Ukraine reacts to fears of Russian invasion as troops build up at the border

[Ralin]

Did they think no one would speak out about it?

They think the speaking out won't matter.

I'm unclear on whether the propaganda being referenced is for domestic or international consumption, but if it's the former they presumably also believe (accurately) that between state control of media and the language/culture barrier any counter narrative won't gain traction.

[TimothyC]

Macron, Scholz and Draghi pledge arms and EU path for Ukraine in Kyiv visit.
<Snip>

One of my friends noted that Macron is for victory when he needs a domestic win, and for peace when he thinks it can get him a Nobel prize, which is still better than the slow-walking the Germans have done.

[Lord Revan]

Did they think no one would speak out about it?

They think the speaking out won't matter.

I'm unclear on whether the propaganda being referenced is for domestic or international consumption, but if it's the former they presumably also believe (accurately) that between state control of media and the language/culture barrier any counter narrative won't gain traction.

Honestly it wouldn't surprise me at all if it came to light that the Russian authorities believed no one outside of the Russian Federation understood Russian or at very least those ethnic Russians who still spoke/wrote the language were 100% Loyal to the current government even though they lived outside of Russia and you have to be ethnic Russian to know Russian language since "obviously" no non-Russian would ever be able to learn it or would even want to learn Russian.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

They think the speaking out won't matter.

I'm unclear on whether the propaganda being referenced is for domestic or international consumption, but if it's the former they presumably also believe (accurately) that between state control of media and the language/culture barrier any counter narrative won't gain traction.

Honestly it wouldn't surprise me at all if it came to light that the Russian authorities believed no one outside of the Russian Federation understood Russian or at very least those ethnic Russians who still spoke/wrote the language were 100% Loyal to the current government even though they lived outside of Russia and you have to be ethnic Russian to know Russian language since "obviously" no non-Russian would ever be able to learn it or would even want to learn Russian.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Boris Johnson cancels summit with northern Tories and meets Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

Boris Johnson has cancelled a meeting with northern Tories and flown to Kyiv for a summit with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The PM was expected to give a speech at a meeting of the Northern Research Group (NRG) in Doncaster but dropped out at the last minute without explanation.

Downing Street has now explained that his appearance at the NRG conference was cancelled so he could meet Ukraine's leader.

In a statement, Number 10 said he "offered to launch a major training operation for Ukrainian forces, with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days".

No 10 said international partners would be invited to host the programme, if the offer is accepted by Ukraine.

Video shared by Ukrainian government showed Mr Zelenskyy welcoming the prime minister to his presidential palace with a “hi, Boris” as he arrived.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine described Mr Johnson as a "good friend and ally" in a tweet, adding: “With Boris, we discussed the much-needed heavy weapons and air defence systems supplies, economic support for Ukraine, increasing sanctions pressure on RF.”

Mr Johnson posted a photograph with himself and his Ukrainian counterpart on Twitter, along with the caption: "Mr President, Volodymyr, it is good to be in Kyiv again."

While in the Ukrainian capital the pair held a joint press conference, in which he paid tribute to the Ukrainian forces as he again pledged Britain’s support in their fight to drive out the Russian invaders.

Speaking alongside President Zelensky, the PM said the Ukrainians had inflicted heavy losses on the Russians.

“If Ukrainian troops are suffering then I have to tell you all the evidence is that Putin’s troops are under acute pressure themselves and they are taking heavy casualties,” he said.

Mr Johnson is clearly popular among the leadership in Ukraine but critics have accused him of using his close relationship with Mr Zelenskyy to distract from the intense political pressure he is under back home.

The PM's ethics adviser quit on Wednesday in protest and there are two by-elections next week in seats previously held by Tories before they resigned, which the Conservative Party is widely expected to lose.

Lord Geidt, his former independent adviser on ministerial standards, told the prime minister in a letter that he was “disappointed” that the prime minister did not give a fuller account over how paying the fixed penalty notice did not breach the code.

