukraine to avoid ongoing extortion by his commanding officers.

The serviceman, who we are unable to name for his own safety and who served in Storm Z, a Russian military unit made up of former prisoners freed to fight in Ukraine, says his commanders would imprison their own rank and file in the basement for the pettiest of violations.

To secure their release, soldiers would have to pay 15,000-20,000 rubles (¤150-200), he said, describing the basement as a small room just three metres by three metres, which always had 10 men in it. “It’s stifling and really stinks. You have to go to the toilet in a bottle,” he added.

Extortion was not the only problem described by the source, however, who said that injured combat troops were regularly returned from hospital to the front before they were fully recovered. The source said that despite being discharged from hospital with a note advising against physical activity, he was sent to the front line without a bulletproof vest and then imprisoned in the basement. It was at this point he decided to desert, which he later did with a fellow conscript who was caught.

Our interviewee has been in Donetsk since October. He says his contract ended on 28 November, but he cannot go to Russia as he has no documents. He contacted a lawyer to file a complaint about the abuse and extortion with the military prosecutor, but was told that “the prosecutor dealing with Storm Z is in Novocherkassk, and you need to file your complaint there”.

This is not the only case of extortion Novaya Europe has been made aware of in the Russian military. The mother of another former prisoner recruited to fight in Ukraine recounted how her son had told her that the unit commander withdrew money from bank cards the Defence Ministry had issued to Storm Z servicemen on which to receive their salaries.

“The pin code came in the same envelope as the card. They opened them and … withdrew 160,000 rubles (¤1,600). … They gave them their cards in open envelopes,” she says.

Another three assault troops we spoke to said they had never encountered extortion from commanding officers.

Last month, Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that Russian front-line soldiers have a system of bribes to purchase various services including “injuries”, leave, rotation and even to avoid active combat altogether.

An officer from the motorised rifle platoon said an injury needing hospitalisation costs between $10,000 (¤9,100) and $50,000 (¤45,500), depending on rank and which part of the front the soldier is on.

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Bulgarian Parliament approved constitutional amendments
The Bulgarian parliament approved a number of constitutional amendments in the final third reading. The MPs voted by name, standing up and saying “for” or “against.”

GERB-SDS (Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria—Union of Democratic Forces), PP-DB (Continuing Changes—Democratic Bulgaria), and DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) voted in favor of the amendments.

Only one PP-DB deputy abstained. The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, the Revival Party, voted against, Bgnes reported.

The amendments reduce the president’s influence on government appointments.

Dual citizenship is no longer an obstacle to holding public office. However, the requirement that MPs have resided in Bulgaria for the last 18 months remains.

The changes limit the powers of the Prosecutor General, requiring the election of a new Prosecutor General within three months. The High Council of the Judiciary consists of two bodies: the High Council of Prosecutors and the High Council of the Judiciary.

The changes in the Constitution are the beginning of the judicial reform, said the co-chairman of PP-DB Hristo Ivanov. In his words, with the changes in the Judiciary Act, in the procedural laws and with the personnel decisions later on, a real independence of the Bulgarian court will be achieved.

“The modern, independent prosecutor’s office and a justice system that is fair by European standards will be a fact”, Hristo Ivanov said.

Two-thirds of the parliament will have to make decisions on the election of regulators. However, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev does not support these constitutional amendments.

“Bulgarians will pay a high price for experimenting with the constitution. It is my duty as head of state to appeal the decision to the Constitutional Court,” said President Rumen Radev.

The opposition also said it would appeal the changes to the Constitutional Court.

The Bulgarian parliament passed a ban on exporting fuel produced from Russian oil in the first and second readings earlier this week. This ban was an exception to the EU ban.

Additionally, to facilitate accession to the Schengen area, the parliament abolished the tax on the transit of Russian Gazprom’s gas through its territory.