quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
Britain’s MANPAD Starstreak is thought to have shot down a Russian helicopter in its first use on the Ukrainian battlefield

Starstreak was filmed cutting the aircraft in two over Luhansk Oblast in the east of the country.

That's a very nasty MANPAD; Stingers get the headlines but, the Starstreak is quite formidable.

Starstreak just got there. Stinger was there earlier and got the press.

Starstreak is much faster and is impervious to known countermeasures.

Stringer is easier to use and is fire and forget.

Plusses and minuses.

German Retailers To Increase Food Prices By 20-50% On Monday

https://www.zerohedge.com/mark...-prices-20-50-monday

Just days after Germany reported the highest inflation in generation (with February headline CPI soaring at a 7.6% annual pace and blowing away all expectations), giving locals a distinctly unpleasant deja vu feeling even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine broke what few supply chains remained and sent prices even higher into the stratosphere...

... on Monday, Germany will take one step toward a return of the dreaded Weimar hyperinflation, when according to the German Retail Association (HDE), consumers should prepare for another wave of price hikes for everyday goods and groceries with Reuters reporting that prices at German retail chains will explode between 20 and 50%:

GERMAN RETAIL CHAINS TO INCREASE FOOD PRICES BY 20-50% FROM MONDAY
Even before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, prices had risen by about five per cent “across the product range” as a result of increased energy prices, HDE President Josef Sanktjohanser told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung on Friday. With Russia’s invasion hitting economies and the supply chain harder, yet another series of price increases is on the horizon.

“The second wave of price increases is coming, and it will certainly be in double figures,” Sanktjohanser warned, cited by The Local.

According to the president of the trade association, the first retail chains have already started to raise their prices in Germany – and the rest are likely to follow.

“We will soon be able to see the impact of the war reflected in price labels across all the supermarkets,” said Sanktjohanser.

Recently, popular retail chains such as Aldi, Edeka and Globus announced that they would be forced to raise their prices. At Aldi, meat and butter will be “significantly more expensive” from Monday due to price hikes from its suppliers.

“Since the start of the Ukraine war, there have been jumps in purchase prices that we have not experienced before,” a spokesperson for Aldi Nord announced on Friday.

A fortnight ago, Aldi raised the prices of about 160 items, and a week later 20 more items became more expensive. Other supermarket brands quickly followed suit.

More at link

**Tank Interlude**

Ran across this pic on another forum. No date on the pic. These are OLD tanks. Obviously 105's, making them original M1's, and non-withstanding the training wheels, that one on the end has the original short turret. Makes it super old, probably first few years original production.

I have seen a lot of tanks, never seen one of those in person.

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
German Retailers To Increase Food Prices By 20-50% On Monday

The article never directly states the reason for such a huge increase, just that it's "because of the Ukraine war"...

So what's the cause? Does Germany source most of its food from or through Russia and/or Ukraine?

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
Ran across this pic on another forum. No date on the pic. These are OLD tanks. Obviously 105's, making them original M1's

Probably at Sierra Army Depot.

^^^^^ I suspect they get most of their wheat from there.

flashguy

https://www.foxnews.com/media/...food-supply-goya-ceo

Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue:

"there are two wars raging."

"The first war is a war on fossil fuels and that has sent inflation skyrocketing," he said. "We are pacing seven, eight, nine, now 13% per month in our foods." He also noted that "the cost of transportation has affected every facet of the economy."

Unanue argued that the "other war is the war in Ukraine where they make a fertilizer, they make corn [and] wheat."

Russia and Ukraine account for around 29% of global wheat exports, 19% of global corn supplies, and 80% of the world’s sunflower oil exports. This reliance has many traders worried that any further military force could trigger a massive scramble by food importers to replace supplies normally sourced from the Black Sea region.

Russia is also one of the world’s biggest exporters of all three major groups of fertilizers.

"They also have sand for glass and also for fracking," Unanue said, speaking of Russia and Ukraine. He said that "that’s all being blocked in the ports of Odessa," which is impacting supply and prices.