He resigned over a separate issue, saying he was asked to consider measures that “risk a deliberate and purposeful breach of the ministerial code".

“I can have no part in this”, Lord Geidt said in his resignation letter.

In a statement after his unannounced visit to Ukraine was revealed, Mr Johnson said: “My visit today, in the depths of this war, is to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people: the UK is with you, and we will be with you until you ultimately prevail.

“As Ukrainian soldiers fire UK missiles in defence of your nation’s sovereignty, they do so also in defence of the very freedoms we take for granted.

Shame they won't be ready by 24th of August, that would be a poetic if predictable time to launch a major counteroffensive

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Ukraine conflict: MoD confirm destruction of Russian vessel near Snake Island as Ukrainian forces 'neutralise Russia's ability to establish sea control'.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) have confirmed Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian resupply vessel near Snake Island

Ukrainian forces claimed that a Russian vessel carrying air defences had been struck off of Snake Island.

The navy said the Vasily Bekh was used to transport ammunition, weapons and personnel to Snake Island

The MoD have now confirmed that the forces were using Western-donated Harpoon anti-ship missiles – with the incident being the first successful use of such weapons in the conflict.

An update from the MoD read: “On 17 June 2022, Ukrainian forces claimed their first successful use of Western-donated Harpoon anti-ship missiles to engage Russian maritime forces.

"The target of the attack was almost certainly the Russian naval tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh, which was delivering weapons and personnel to Snake Island in the north-western Black Sea.

"The destruction of the Russian vessel on a resupply mission demonstrates the difficulty Russia faces when attempting to support their forces occupying Snake Island.

"This is the latest in a series of Russian vessels, including the cruiser Moskva, to be damaged or destroyed by Ukraine during the conflict."

It added: “Ukrainian coastal defence capability has largely neutralised Russia's ability to establish sea control and project maritime force in the north-western Black Sea.

"This has undermined the viability of Russia's original operational design for the invasion, which involved holding the Odesa region at risk from the sea.”

The Ukrainian president has told the African Union that the continent has been “taken hostage” in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid catastrophically rising food prices.

Russia-Ukraine War: West must increase pressure on Vladimir Putin and abandon territory-for-peace idea – Professor Tim Willasey-Wilsey
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s closed-door speech followed weeks of requests for him to address African nations.

Many of them retain close ties to Russia and failed to support a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the invasion.

Ukraine and the West hope to weaken those ties by emphasising that Russia’s actions are to blame for dramatic shortages of wheat and edible oils and skyrocketing food and fuel prices across Africa.

Russia is the largest weapons exporter to sub-Saharan Africa, and Moscow emphasises its long ties with African nations dating to the Soviet Union.

The EU’s top diplomat said he has written to all African foreign ministers to explain that the bloc’s sanctions on Russia are not responsible for the looming global food crisis.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Russia's war on Ukraine creating 'extremely dire situation' for availability of food worldwide.

The world is facing "an extremely dire situation".

That's the stark warning from the World Food Programme, as they urgently expand their operations across the so-called "bread basket of Europe".

Not only are they in Ukraine supporting the millions of people whose lives have been disrupted by this war, but also to help solve one the of the world's most critical problems - a man-made global food crisis.

Ukraine provides roughly 10% of the world's wheat exports, and more than half of its sunflower oil, with around 400 million people across every continent relying on its produce.

The war in Ukraine is creating a "dire situation" for the world's food availability, says World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Emergency Co-ordinator Matthew Dee in Odesa

That's something Vladimir Putin knows only too well, and since the war began, Russia has been attacking grain silos and farmers' fields, seizing Ukrainian farmland, and - most disruptively of all - blockading the vital ports of the Black Sea.

Over the past four months, Ukrainian grain exports have decreased by more than two-thirds, and agricultural storage capacity is down to a quarter of what it once was.

Farmer Volodomyr Verbanets, who lives outside the port city of Odesa, should be preparing his own warehouse for this year's harvest.

Instead, it's full of last year's stock, some of it already starting to spoil.

