Grain deal becomes risky, Kremlin says
Putin's press secretary Peskov called the grain deal unrealizable without the participation of Russia

MOSCOW, October 31 - RIA Novosti. A grain deal can hardly exist without Russia's participation, there are questions about security in the Black Sea, said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
"In conditions when Russia talks about the impossibility of guaranteeing the safety of navigation in these areas, of course, such a deal is hardly feasible. And it takes on a different character, much more risky, dangerous and unguaranteed," the Kremlin spokesman said, answering a question from journalists whether it is possible continuation of the grain deal without the participation of Russia.

According to him, Kyiv, by its actions, led to the disruption of agreements and undermined "the atmosphere of trust and guaranteed security."
Peskov stressed that Moscow continues to maintain diplomatic contacts with Ankara and the UN.

Follow @TrFormer 💤

Missile strike damaged tugboats carrying grain barges in Ochakovo
31.10.2022 - 19:11
Translated from "The Russian Spring"
The Russian Armed Forces in the port of Ochakov destroyed two tugboats involved in the transportation of barges with grain, reports the Operational Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "South".

“Russian troops attacked the port infrastructure in the Ochakov direction, hit two civilian tugs of a barge with grain, two crew members died, the fate of another is unknown,” the report says.

Earlier, the Kremlin said that the deal on grain "is hardly realizable and is acquiring a different character, much more risky, dangerous and not guaranteed."
Well, dangerous means dangerous...
Follow @TrFormer 💤

Ukraine races to stop Russia from destroying its power grid
Electric equipment is desperately needed to keep the country from freezing
The Economist
“I believe that some professionals from the energy sector of the Russian Federation helped their military,” says Dmytro Sakharuk, executive director of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private power company. “They carefully selected targets; they did this in a very methodological way.”

Russia’s primary targets have been the electrical substations that link different parts of Ukraine’s grid together; some have been hit with as many as ten missiles. The aim is to chop the system into pieces so that power cannot be moved between different regions of the country to balance the load. In serious cases, this can even lead to much of the grid having to be shut down.

A second set of targets is the country’s power plants themselves. Those are bigger and harder to knock out, but as of last week at least 30% of the country’s power capacity had been damaged, according to UkrEnergo, the national-grid operator. Reducing capacity raises the risk that at peak demand the system could experience widespread blackouts and force some plants to shut down. In the worst case, says Mr Sakharuk, plants might lack the current needed to start up again. The blackout might last for a long time.

Ukraine’s grid has been linked to Europe’s since March, allowing European providers to supply current if Ukraine falls short. But if shutdowns make Ukraine’s grid too unstable, Europe might have to disconnect it, at least temporarily, in order to prevent that instability affecting its own grid; that would make Ukraine’s problems even worse. Sudden shutdowns would damage other infrastructure and heavy industry. For example, the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, a city in eastern Ukraine, depends on the public power grid for the facility that turns coal into coke for its blast furnaces. If power were cut abruptly, its equipment would be wrecked, says Mauro Longobardo, chief executive of ArcelorMittal Ukraine. In cities such as Kyiv, meanwhile, water and sewage systems would shut down, along with neighbourhood heating systems. In below-zero temperatures pipes would freeze and crack.

To prevent this, power authorities are imposing rolling blackouts to keep demand safely below available supply. In important cities electricity is being turned off, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, for four hours at a time. Power companies have tried to set up websites to warn residents when the lights will go off, but sometimes blackouts are unpredictable. “They just cut the power, we don’t know when,” says Valera, who works at a bakery in Kyiv’s chic city centre. On the north side of the street, lights were shimmering and smooth pop music played in coffee shops, but along the south side restaurants relied on cash and candlelight.

Sakharuk says they could be swapped in. Circuit-breakers may be compatible too. But there are unlikely to be many such large components lying around, as they are usually built to order. Ordering new components from manufacturers could take anywhere from six months to three years. So Ukraine is asking Western firms to push it to the front of the queue, and take components they have ordered that are nearing completion.

Follow @TrFormer 💤

A missile attack was carried out on the Novodnestrovskoye hydroelectric power station near the border with Moldova.

There is a massive fire at the site.

Translated from RVvoencor

Follow @TrFormer 💤

Press conference in Sochi.
Vladimir Putin is going to answer journalists' questions.

