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I don't understand who really makes decisions in Ukraine. What individual or group of people need to make the call on suing for peace? Ukraine has a unicameral parliament (Verkhovna Rada) with 450 members not including prez, prime minister and cabinet. Any law passed by the parliament can be vetoed by the president; parliament can override their veto with a 2/3 constitutional majority vote. Rada's history reads like a shitshow (fist fights, bribes, Ponzi schemes etc.) and they don't inspire a lot of confidence.

March 2022 everybody was saying Zelensky would be assassinated if he didn't take a hard line and other Ukrainians have already been murdered for even suggesting a peace deal with Russia so in this kind of a paranoid environment who would even do that? Are they really waiting for Biden to give them an ok? Russia seems to still be in land acquisition mode. If they start an offensive in the north and far south while holding the line in the middle they could force Ukraine to choose between Odessa and Kiev. Once they secure the south they could make the situation untenable for Ukie politicians and bypass USA/UK approval (maybe) for a peace deal. Ukrainian leaders like those big bags of USD but you can't spend it when your dead.

Update on the Russian Luna-25 lander: Bad news, an emergency situation has occurred as the automatic station failed to perform the specified maneuver to transfer it into the pre-landing orbit. Waiting for more information.

IMF is Responsible for the Argentine Peso Devaluation: Massa

Economy Minister Massa acknowledged that the devaluation is "a very unpleasant decision imposed by the International Monetary Fund."

Sergio Massa, the Argentine Economy Minister and Union for the Homeland presidential candidate, blamed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the devaluation of the Argentine peso that took place on Monday.

The day after the primary elections, the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) devalued the peso by 18 percent with respect to the official price of the U.S. dollar, which increased by 22 percent.

During an interview with the Argentine media, Massa acknowledged that the devaluation is "a very unpleasant decision imposed by the IMF" and rejected that businessmen immediately transfer the costs caused by the increase in the dollar to the people.

The UxP presidential candidate described the international financial institution as "a huge necklace of watermelons on the back of Argentines" that functions as "the trustee of a call, which every three months looks at your accounts."

Currently, Argentine foreign currency market has six exchange rates for the U.S. dollar, which have been established over time to control inflationary effects in various economic sectors.

During the last four days, the administration of President Alberto Fernandez has worked to stabilize macroeconomic variables related to the so-called "financial dollars," Massa said, adding that the next four days will be focused on stabilizing domestic prices.

Subsequently, the economic authorities will make decisions to compensate the population groups that were most severely affected by the devaluation.

The Economy Minister recalled that the IMF debt was generated during the administration of right-wing President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), who received a loan of over US$40 billion.

China’s maritime ambitions boosted, claims largest shipping fleet title from Greece

China has overtaken Greece as the owner of the largest shipping fleet in terms of gross tonnage, according to a report by a leading global industry information provider, as it steps up efforts to become a major maritime power.

The Chinese-owned fleet has reached 249.2 million gross tonnage, or 15.9 per cent of the market share, edging ahead of Greece’s 249 million gross tonnage and Japan’s 181 million gross tonnage, according to Clarksons Research on Friday.

South Korea and the United States ranked fourth globally at around 66 million GT, with Germany falling from fourth in 2013 to seventh, the report showed.

US to impose tariffs on tin mill steel from China, Canada and Germany

The US Commerce Department on Thursday said it will impose preliminary anti-dumping duties on tin-plated steel imports from Canada, Germany and China, sparing several other countries in a decision that drew some relief from food can manufacturers that had feared higher tariffs.

The department said the highest preliminary anti-dumping duties of 122.5 per cent will be imposed on tin mill steel imported from China, including the country’s largest producer, Baoshan Iron and Steel.

The department will impose preliminary duties of 7.02 per cent on tin mill imports from German producers, including Thyssenkrupp and 5.29 per cent on imports from Canadian producers, including ArcelorMittal DOFASCO.