At best he says he might get half the price for it that he did last time - by no means adequate given skyrocketing fuel costs - but he's not optimistic even for that, unless the world finds a way to open the ports.

With the sea surrounding Odesa now filled with mines, and Putin standing firm that he will lift the blockade only if Western sanctions on Russia are eased, leaders around the world are scrambling to provide alternative solutions to store this year's crop on the Ukrainian border, and export at least some of the grain by truck or railway.

But aside from issues of quantity - it would take around a million trucks to export all the produce currently waiting to leave Ukraine - for areas close to the frontline, even land exports are unrealistic.

"Nobody wants to go to our region by truck because it's too dangerous, the drivers just don't want to come," explains Vitaliy Kim, the governor of Mykolaiv.

What help do they need?

"Brave drivers," he says.

But not just drivers. Farmers in his region, like Volodomyr Onyschuk, also face safety concerns for the workers who are about to plough the fields.

"Firstly, there's an air threat, so no one is safe unfortunately, as we are still being shelled.

"The other issue is unexploded munitions in the field - we've collected many of those already too," he tells us, showing photos of Russian ordnance found on his land.

The war in Ukraine is pushing up food prices globally, says WFP Deputy Emergency Co-ordinator Matthew Dee in Odesa, leaving many people unable to afford to eat

For farmers like Volodomyr though, this year's harvest is worth every risk, and not just for Ukraine.

"If we don't get enough money for this year's crop, then no one will be able to plant next year's" he explains.

"This will cause serious issues in the world, like famine in Asia and Africa."

"This is also a kind of frontline", he adds.

"We know that we are doing something important when we decide to go into the fields and work under these circumstances."

[The Infidel]

Oh, this can be interesting.
Russian attack helicopters (Mi-8) simulated attack against Estonian territory while flying very close to the Estonian border and also violated Estonian airspace. I wonder what would happen if Estonian forces targeted that helicopter with something active as soon as it entered Estonian airspace, but not shooting at it.

https://news.sky.com/story/estonia-says ... e-12638006

Estonia has accused Russia of violating its airspace for the first time by helicopter, in a highly provocative move ahead of a major NATO summit.

The Baltic state, a member of the NATO alliance, also said ongoing Russian military exercises are simulating missile strikes against its country daily.

"This is the picture of the threat. How we see the Russian threat… It has never been as serious as it is now," said Kusti Salm, the top civil servant at the Estonian defence ministry, speaking to journalists on Tuesday.

The hostile activity emerged as Russia is locked in a heated exchange with Lithuania, another Baltic state and fierce critic of Vladimir Putin's regime, over a decision by Vilnius to block the transit by rail of certain sanctioned goods to the Russian territory of Kaliningrad.

It also came just days before the heads of state and government of the 30-strong NATO alliance meet for a landmark summit in Madrid, where they are set to present plans for a fundamental reshaping of their defences in the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Estonia said it has summoned the Russian ambassador to Tallinn to protest at the flight path of the MI-8 border guard helicopter, which it said entered Estonian airspace for two minutes without permission on Saturday evening.

The incident took place in the southern Koidula area, not far from the Russian city of Pskov, according to a statement from Estonia's military.

Mr Salm said there had been "multiple border violations by helicopters" from Russia over the past week.


He said one helicopter had crossed the border, while another flew very close. He described these helicopter incidents as having happened "several times in the region".

The senior Estonian civil servant said: "Getting over the border with a helicopter cannot be a mistake - there have been multiple examples in recent days.

"Beside the border actions, there have been provocative actions flying very near the vicinity of the border in the last days."

Russia is also conducting military exercises that include simulating missile strikes on its Baltic neighbour.

"It is real life. They are actually simulating missiles attacks against NATO territory and letting us know that they are doing this," Mr Salm said.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

I wonder what bullshit excuse Russia came up with in response, if any.

Ukraine accepted as EU candidate member.

The European Union has agreed to make Ukraine a candidate for EU membership, setting in motion a potentially years-long process.

Ukraine applied for EU membership less than a week after Moscow invaded on February 24.