Follow 👉@TrFormer💤

Today's attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure are partly a RESPONSE to the attack on Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol?
"In some way Yes but we have capability to do MORE" - Putin.
👉@TrFormer 💤

Translated from Militarist:

Russia approves donation of 25,000 tons of wheat to Lebanon, Lebanese Public Works Minister Ali Hami says.

Follow 👉@TrFormer 💤

Vladimir Putin: These drones, both underwater and aerial drones, partly flew along the corridor that transports grain from Ukraine. And in this way they created a threat both to our ships, which must ensure the safety of the export of grain, and to the civilian ships that are engaged in this. And we have pledged to ensure this security. And what if - you'll excuse me for the simplicity of expressions - if Ukraine will gouge at these courts? We will be guilty. Just like everyone there is now cracking about what Russia is doing, not remembering what caused it. And this is due to the creation of a threat to this humanitarian corridor. The Minister of Defense rightly says: they pose a threat to both our ships and civilian ships. And we must ensure the safety of civilian courts. Therefore, we are not saying that we are ending our participation in this operation, no, we are saying that we are suspending it.

Follow @TrFormer 💤

Continued below ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Continuation from above ⬆️⬆️⬆️
One of the organizers of this work was the UN Secretary General, and UN staff are actively involved in this work, for which we are grateful to them, of course. But then let them work with Ukraine - Ukraine must guarantee that there will be no threats to civilian vessels and to Russian supply ships. It's not jokes. This underwater vehicle is 6 meters long, there are explosives in there. If it gets there, there will be nothing left of the grain or the ship. And we will be to blame.

Follow @TrFormer 💤

Use of the non-guided missiles from Mi-24.
MilHeliPilot
Follow @TrFormer 💤

IMARAT DONBASS: As a result of khazar shelling earlier with NATO 155mm shells, was partially damaged the central Mosque of Donetsk. During the shelling, died 2 people

SALOfites shall be punished for this

-BelRus

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The defeat of GLOBALISTS in just one country is not enough, but it will help; Russia's success against the DARK FORCES means the world will have a CHANCE against an APOCALYPTIC end - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.
👉@TrFormer

In an interview for a Russian state television documentary on the missile crisis, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there were similarities to 1962, largely because Russia was now threatened by Western weapons in Ukraine.
"I hope that in today's situation, President Joe Biden will have more opportunities to understand who gives orders and how," Lavrov said. "This situation is very disturbing."
Follow 👉@TrFormer 💤

Since the start of the war, the Biden administration has effectively maintained a balanced realpolitik approach: arming and funding Ukraine yet continuing to make clear that the United States will not engage directly in the conflict. But the administration has avoided talking about one crucial area of war strategy altogether: how it might end. Experts and policymakers who have suggested that the United States should also support diplomatic efforts aimed at a negotiated settlement have been treated as naïve or borderline treasonous. Driving the administration’s skittishness about endgames, then, are questions of morality: many argue that it is immoral to push Ukraine toward a settlement.
Follow 👉@TrFormer 💤

"You will go down in history, not as politicians, but as criminals and serial killers“ - Permanent Representative of the Republic of Belarus to the UN Valentin Rybakov

- "I would like to address those who are developing and implementing these sanctions. You deprive people of the basic right – the right to life, but after that you have the audacity to teach us how to respect human rights in your understanding, of course.

Sooner or later, you will simply be swept away either by your own peoples, or by millions of those who will come to you from the countries that you are destroying today.

And these people will come to you not for mythical human rights, in your understanding, but for a piece of bread to feed their families, their children. And I think you will go down in history, not as politicians, but as criminals and serial killers.
" drugoeeta

LONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Lloyd’s of London insurer Ascot is suspending writing cover for new shipments using the Ukrainian grains corridor in the Black Sea until it has more clarity about the situation there, a senior official said on Monday.

Moscow said it was forced to pull out of the Black Sea grain shipping deal after blasts damaged Russian navy ships in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Saturday.
Follow 👉@TrFormer 💤

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the movement of bulk carriers along the transport corridor of the "grain deal" is unacceptable.

-No security guarantees apply to bulk carriers traveling along this corridor anymore

-Russia does not withdraw from the agreements within the framework of the Black Sea Initiative, but suspends its participation

-Moscow's position has been brought to the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary General

-The movement of ships along the security corridor in the Black Sea is unacceptable, since Kiev uses it for conducting military operations

-There can be no question of guarantees of safety for ships before Kiev commits not to use the route for military purposes.
@TrFormer💤