While he stressed that the war "is having a devastating effect on supply," he argued that "the real problem" with the supply chain started with the COVID lockdowns.

The costs of wheat, corn, cooking oils and such metals as aluminum and nickel have soared since the war began as Ukraine and Russia are leading exporters of those commodities.

Evercore ISI issued a protein inflation note last week projecting that most protein prices are forecasted to increase "substantially" due to the higher feed costs, with chicken breast reaching as high as 70% year-over-year in the first half of 2022.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

https://www.breitbart.com/euro...ndly-countries-only/

A Russian government official has threatened that Russia will limit its vital food exports to only nations it considers “friendly”

“It so happened that the food security of many countries depends on our supplies,” the Russian official wrote. “It turns out that our food is our quiet weapon. Quiet but ominous.”

“The priority in food supplies is our domestic market. And price control,” he continued. “We will supply food and crops only to our friends (fortunately, we have a lot of them, and they are not at all in Europe and not in North America). We will sell both for rubles and for their national currency in agreed proportions.”

“We will not supply our products and agricultural products to our enemies,”

Makes me recall the super rich buying farmland. Which didn't really make sense since farmers never make very much.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Probably at Sierra Army Depot.

A depot somewhere. IP bustle, non IP turret.

Interesting. Love to see the serial number.

mbinky, what in the heck is with that reticle you posted last night?

Thank you, sdy. I knew about the grain issues, but loss of fertilizer supplies from Russia/Ukraine is one aspect that I hadn't considered. That would certainly impact food production.

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
Russia and Ukraine account for around 80% of the world’s sunflower oil exports.

Also a large chunk of the world's rapeseed (canola) oil production.


Which has caused folks to start looking elsewhere to source replacement cooking oils. However, other issues are affecting those alternatives too, leading to worldwide cooking oil shortages and price hikes...

Soybean oil production has been hit by drought in Brazil and Argentina.

Palm oil production has been hit by flooding and political issues in Malaysia and Indonesia.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
mbinky, what in the heck is with that reticle you posted last night?

That was a reticle from a faulty GPS (gunner's primary sight). Pic taken through the day sight. The AZ drive board was faulty causing the board to oscillate rapidly L to R. Gave it a "smeared" look. Interesting to troubleshoot. The self POS and FTL came in sort of clear. Made a good pic.

Army and USMC tanks get self POS differently. That was an Army tank. They need an external GPS signal. USMC tanks have an internal GPS signal. You can tell (well I can tell) because if it was a USMC tank next to the FTL even if it wasn't "Live" there would be something there.

I happened to be with an Army NG unit so I gave them a hand

Never seen one oscillate that fast. Pretty neat.

***Funny story time***

So we are sitting there with the ARNG unit and their mech says "hey man my guys can't finish AAC's. Care to look at it?"

So I hop in and lol no shit you can't do AAC's the flipping reticle is going nuts.

"When did this start? said I.

"Oh, a few months ago" said he.

LOL. The Guard.

Ok. Hooked a BOB up. The AZ drive board in an A1 looks at three things: the motor, the tach, and the position pot. I had no reading from the position pot. Thats why it was flipping out. Computer says "go this way!" so it does. But no feedback. So compuer says "Go that way!" so it does. No feedback.

Anyway, it was a fun one. And the NG got a fixed tank.

Thats your weekly tank repair story lol.

I was trying to find a picture I hadn't posted but dam....this is the most mouth watering MRE meal I ever ate. The spicy Ketchup from Texas was the finisher.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mbinky,

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
Makes me recall the super rich buying farmland. Which didn't really make sense since farmers never make very much.

Bill Gates being one of them.

[Note: drone video of city destruction, multiple photos, and hyperlinks found at linked website article.]

