Oorlog in Oekraοne #988:

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Ten More Ukrainians Freed from Russian Captivity
Ten Ukrainian citizens have been successfully returned from Russian captivity, as announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Those freed include Nariman Dzhelyal, the Deputy Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, detained in Crimea in 2021. Olena Pekh and Valeriy Matiushenko, civilians held since 2017–2018, are also among the freed. Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church priests Bohdan Heleta and Ivan Levytsky, captured in Berdyansk, have been released. Additionally, five civilians captured in Belarus—Mykola Shvets, Nataliya Zakharenko, Pavlo Kupriienko, Lyudmyla Honcharenko, and Kateryna Bryukhanova—are now back in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the release, stating, “We are grateful to everyone who helped bring our people home. This success highlights our unwavering commitment to securing the freedom of every Ukrainian held in captivity.”

The Vatican played a crucial role in facilitating the exchange that led to the return of ten Ukrainian citizens from Russian captivity.

On June 25, 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the return of 90 Ukrainian defenders from Russian captivity, including soldiers from various military branches. He thanked those involved in the exchange, including the UAE, and reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to liberating all captives.

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Dozens of MPs and Senators Added as Friends a Fake Z-Poet Who Published Translations of German Nazi Poems

Anti-war activists created an account on VKontakte of the fictional z-poet Gennady Rakitin, on whose behalf they published patriotic poems, which were actually translations of poems by Hitler’s Nazis. During the year of the existence of the profile, “Rakitin” received a certificate from the organizers of the All-Russian competition of patriotic poetry named after Tvardovsky, which is held by the Kaluga branch of the Union of Professional Writers, and dozens of deputies, senators and z-bloggers were added to his friends. Among the “poet’s” friends, for example, are Andrei Klishas and Dmitry Rogozin. In addition to z-publics, Rakitin’s work was published by Nikita Mikhalkov and the Moscow magazine.

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IMF approves US$2.2 billion tranche for Ukraine
The IMF Board of Directors has completed the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Ukraine, approving a decision to disburse about US$2.2 billion to Ukraine to be used for budget support.

Source: IMF’s statement

Quote: "Ukraine’s performance remains strong under the EFF despite challenging conditions. All quantitative performance criteria for end-March were met, and all structural benchmarks through end-June were implemented on time or with a short delay.

The Ukrainian economy continues to be resilient although the outlook remains subject to exceptionally high uncertainty. Sustained reform momentum and timely disbursement of external support are necessary to safeguard macroeconomic stability, restore fiscal and debt sustainability, and enhance institutional reforms to lay the path to European Union accession."

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Russian coal industry profit drops by 93% amid sanctions and loss of clients – The Moscow Times
The profit of the Russian coal industry, one of the largest raw materials industries in the economy, fell by 93%, or 15 times, over the year, The Moscow Times reported on June 27 with reference to Rosstat data.

Profitable companies accumulated 72 billion rubles ($840.4 million) of profit in January-April 2024, while unprofitable companies recorded 58 billion rubles ($677 million) of loss. In total, the Russian coal industry made 14 billion rubles ($163.4 million) in profit. This is almost 200 billion ($2.3 billion) less than in the same period a year earlier.

Less than half of the industry's companies ended the first four months of 2024 in the black, although a year ago there were two-thirds of them, and their total financial result was reduced threefold. At the same time, one in two companies, according to official statistics, became unprofitable (52.4%).

"Cut off from Western markets by sanctions, coal companies are rapidly losing clients in countries that the Kremlin calls 'friendly,'" the newspaper writes.

In the first quarter, Russian coal exports decreased by 13%, and in March the decline reached 17%. Every month, the industry lost about 3 million tons of exports, and prices for Russian coal fell to a three-year low: $95 per ton in the ports of the Far East (-6% since the beginning of the year), $72 per ton in Taman (-13% since the beginning of the year), and only $61 in the ports of the Baltic Sea (-14%).

India, which accounts for about a third of Russia's coal exports, reduced purchases by 22% to 6.76 million tons in March-May, NV reported earlier. Exports to Turkiye, South Korea, and Japan also fell.

China, the largest buyer of Russian raw materials, has imposed an import duty on coal that does not apply to other suppliers, such as Indonesia and Australia, which are members of the free trade zone with China.

India's largest steel company stopped buying Russian coal in May 2022.

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Op zaterdag 29 juni 2024 07:43 schreef PluggieOD het volgende:

[..]
Zonder steenkool kun je niet eens een (huidige) windmolen maken.

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Op zaterdag 29 juni 2024 08:16 schreef PluggieOD het volgende:

[..]
We verbruiken wereldwijd steeds meer steenkool.

https://www.iea.org/energy-system/fossil-fuels/coal
Global coal consumption reached an all-time high in 2022 and the world is heading towards a new record in 2023. Global coal demand reached a record high in 2022 amid the global energy crisis, rising by 4% year-on-year to 8.42 billion tonnes (Bt).

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U.S. Army awards contract for production of 870 Patriot missiles

^{PAC-3, PAC-3 MSE and THAAD missiles. 2015. Photo credits: flickr.com}

The U.S. Army has signed a contract to produce 870 missiles for the Patriot air defense system.

The website of the U.S. Department of the Army says that the contract with Lockheed Martin is worth $4.5 billion.