The decision by the leaders of the 27-nation bloc to grant Ukraine candidate status on Thursday was uncharacteristically rapid for the EU - but the war and Ukraine's request for fast-track consideration lent urgency to its cause.

The EU also granted candidate status to Moldova, which borders Ukraine.

Gaining membership could take years or even decades.

Countries must meet a detailed host of economic and political conditions, including a commitment to the rule of law and other democratic principles.

Ukraine will have to curb government corruption and adopt other reforms.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted his gratitude and declared: “Ukraine’s future is within the EU.”

Ukraine has long aspired to join NATO, too, but the military alliance is not about to offer an invitation, in part because of governmental corruption, shortcomings in the country's defence establishment, and its contested borders.

Before the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that Ukraine never be allowed to join NATO, which he has condemned for its eastward spread toward Russia's flank.

But earlier this month, he did not seem bothered by Ukraine's determination to get closer to the EU, saying it is not a military pact and thus “we have no objections.”

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Sweden and Finland to join Nato after Turkey U-turns and backs their bid.

Turkey has U-turned on its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining Nato in a breakthrough top-level meeting, paving the way for the Nordic countries to join the military alliance.

Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine prompted the two nations to abandon their long-held non-aligned status and apply to join Nato, as protection against an increasingly aggressive and unpredictable Russia - which shares a long border with Finland.

But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had blocked the move, insisting the Nordic pair must change their stance on Kurdish rebel groups that Turkey considers terrorists before it would back them joining.

Countries can only join Nato if all current members agree.

After urgent talks in Madrid on Tuesday, the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said: “We now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join Nato.”

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said the three countries’ leaders signed a joint agreement after talks on Tuesday.

Turkey said it had “got what it wanted” including “full cooperation" in "the fight against” the rebel groups.

Mr Stoltenberg said leaders of the 30-nation alliance will issue a formal invitation to the two countries to join on Wednesday.

The decision has to be ratified by all individual nations, but he said he was “absolutely confident” Finland and Sweden would become members, something that could happen within months.

The move is not without risk for Finland and Sweden. Russia previously warned that if the two Nordic nations join Nato, they would instantly transform from neutral into hostile countries and "potential targets" for Russia.

Why has Turkey reversed its opposition?

Turkey hailed Tuesday’s agreement as a triumph, saying the Nordic nations had agreed to crack down on groups that Ankara deems national security threats, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and its Syrian extension.

It said they also agreed “not to impose embargo restrictions in the field of defence industry” on Turkey and to take “concrete steps on the extradition of terrorist criminals".

Turkey has demanded that Finland and Sweden extradite wanted individuals and lift arms restrictions imposed after Turkey’s 2019 military incursion into northeast Syria.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde told reporters that “all the parties showed an incredible willingness to get there and were constructive and we made it clear that we take these concerns about terrorist attacks... seriously.”

Turkey, in turn, agreed “to support at the 2022 Madrid Summit the invitation of Finland and Sweden to become members of Nato”.

A senior administration official said Washington played a crucial role in helping bring the two parties closer together, with President Joe Biden speaking with Erdogan on Tuesday morning at the behest of Sweden and Finland to help encourage the talks.

Why have Sweden and Finland decided to join Nato now?

Sweden, once a regional military power, has avoided military alliances since the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Like Finland, it remained neutral throughout the Cold War, but formed closer relations with Nato after the 1991 Soviet collapse.

They no longer see themselves as neutral after joining the European Union in 1995, but have remained non-aligned militarily until now.

After being firmly against Nato membership for decades, public opinion in both countries shifted following Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine, with record levels of support for joining the alliance.

Under Nato treaties, an attack on any single member would be considered an attack against all and trigger a military response by the entire alliance.

[Crazedwraith]

Turkey hasn't u turned. They've got what they wanted out of it.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Turkey hasn't u turned. They've got what they wanted out of it.

To me it looks like Finland and Sweden let Baby Erdoğan have his bottle, unless there's more to it than what the article stated.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Ukraine retook Snake Island.