=================

Global outcry at "war crime" killings near Kyiv as frontline shifts

By Marko Djurica and Abdelaziz Boumzar
April 4, 2022 8:21 AM MDT Last Updated 24 min ago

• Ukrainians accuse Russia of atrocities in Kyiv region

• Russia denies accusations, calls for UN meeting

• German minister: EU must discuss Russian gas import ban

• Ukrainian, European officials call for war crimes probe

• Ukraine says Russia calling in 60,000 reservists

BUCHA, Ukraine, April 4 (Reuters) - Global outrage spread on Monday at civilian killings in north Ukraine where a mass grave and tied bodies shot at close range were found in a town taken back from Russian troops, as Moscow shifted the focus of the fighting elsewhere.

The deaths in Bucha, outside Kyiv, looked set to galvanise the United States and Europe into additional sanctions against Moscow, possibly including some restrictions on the billions of dollars in energy that Europe still imports from Russia.

The discoveries overshadowed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, due to restart on Monday against a backdrop of artillery bombardments in Ukraine's south and east, where Russia says it is now concentrating its operations.

"These are war crimes and will be recognised by the world as genocide," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on a visit to Bucha, adding it had become harder for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia since the scale of alleged atrocities emerged.

Taras Shapravskyi, deputy mayor of the town some 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Kyiv city, said around 50 victims of extra-judicial killings by Russian troops had been found there after Kremlin forces withdrew late last week. read more

Reuters saw one man sprawled by the roadside there, his hands tied behind his back and a bullet wound to his head. Hands and feet poked through red clay at a mass grave by a church where satellite images showed a 45-foot-long trench. read more

The Kremlin categorically denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians, including in the town, where it said the graves and corpses had been staged by Ukraine to tarnish Russia.

Ukrainian authorities said they had found 421 civilian casualties near Kyiv by Sunday and were investigating possible war crimes in Bucha, a description also used by French President Emmanuel Macron and, in reference to Russia's broader offensive, by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Reuters saw more makeshift burials elsewhere but could not independently verify the number of dead or who was responsible.

In the village or Motyzhyn west of Kyiv, its reporters saw three bodies in a forest grave. An adviser to Ukraine's interior ministry said the victims were the village's leader and her family.

Zelenskiy has used the term genocide at different times during the war, decrying what he calls an intent to eliminate the nation by Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who has questioned Ukraine's legitimate, independent history from Russia.

FLATTENED BY SHELLING

On the other side of the country in Mariupol, a southern port that has been under siege for weeks, Reuters images showed three bodies in civilian clothes lying in the street, one against a wall sprayed with blood. Outside a damaged apartment building, residents buried other dead in a shell crater.

"It is easier to dig here," one resident said, saying four bodies were in the improvised grave. Nearby, the skeletal remains of residential tower blocks and other buildings surrounded by dust and debris dominated the skyline, Reuters images showed.

Ukraine says it has evacuated thousands of civilians in recent days from the city, which is surrounded by areas in the hands of Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region.

Several attempts by International Committee of the Red Cross teams to reach the besieged city in recent days have been unsuccessful, and a spokesman for the organisation said it was again unable to enter on Monday to evacuate civilians, a spokesperson said, citing security conditions.

Ukraine was preparing for what its general staff said were about 60,000 Russian reservists called in to reinforce the offensive there, while British military intelligence also said Russian troops, including contractors from the Wagner private military company, were moving to the east.

Reuters could not independently confirm the claims. Reuters correspondents saw convoys of armoured vehicles belonging to pro-Russia forces near Mariupol.

Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of eastern Luhansk region, said Russia was building up forces to break through Ukrainian defences.

"I am urging residents to evacuate. The enemy will not stop, it will destroy everything in its path," he said in comments carried on Ukrainian television.

SANCTIONS ON RUSSIAN ENERGY?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his supporters would "feel the consequences" of events in Bucha.

Western allies would agree on further sanctions against Moscow in coming days, he said, though the timing and reach of the new package was not clear.

Germany's Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said the European Union must discuss banning Russian gas, though other officials urged caution around measures that could cause a European energy crisis. read more More than half of Germany's gas came from Russia last year.

France's Macron suggested sanctions on oil and coal, adding there were very "clear clues pointing to war crimes" by Russian forces.