The contract provides for PAC-3 MSE missiles with related equipment.

“This multiyear contract award for the PAC-3 MSE missile follows through on the Army’s commitment to stabilize and expand our production capability for this critical weapon system, which is vital to supporting the US Army and Joint Force, along with Ukraine and other allies around the world” said Douglas Bush, the Army’s Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.

The PAC-3 MSE missile is capable of countering “incoming threats,” including tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonic missiles and aircraft.

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Ukraine veteran sentenced to seven years in prison for beating his grandmother to death

^{Alexey Zharikov. Photo: VKontakte}

A court in the southern Russian city of Volgograd sentenced a veteran who fought in Ukraine to seven years in prison for the murder of his grandmother, the court’s website announced on Friday.

According to criminal investigators, Alexey Zharikov became angry with his grandmother when he returned from work to a home they shared and proceeded to beat her to death with a wooden chair.

When considering Zharikov’s sentencing, the court took into account his military service, the independent Russian media outlet Verstka reported. Verstka noted that it is “unknown when exactly Zharikov returned from war”. However, photos Zharikov posted to social media in September 2023 depict him in combat gear holding military-grade weapons.

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DIU and cyberactivists carry out a large-scale attack on Russian companies

^{A cyber training ground was opened at the Zhytomyr Military Institute. 2020. Photo credits: ArmyInform}

Activists of the BO_Team cyber community with specialists from the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine attacked Russian companies.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported that they had attacked Russian companies that supported the war.

Over the past week, they have, among other things, destroyed all data on eight servers of a developer and supplier of navigation equipment.

The company in question is Orient Systems, which cooperated with Russian manufacturers of military equipment, including drones.

Also, according to the DIU, more than 100 terabytes of OrbitSoft data were destroyed during the week.

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Drones of the SSU hit 8 Russian air defense systems

^{A Ukrainian strike drone strikes a Russian TOR-M2 air defense system. June 2024. Frame from SSU video}

Drones of the Security Service of Ukraine hit 8 different air defense systems of the Russian invaders.

The SSU said that the TOR-M2, Pantsir-S1 and BUK systems had been hit.

UAVs, capable of long-range strikes, were used to carry out the attack.

Presumably, the drones are equipped with a targeting system that allows the drone to hit the target more accurately.

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ArmyTV: Production of BTR-4 continues

^{BTR-4E armored personnel carrier of the 3rd Brigade of Operational Assignment in the Kharkiv region. April 2023. Ukraine. Photo credits: Andrii Marienko}

Production of Ukrainian BTR-4 armored personnel carriers continues despite Russia’s large-scale invasion.

This was reported in the story “A RUSSIAN SU-25 WAS SHOT DOWN, A STUFF TREAKS THE ARMOR, ATTACK ON THE OIL FILLING STATION: Stream from a Frontline City” by host Junior Lieutenant Serhii Lipko.

The video shows that the armored personnel carrier of the 56th Separate ‘Mariupol’ Infantry Brigade was manufactured in 2023.

Just recently, we wrote that the soldiers of the 56th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had been practicing combat operations and maneuvers using their BTR-4E armored personnel carriers.

“The most important thing is that the production of Ukrainian BTR-4 Bucephalus is still going on,” said Lipko in the story.

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At least 12 killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine. Rescue work continues at destroyed apartment bloc
Russian attacks across eastern Ukraine killed at least 11 people Saturday, while rescuers in the city of Dnipro dug through rubble after a Russian strike ripped through a nine-story residential building, leaving one dead, officials said.

The attacks came as Russia continues to stretch out Ukrainian forces in several areas along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front. Moscow has stepped up airstrikes in a bid to drain Ukraine’s resources, often targeting energy facilities and other vital infrastructure.

The shelling of the front-line village of Niu-York in the Donetsk region also injured five people, said Gov. Vadym Filashkin. He said that Russian forces had shelled populated areas 13 times over the past 24 hours.

A further seven people were killed Saturday afternoon in Russian shelling on the town of Vilniansk, including two children, said Gov. Ivan Fedorov. Ten more were injured, while infrastructure was also damaged, he wrote on social media.

Meanwhile, in Dnipro, at least one person died and 12 were injured, including a 7-month-old girl, after a Russian strike destroyed the top four floors of the apartment bloc Friday evening, said regional head Serhii Lysak. Rescuers confirmed that several residents remained missing.

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Ukrainian defenders push back Russians from Terny and Yampolivka

^{Ukrainian soldiers knocked out the Russians from their positions near Terny. June 2024. Frame from the video of the Azov Brigade}

Soldiers of the Azov Brigade, the 95th Brigade and accompanying units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, drove the Russian invaders out of a number of positions in the Lyman sector.

The invaders were driven back from the settlements of Terny and Yampolivka in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian defenders managed to gain a foothold in the liberated positions.

The press service of the 12th Special Operations Brigade “Azov” reported about this in Telegram.

The military showed a video from the newly retaken positions near Terny, where Russians are storming the lost trenches in the hope of regaining them.

The Azov Brigade said that since the beginning of the year, the Russian troops had been continuously attacking the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces near Terny in the Liman sector. They noted that the situation in the area had been threatening because the invaders had spared neither personnel nor equipment to capture the Ukrainian village.

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