Russia’s defence ministry says it has withdrawn its forces from a Black Sea island near Ukraine’s port of Odesa.
The ministry said that it pulled back its forces from the Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island on Thursday in what it described as a “goodwill gesture”.

It added that the pull-out has demonstrated that “the Russian Federation wasn’t hampering the United Nations’ efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for taking agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine.”

Ukraine and the West have accused Russian of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent the exports of grain, contributing to the global food crisis.

Russia has denied the accusations and charged that Ukraine needs to remove sea mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation.

Russia took control of the island in the opening days of its military action in Ukraine in an apparent hope to use it to control the area and use it as a staging ground for an attack on Odesa. Russian forces stationed there have come under relentless Ukrainian attacks.

Meanwhile, in the east, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region from Ukraine, which is focused on Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the Luhansk province.

Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas.

The Ukrainian General Staff said that the Russian troops were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on the edge of the city. Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said that Russian reconnaissance units tried to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday, but were repelled by the Ukrainian forces.

He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies and fully encircle the city.
“The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city,” Mr Haidai said.

At least 18 people were killed by a Russian missile strike on a busy Ukrainian shopping mall on Monday.
Speaking on a visit to Turkmenistan early Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his goals in Ukraine haven't changed since the start of the war.

He said they were “the liberation of the Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself.”

He made no mention of his original stated goals to “demilitarise” and “de-Nazify” Ukraine.
He denied Russia had adjusted its strategy after failing to take Kyiv in the early stage of the conflict.

“As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the marks that were set for them for a certain stage of this combat work. Everything is going according to plan,” President Putin said at a news conference in Turkmenistan.
In central Ukraine, funerals were to be held Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed killed by Monday's Russian missile strike on a busy shopping mall in Kremenchuk.

Crews continued to search through the rubble in search of another 20 people who remain missing.

After the attack on the mall, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of becoming a “terrorist” state.

On Wednesday, he reproached Nato for not embracing or equipping his embattled country more fully.

[Elfdart]

Turkey hasn't u turned. They've got what they wanted out of it.

And to show their new NATO bona fides, they threw the Kurds to the sharks.

[wautd]

Nazi Russia sentences Moscow councillor 7 years to a penal colony for calling the war a war

Moscow councillor jailed for seven years after criticising Ukraine war

Alexei Gorinov receives first long-term sentence under harsh laws introduced since Russian invasion

A court in Moscow has sentenced an opposition councillor to seven years in jail for criticising Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, the first prison sentence handed out under the new laws that restrict criticism of the war.

Alexei Gorinov, a deputy at Moscow’s Krasnoselsky district council and trained lawyer, was arrested in April on charges of spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian army.

According to the authorities, Gorinov committed the offence when he and a fellow opposition deputy, Elena Kotenochkina, spoke out against the council’s proposal to hold a children’s drawing contest and a dancing festival despite the war in Ukraine, where Gorinov said “children were dying”.
“I believe all efforts of [Russian] civil society should be aimed only at stopping the war and withdrawing Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine,” Gorinov said during the work meeting, which was recorded on video and is available on YouTube.

The charges against Gorinov fall under a series of new laws that have been introduced since the start of Russia’s invasion.

Gorinov’s long sentence will be perceived as harsh even in the current political climate in Russia, where authorities have embarked on an unprecedented crackdown on civil society and opposition since the invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February.

Human rights groups will worry that Gorinov’s case will be the first in a string of rulings against anti-war figures who are awaiting trial.

“This is clearly a politically motivated ruling aimed at scaring the public into silence,” said Tanya Lokshina, an associate director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch. “The outrageous sentence is evidently meant to discourage Russians to speak up against the war and express any forms of dissent.”

At least 50 people face long-term prison sentences or steep fines for “knowingly spreading false information” about the military, while about 2,000 people have received smaller fines for criticising the war, according to a human rights group that tracks cases nationwide.