No duties will be imposed on the shiny silver metal – widely used in cans for food, paint, aerosol products and other containers – imported from Britain, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey, the Commerce Department added.

The Can Manufacturers Institute, a trade group, argued before the decision that because US steelmakers currently produce less than half of the tin-plate needed for domestic can manufacturing, any new import duties will lead to higher material costs and food prices at a time when inflation remains elevated.

Hexbear tankies want you to keep posting I call on all NATO liberals to cease all activities in this thread. Stop, don't let them take one post further towards their aim of complete post dominance, if the tankies reach 1000 posts we will have no choice but to do another round of defederations aimed towards the AUTHORITARIAN FEDERATION OF HEXBEAR.

Ukraine's western weapons are failing because the western defense manufacturers have been infiltrated by Putinbots.

Putin Points to Steady Development of Multipolar World Order

"Most countries are ready to assert their sovereignty and defend their national interests, traditions, culture," the Russian president said.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday said the world is witnessing the steady rise of a new multipolar world order.

"Most countries are ready to assert their sovereignty and defend their national interests, traditions, culture," he said during the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security.

Putin pointed out that a multipolar world order will ultimately contribute to "steady and sustainable global development," and help solve pressing social, economic, technological and environmental challenges.

He further noted that those who currently provoke new conflicts around the world and try to escalate existing ones are "seeking to benefit from human tragedy" by dividing nations, enforcing obedience, and exploiting the resources of other states.

"The United States is intent on reformatting the existing system of interstate relations in the Asia-Pacific region as it deems fit," he said, adding that Washington's Indo-Pacific strategies are only aimed at forming U.S.-led military and political associations.

NATO member states are actively building up their offensive potential, and are using military and non-military means to exert pressure on other states, he noted.

By pumping billions of dollars into Ukraine, supplying Kiev with equipment, and providing ongoing military assistance, Western states are further escalating the conflict and drawing other countries into it, he said.

https://archive.is/TurDH

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Business Insider says

Ukraine sends the powerhouse 82nd Air Assault Brigade into battle, as generals decide 'to put all their chips on the table,' says defense analyst

Fresh meat is being sent feet first into the meat grinder as the 2,000 men strong "elite" 82nd Air Assault Brigade - Fresh from training on NATO equipment and war doctrine - is being sent to succeed where all other nato equipped and trained Brigades have failed.

Article:

A key chess piece in Ukraine's military strategy has been deployed. Ukraine's 82nd Air Assault Brigade has officially joined the counteroffensive against the Russian invasion forces, the Kyiv (com)Post reports.

Michael Clarke, a defense and security analyst, told Insider that Ukraine's generals have "decided to put all their chips on the table," bringing everything they intend to use forward.

Leaked documents from earlier this year revealed the 82nd Brigade was a formidable unit with about 150 NATO-supplied armored infantry carriers. Its impressive arsenal includes 90 US Stryker vehicles, 40 German-produced Marders, 24 US-made M113 infantry carriers, and 14 British Challenger tanks, Politico reported.

In April, NATO confirmed they had trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian armored brigades.

The Challenger tanks have been reinforced with "cope cages" – self-installed turret-mounted cages to safeguard the vehicles from drone strikes. Even without this modification, the 71-ton, four-crew Challenger 2 is said to be the best-protected tank used in this war, according to Forbes.

THEY SAID THE THING

Forbes called the 82nd Brigade "almost comically powerful" as it represents half of its best NATO-delivered infantry armored vehicles.

Ukraine's long-anticipated counteroffensive started on June 4 with a string of coordinated attacks across southern and eastern Ukraine, Forbes reported.

Clarke, a former Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute in London, said the counteroffensive is progressing more slowly than anticipated because of the "sheer depths of the Russian minefields."

The 82nd Brigade, and its sister air-assault unit, the 46th Brigade, had previously been held in reserve. Although these were some of the last units in held back, Clarke clarifies that this doesn't mean Ukraine is using up all its reserves.

