where is "russia" going to land - eventually: middle ages stone age ... ? but hey - all they need is enough vodka anyway.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-...rastructure-in-Retaliatory-Drone-Strikes.html Ukraine Targets Russian Energy Infrastructure in Retaliatory Drone Strikes By RFE/RL staff - Jul 29, 2024, 9:00 AM CDT Ukraine conducted drone strikes on Russian energy facilities in the regions of Oryol and Voronezh, causing damage to a power plant and utility infrastructure. Russia claims to have downed 39 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions. These attacks mark the second day of Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, following a reported attack on an oil refinery in the Kursk region. Ukraine launched a wave of drone strikes deep inside Russian territory early on July 29, damaging energy facilities in two regions, Russia's Defense Ministry and regional officials said a day after a reported Ukrainian attack set a Russian oil refinery on fire. In the western Russian region of Oryol, a power plant was damaged by falling debris from two downed Ukrainian drones over the Glazunovsky district, regional Governor Andrey Klychkov said on Telegram. "Emergency services are dealing with the consequences of the air attack, and law enforcement agencies are working at the scene," Klychkov wrote, without specifying the type of damage the power plant sustained. In Voronezh, a utility infrastructure was damaged in the village of Gazoprovod, in the region's southern Ostrogozhsky district, also by falling drone debris. regional Governor Aleksandr Gusev said on Telegram. Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its air defenses destroyed 39 Ukrainian drones: 19 drones were intercepted over Kursk region, 9 were downed over Belgorod, 3 over Voronezh, 5 over Bryansk, and 3 over the Leningrad region. The Russian claims could not be independently verified. It was the second day in a row that reported Ukrainian attacks caused damage to Russian energy facilities. On July 28, suspected Ukrainian military drones struck an oil storage depot in the Kursk region, with video posted online showing a huge blaze lighting up the sky. Regional Governor Aleksei Smirnov said three storage tanks caught fire as a result of the drone strike. Since the early days of Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow's forces have systematically targeted Ukrainian energy and civilian infrastructure facilities, causing casualties and huge damage. In turn Ukraine has started targeting oil-refining facilities and other energy infrastructure inside Russia that mainly work for the military. On July 27, Ukrayinska Pravda reported on July 27 that Ukrainian drones had hit an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region. Meanwhile, Russian shelling of Ukraine's southern cities of Kherson and Nikopol early on July 29 wounded 20 people, including five children, regional and local officials reported. In Nikopol, 13 apartment buildings as well as gas pipelines, power lines, and an administrative building were also damaged, according to Dnipropetrovsk regional Governor Oleksandr Sayuka. Ukrainian air-defense systems shot down a Russian guided missile and all nine drones launched by Russia at its regions on July 29, the commander of Ukraine's air force, General Mykola Oleshchuk said. On the battlefield, Russian forces over the past 24 hours have been pressing with an offensive in the eastern Donetsk region in the direction of mining city of Pokrovsk and the town of Toretsk, Ukraine's military reported. Constant shelling has prompted the evacuation of hundreds of civilians from the area, local officials told RFE/RL.
Chinese banks reject about 80% of Russian yuan payments, media reports https://kyivindependent.com/chinese-banks-reject-about-80-of-russian-yuan-payments-media-reports/ Chinese banks are rejecting and returning about 80% of Russian payments made in Chinese yuan, the Russian state-controlled media outlet Kommersant reported on July 29, citing sources. The U.S. and other countries unveiled a new wave of sanctions in June that targeted Russian financial institutions, as well as entities and individuals based in China and elsewhere that help Moscow circumvent the existing restrictions. Trade between Russia and China has surged by 121% since 2021, underscoring the Chinese role as Moscow's economic lifeline. A functioning payment system is necessary for maintaining trade relations, and Russia was cut off from the international SWIFT system in 2022. According to sources cited by Kommersant, Chinese banks routinely let Russian yuan payments delay for several weeks before ultimately rejecting them, often without providing a reason. Russian businesses and individuals attempting to make the payments then lose money on commission and conversion fees and are unable to complete the transaction. Russian companies doing business in China have increasingly had to rely on intermediary services that help facilitate the transfer of money and goods, which can add anywhere from 3-10% of commission-related expenses. A source told Kommersant that such intermediary businesses account for up to 30% of payments to China. The news is the latest in a series of reported setbacks impacting trade between Russia and China, which has seen the growing impact of Western sanctions. Kommersant reported in June that the Russian subsidiary of the Chinese state-run Bank of China has stopped accepting payments from Russian banks. "This is not very good news for the Russian market," a source told Kommersant. "There will be additional costs, both in terms of time and cost of payment processing." The Russian subsidiary of Bank of China is ranked second in terms of assets of Chinese banks operating in the Russian market, at 592.4 billion rubles ($6.8 billion) at the end of the first quarter of 2024. The problems associated with the suspension of payments will likely "go beyond the banking sector, resulting in the state having less and less control over it, creating rising risks of fraud," a source told Kommersant.
Gwb-trading goes home devastated Russia’s surprising consumer spending boom “Real wages are skyrocketing,” says Janis Kluge, an expert on Russia’s economy with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “You have people who hardly earned any money before the full-scale invasion . . . who suddenly have huge amounts of money.” Real wages have grown by almost 14 per cent, and the consumption of goods and services by around 25 per cent, according to Rosstat, the Russian state statistics agency. https://www.ft.com/content/3e2b2e63-082e-4058-ba92-dea580d4f40c
This is what happens when you send a large number of your men into Ukraine to be turned into ground meat --- a labor shortage occurs, coupled with out-of-control inflation, higher prices, higher wages, as well as a desperate need to buy everything possible before it is no longer available. This is Putin's "wartime economy" -- a failure which is unsustainable -- even according to head of the Russian Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, who called the Russian economy "practically exhausted". The Russians are so short of men for Ukraine that their military sign-on bonus has nearly reached the level of the U.S. Russia needs men so badly that its sign-up bonuses are nearly on par with the US military's https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-sign-up-bonuses-reaching-on-par-with-us-military-2024-7
Business with China can't be going well when payments cannot be processed. This is all due to western sanctions. Russia economy: Payments to China can take 6 months. Most bounce back. China's trade with Russia is getting so difficult that payments can take half a year and most bank transfers are returned https://www.businessinsider.com/rus...nts-delay-months-bounce-back-sanctions-2024-7
Shall we start a pool on how many months until Gazprom is completely out of business. Russia's Gazprom net losses nearly double year on year https://kyivindependent.com/gazprom-net-losses-nearly-double-year-on-year/
Quickly going down the flusher. Swirl. Russian budget deficit increases by 1.5 times per month https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/08/7/7469354/