Throughout the hearings, Gorinov continued his staunch opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. During his sentencing on Friday, he held a sign that read “Do you still need this war?” while in his glass defendant’s cage.
In a closing statement on Thursday, Gorinov said he was innocent, pointing to his rights to free expression under the Russian constitution, while also repeating his criticism of the “vile” war in Ukraine.

“War, whatever synonym you call it, is the last, dirtiest, vile thing, unworthy of the title of a man,” Gorinov said. “I thought that Russia exhausted its limit on wars back in the 20th century. However, our present is Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel. Do these names mean something to you? You, the accusers – take an interest and do not say later that you did not know anything,” he added, referring to the three cities outside Kyiv where Russian troops are accused of committing war crimes.

Among those awaiting trial for spreading “false information” about Russia’s military is the prominent opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza and the St Petersburg-based artist Alexandra Skochilenko, who is accused of replacing supermarket price labels with messages protesting against Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

British aid worker Paul Urey who died in Russian captivity wanted to 'heal the world'.

The mother of a British aid worker who has reportedly died while being detained by pro-Russia separatists has said her son "wanted to heal the world".

Paul Urey, 45, from Warrington, died in captivity on Sunday 11 July, according to the human rights ombudsperson for the Moscow-supported leadership in Donetsk.

Daria Morozova, the ombudsperson, branded Mr Urey a “mercenary” and claimed he passed away after suffering chronic illnesses and stress.

Mr Urey's mother, Linda, expressed her anger, asking the separatists: “Why did you let him die?”

She said Paul was "lovely", a "dreamer and kind-hearted. He thought he could heal the world.

"He thought he could go out and help everybody and I said 'Paul, you're a very poorly person.' He didn't think he was"

Russian ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin was summoned to the Foreign Office to face questioning over what happened to Mr Urey, who was detained near the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia in April.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she was “shocked” by reports of his death and that Russia "must bear the full responsibility".

In a statement, she said: “Paul Urey was captured while undertaking humanitarian work.

"He was in Ukraine to try and help the Ukrainian people in the face of the unprovoked Russian invasion.

“The Russian government and its proxies are continuing to commit atrocities.

"Those responsible will be held to accountable. My thoughts are with Mr Urey’s family and friends at this horrendous time.

Ms Urey said her son had been taken from her at birth and, after finding her, he had been taken from her again.

"When I got the call she asked if I was sitting down - I knew. It's a mother's instincts. But I knew a few days ago, deep down, I thought, I know."

“Cruel cruel world,” she added. "He was helping people, that's it."

The Presidium Network, a non-profit group, said Mr Urey and fellow Briton Dylan Healey had been captured at a checkpoint south of the city in south-east Ukraine.

Mr Urey, who was born in 1977 and was from Manchester, and Mr Healey, born in 2000 and from Cambridgeshire, travelled to Ukraine of their own accord, the organisation said.

They were not working for the Presidium Network, which helps to get aid into Kyiv.

The organisation said the pair went missing while driving to help a woman and two children at the time of their capture.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Four-year-old girl killed in Russian missile strike is buried.

Ukrainian Liza Dmytrieva had been on her way to see her speech therapist when she was killed by a Russian missile strike.

Liza, who had Down syndrome, was among at least 24 people killed, including two boys aged seven and eight - while another 200 who were wounded including Liza's mother.

Dressed up in white with a crown of matching flowers, the four-year-old was buried by relatives on Sunday.

"Look, my flower! Look how many people came to you,” Liza’s grandmother, Larysa Dmytryshyna, said, caressing Liza as she lay in an open coffin with flowers and teddy bears in Vinnytsia's 18th-century Transfiguration Cathedral.

Liza's father, Artem Dmytriev, stood silent, tears flowing down his face.

Liza’s mother, 33-year-old Iryna Dmytrieva, remains in an intensive care unit in grave condition. The family didn't tell her that Liza was being buried Sunday, fearing it could affect her condition.

When the war started, Iryna Dmytrieva had fled Kyiv with relatives for Vinnytsia, which until Thursday was considered relatively safe.