As the U.N. Security Council prepared to discuss Ukraine on Tuesday, U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet told its Human Rights Council that strikes and heavy shelling during Russia's invasion had killed civilians in acts that might amount to war crimes.

The United States will ask the U.N. General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Rights Council, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov urged international leaders not to rush to judgment, telling reporters on Monday that the facts did not support Ukraine's version of events in Bucha.

Russia has previously denied targeting civilians and rejected allegations of war crimes in what it calls a "special military operation" aimed at demilitarising and "denazifying" Ukraine. Ukraine says it was invaded without provocation.

Ukraine's foreign minister called on the International Criminal Court to collect evidence of war crimes. France and Britain would support any such probe, their foreign ministers said.

However, legal experts say a prosecution of Putin or other Russian leaders would face high hurdles and could take years. read more

Additional reporting by Zohra Bensemra, Abdelaziz Boumzar and Simon Gardner in Bucha, Pavel Polityuk, Elizabeth Piper and Silvia Aloisi in Lviv, Issam Abdallah in Odesa, Natalia Zinets in Mukachevo, Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Michelle Nichols at the UN, Max Hunder and Reuters bureaus in Europe and Washington Writing by Lincoln Feast and Frank Jack Daniel Editing by John Stonestreet

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Thank you, sdy. I knew about the grain issues, but loss of fertilizer supplies from Russia/Ukraine is one aspect that I hadn't considered. That would certainly impact food production.

There was a piece on this last night on the local news. They were interviewing farmers in eastern MT. Fertilizer prices (if they can find any) have quadrupled this year. That, of course, will trickle down to the price of the bag of flour you buy at the grocery store.

There is still, even if they are able to find and buy fertilizers up front, no guarantee of a good crop. There has been a drought in that area for some time. If that continues, they could still lose it all. Rough way to make a living.

The fracking sands was interesting tidbit. They are technically called proppants as they prop open the fractures when they blast, to the get the hydrocarbon flow up the pipes stand.

It’s fairly specialized sand and shape and structure. Without it there’s no fracking.

Hard to sort truth from false, but here is another report from Ukraine

https://www.washingtonexaminer...ily-in-shallow-grave

The corpses of a missing Ukrainian mayor, her husband, and her child were recovered in a shallow grave, according to recently released images and Ukrainian officials.

Olga Sukhenko, mayor of the suburb of Motyzhyn outside of Kyiv, was initially kidnapped by Russian forces alongside her husband and son on March 23, Ukrainian officials said.

The Russians "tortured and murdered the whole family of the village head," said Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry.

"The occupiers suspected they were collaborating with our military, giving us locations of where to target our artillery," Herashchenko said. "These scum tortured, slaughtered, and killed the whole family."

The bodies of Sukhenko, her husband, Ihor Sukhenko, and her son, Oleksandr, were uncovered by a reporter on a farm outside of Motyzhyn

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk verified Sukhenko's murder and said at least 11 community officials are being held captive by the Russians across the nation.

pictures at link

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
The Russians "tortured and murdered the whole family of the village head," said Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry.

I wouldn't be in the least surprised if these kidnappings, torture and killings are attributed to teh Wagner Group. Given the sad state of the Russian Army, to include their vaunted airborne forces (VDV), relying on ex-military-FSB/GRU contractors to do targeted work would be their MO.

Wagner has been responsible for a number of heinous actions outside the boundaries of war, to include massacres in Central Africa Republic, Congo and Mozambique. There's a well known story of Wagner Group operators who dismembered an African, crushed his chest and gleefully used his head as a soccer ball. Sociopaths.

^^ Khadirovskyite Chechens are another possibility. There's a lot of footage of them walking around; not so much footage of them actually fighting.

the evidence of these atrocities is very gruesome and barbaric

more and more info coming out almost by the hour. images / videos, etc.

heinous actions on the part of the Russian forces / groups

-------------------------

No different than Grozney or Aleppo

This is how the Russians fight. Calling him out as a war criminal will do nothing.