"It does mean that they're committing all their spearhead forces. Behind the spearhead forces, they've got reserves of the more regular forces, and they've got mobile brigades and mechanized infantry brigades that have been fighting elsewhere.

So it's not that they're going to run out of troops or equipment, but they're using a higher proportion of their spearhead units in order to make the initial breakthroughs."

Jimmy Rushton, an independent security analyst based in Kyiv, said that even if we end up in a form of stalemate, that doesn't mean that the war is over or lost.

"Wars, especially big state-on-state wars like this, take time. They're difficult, bloody, brutal things. And I think we have we in the West have entirely forgotten what it is what it's like to fight a war like this," he told Insider.

Clarke predicts the counteroffensive is tenable for another two months, while Rushton speculates that the longevity of the offensive will depend heavily on the tempo of fighting and the weather in the coming months.

The 82nd Brigade is reportedly active in the village of Robotyne, in the southern Zaporizhzhia Region of Ukraine. If the Marines' success in Urozhaine is any indication, the increased military presence around Robotyne could bring rapid gains for Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War, in its daily assessment this week, wrote: "Ukrainian forces advanced into Robotyne, and further Russian and Ukrainian reporting published on Aug. 15 suggests that Ukrainian forces have committed additional counteroffensive brigades to the western Zaporizhzhia Oblast area."

Russia plans to introduce the digital ruble into mass circulation in stages, following the successful completion of the pilot test, which began today.

Oh yeah i forgot to post this, I think. Just FYI, this solidifies even further my already existing fear of landmines alongside my fear of being on the receiving end of an artillery barrage and tripwire traps.

Also spiders.

Don't show your 3 year old the movie "arachnophobia".

https://archive.is/Aj7Ub

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Business Insider: A leading Ukrainian doctor says mines second only to artillery as a cause of soldier injuries

A leading Ukrainian medical officer said mines come second only to artillery as a cause of injury to soldiers, as the country's troops battle the dense minefields laid by Russia's forces. Serhiy Ryzhenko, the chief medical officer at the Mechnikov hospital in the southeastern city of Dnipro, told The Guardian that of the 50 to 100 soldiers he receives each day, many are injured by artillery, but mines now account for the second-highest number.

"Every day Mechnikov hospital receives 50 to 100 very, very seriously wounded people," he said, adding that the hospital has so far treated about 21,000 soldiers.

"Among these 21,000 soldiers, 2,000 were missing limbs," he said.

Russia has laid dense minefields across the east of Ukraine, which Ukraine says is hampering its counteroffensive efforts to take back territory.

The secretary of the country's National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, called the density of Russia's mines "insane" earlier this month.

And Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, told The Guardian that Ukraine was now the world's most heavily mined country. He asked the country's allies for more equipment to help clear the mines.

The density of the minefields has forced Ukrainian soldiers in some places to get out of their Western-supplied tanks to try to advance on foot, while a shortage of advanced de-mining equipment has left some Ukrainians trying to clear mines by hand.

Doctors in Ukraine's southern region told The New York Times earlier this month that they see many injuries caused by mines and shrapnel but few people hit by bullets during the current counteroffensive.

In some cases, Ukrainian soldiers have been blasted by mines as they try to reach their comrades who were hit by other mines, the Times reported.

Ukrainian soldiers also described to Sky News trying to locate mines with a metal detector while another soldier stood guard with an automatic weapon, all while Russian forces shelled and shot at them.

Experts previously told Insider that Russia was able to build such strong defenses, including its minefields, because Western delays in sending Ukraine weapons postponed the start of its counteroffensive push.

Reznikov, the defense minister, said Ukraine has skilled sappers, but nowhere near enough.

One Ukrainian unit currently dealing with Russia's mines saw two sappers lose feet in explosions in the space of two weeks, The Guardian reported.

Some of Ukraine's European allies have agreed to train and equip Ukrainians for clearing mines, but Reznikov told The Guardian that Ukraine still needs help from more of its allies.