Shortly before the explosion, she had posted a video on social media showing her daughter straining to reach the handlebars to push her own stroller.

After the Russian missile strike, Ukraine’s emergency services shared photos showing her lifeless body on the ground next to her blood-stained stroller.

Liza's closest relatives sat on both sides of the coffin, and many more crowded Vinnytsia's Orthodox cathedral to pay their last tributes to the girl.

“I didn’t know Liza, but no person can go through this with calm,” Orthodox priest Vitalii Holoskevych said, bursting into tears. ‘’Because every burial is grief for each of us. We are losing our brothers and sisters."

He paused and continued in a trembling voice: ‘’We know that evil cannot win.’’

“You loved this song very much, you danced every day. This song sounds for you now," Dmytrushyna, Liza's grandmother, said. The song was “Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow,” which has become a symbol of resistance in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion.

A seven-year-old boy killed in the same Russian airstrike was also buried on Sunday along with his mother in a village near Vinnytsia. They were at a medical centre when the missiles hit the building.

[Spice Runner]

Russia and Ukraine sign UN-backed deal to resume grain exports via the Black Sea

Russia and Ukraine on Friday signed a U.N.-backed deal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

The agreement, which will be implemented in the next few weeks, was signed in the Turkish city of Istanbul and was brokered by the government in Ankara.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was in attendance along with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Russian and Ukrainian officials sat at separate tables to sign the documents.

Millions of tons of wheat have been stuck in the war-torn nation. Grain exporters in Ukrainian port cities like Odesa have been unable to ship their goods due to the conflict, fueling a global shortage of the commodity and pushing up food prices.

Ukraine is one of the world's biggest wheat exporters, and Russian forces have been blocking the Black Sea, where the grain silos at key Ukrainian ports are located.

infographic
The Bosporus and Dardanelles are the only water routes in or out of the Black Sea. That gives Turkey influence over how Russia's navy can move.
Bryn Bache | CNBC
The deal is significant for global food supplies, but also as it's the first major agreement between the two sides since Moscow launched it's unprovoked onslaught on Feb. 24.

'Beacon of hope'
While the details of the deal are currently unknown, it was expected to allow Ukrainian vessels to guide ships through mined waters, with a localized truce in place so Russia does not attack. Turkish officials are also expected to inspect the shipments to rule out any weapons smuggling.

International onlookers are cautious on the deal and Russia will be closely watched to make sure it upholds its side of the agreement. Moscow, which blames Ukraine for laying the mines, is also expected to restart its own grain exports in the Black Sea under the agreement.

Erdogan said at the signing Friday that the deal would prevent billions of people from facing famine. He said he hoped the deal would be a turning point in the war and called on both sides to end the conflict.

"We are proud to be instrumental in an initiative that will play a major role in solving global food crisis that has been on the agenda for a long time," Erdogan said, according to a translation.

Guterres struck an optimistic tone, saying there was now a beacon "on the Black Sea." "A beacon of hope [and] possibility ... and relief in a world that needs it more than ever."

Ukraine is one of the world's top agricultural producers and exporters. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, it is normally the world's top producer of sunflower meal, oil and seed. it's also the world's top exporter of sunflower meal and oil, and the world's seventh-largest wheat producer.

Top destinations for wheat exports include Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

December futures prices for wheat on the Paris exchange slipped by around 5% after the deal was announced.

This would be good for easing food prices for the poorest parts of the world

[LadyTevar]

Russia and Ukraine sign UN-backed deal to resume grain exports via the Black Sea

Russia and Ukraine on Friday signed a U.N.-backed deal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

The agreement, which will be implemented in the next few weeks, was signed in the Turkish city of Istanbul and was brokered by the government in Ankara.

This would be good for easing food prices for the poorest parts of the world

Oh yeah, it would have been REALLY GOOD...

... If Russian hadn't immediately bombed Odessa's docks. And then tried to weasel out of blame.

RUSSIA DENIES CAUSING GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS

[Lord Revan]

Yeah I was just about to say "If I trusted Russians to honor that deal in any shape or form". Either they have no control over their vassals or they're intentionally not even trying to obey the deal set up.

The Kremlin is so deep in their own web of deception that I honestly believe that they think that rest of the world is so stupid that as to think that as long as Russians signed the deal and said they didn't do what they did everyone else would buy it without any arguments.

In the long run this will only hurt the Russian Federation as things like these will mark them as "unreliable" when it comes to international deals meaning no one wants to make deals with them. In essence they're doing the thing the Fable "the boy who cried wolf!" warns about though instead of false warning the Russians are saying "you can trust us" and then right after that giving us a very good reasons why we shouldn't trust them at all.

[Spice Runner]

Man the Russians act so cartoonishly evil

[Lord Revan]

Man the Russians act so cartoonishly evil

Well as I said they seem to be totally living like they're in world based on their preconceptions of others, rather then that of the real world.

The Kremlin seems to operate of a level of arrogant ignorance that would be comical if it wasn't happening in the real world.

For example their plan to curtail the expansion of NATO drove two of nations that had be very adamant about being Neutral since 1945 (and in case of Sweden even longer) into NATO, not only that the popular opinion about joining NATO in both(or at the very least in Finland) did a 180 degree turn solely because of the actions of Russia to prevent said nations of joining NATO.

In short Kremlin has started to believe their own propaganda and thus are operating based on facts that simply do not exist (or if a fact exist in some shape the form seen by the Kremlin is so distorted that said fact might as well not exist).

EDIT:I'd be probably much more amused about this if I didn't live about 400 km from St. Petersburg via roads, less then that as the bird flies.

EDIT2:Just to be clear I do not live in Russia itself but in Finland.

[Spice Runner]

Man the Russians act so cartoonishly evil

Well as I said they seem to be totally living like they're in world based on their preconceptions of others, rather then that of the real world.

The Kremlin seems to operate of a level of arrogant ignorance that would be comical if it wasn't happening in the real world.

For example their plan to curtail the expansion of NATO drove two of nations that had be very adamant about being Neutral since 1945 (and in case of Sweden even longer) into NATO, not only that the popular opinion about joining NATO in both(or at the very least in Finland) did a 180 degree turn solely because of the actions of Russia to prevent said nations of joining NATO.

In short Kremlin has started to believe their own propaganda and thus are operating based on facts that simply do not exist (or if a fact exist in some shape the form seen by the Kremlin is so distorted that said fact might as well not exist).

EDIT:I'd be probably much more amused about this if I didn't live about 400 km from St. Petersburg via roads, less then that as the bird flies.

EDIT2:Just to be clear I do not live in Russia itself but in Finland.

Geez hope you stay safe. Russia has been saber rattling in the baltic sea. It's good that Sweden and Finland are joining NATO

[wautd]

Oh yeah, it would have been REALLY GOOD...
If Russian hadn't immediately bombed Odessa's docks. And then tried to weasel out of blame.

And the response of the regime is so infuriatingly predictive every time they hit a civilian target.
On the first day the immediately and strongly deny they had anything to do with it.
On the second day, they say they actually hit a military target.
On the third they, they claim it was the Ukrainians all along, ho bombed themselves in order to make the Russians look bad.

Completely untrustworthy.

[Lord Revan]

Oh yeah, it would have been REALLY GOOD...
If Russian hadn't immediately bombed Odessa's docks. And then tried to weasel out of blame.

And the response of the regime is so infuriatingly predictive every time they hit a civilian target.
On the first day the immediately and strongly deny they had anything to do with it.
On the second day, they say they actually hit a military target.
On the third they, they claim it was the Ukrainians all along, ho bombed themselves in order to make the Russians look bad.

Completely untrustworthy.

They've convinced themselves that everyone else is stupid enough to actually buy those claims and since upsetting the Kremlin isn't really good for your career and possibly your health no one in the hierarchy wants to inform Kremlin that their propaganda is so obvious that it's not convincing anyone who wasn't already convinced.