Posted on 02/24/2024 5:59:01 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
Western officials continue to highlight efforts by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to support the Russian war effort in Ukraine. The Times reported on September 27 that Western officials revealed that an unspecified PRC company is sending a range of military drones to Russia for testing and eventual use by Russian forces in Ukraine.[1] A Western official reportedly stated that the PRC company signed the agreement with Russia in 2023 and that there is “clear evidence that PRC companies are supplying Russia with deadly weapons for use in Ukraine.” The Times reported that the Western official confirmed a September 25 report from Reuters about Russia's secret weapons program in the PRC to develop long-range attack drones for use in Ukraine.[2] US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on September 27 that roughly 70 percent of Russian imports of machine tools and 90 percent of microelectronic imports come from the PRC and Hong Kong and that Russia is using these imports to produce missiles, rockets, armored vehicles, and munitions.[3] Blinken stated that the PRC's actions do not “add up” since the PRC speaks about wanting peace in Ukraine but is allowing PRC companies to take actions that are helping the Russian war effort. The PRC has repeatedly attempted to depict itself as a neutral mediator in the war in Ukraine, and continued reports of PRC aid to Russia's war effort undermine this claim.[4]
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) strongly condemned on September 28 Israel's “political assassination” of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.[8] The Russian MFA responded to the Israeli airstrike on Beirut, Lebanon that killed Nasrallah and advocated for an immediate cessation to hostilities, stating that Israel will bear full responsibility for any subsequent escalation in the Middle East. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also issued a joint condemnation of Israel's airstrikes in Syria on September 28 during a meeting with the Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers.[9]
Russia supports Iran today as they have done for many years.
The volume of data leaks in Russia is so large that hackers probably already have a complete database of information on almost every Russian, said Vladimir Dryukov, director of the Solar JSOC cyberattack countermeasures center at Solar Group, in a conversation with TASS . This data can be used for a variety of purposes, from phone calls to cyberattacks, the expert warned.
https://www.moscowtimes.ru/2024/09/28/hakeri-mogli-poluchit-dostup-kdannim-vseh-rossiyan-a143457
However, the Central Bank does not mention the term “stagflation” in its document, but says that there are signs of “cooling domestic demand without reducing inflationary pressure,” while price growth remains high due to “overheating of the economy.” The economy is being pushed toward stagflation by sanctions, labor shortages, slowing growth of budget revenues from oil exports, as well as a reduction in investment in production due to high risks and other factors.
Hong Kong doubled its import of Russian gold in August. Imports totaled 8.4 tons worth $650 million. Russia became the fourth largest gold supplier to Hong Kong in August, with a 12% share. The largest supplier, the UAE, exported $1.6 billion worth of gold at the end of the summer, with Japan in second place ($1 billion) and China in third ($771 million)
World’s Top Gold Hoarders: Central Banks:
🇺🇸 USA - 8,133t
🇩🇪 Germany - 3,353t
🇮🇹 Italy - 2,452t
🇫🇷 France - 2,437t
🇷🇺 Russia - 2,333t
🇨🇳 China - 2,192t
🇨🇭 Switzerland - 1,040t
🇯🇵 Japan - 847t
🇮🇳 India - 801t
🇳🇱 Netherlands - 612t
Humm falling debris again?
Russian stagflation is also being driven by high wages paid to military production workers and bonuses to army recruits. This gives more money to buy with chasing fewer products to buy as regular factory workers go the the payer of higher wages.
Russian mir all hail Russia😎
The T-90 “ Blownup ”,best tank in the world
Again,Russian mir
“#artillery systems is very high again” (Russian losses)
I have been noticing that trend as well - 60 or 70 Artillery systems per day lately, as Russian forces push heavily toward Pokrovsk and Vuldehar.
I believe it was PIF who posted recently a report that the Russians were down to the last 30 of their TOS-1A Thermobaric Artillery Systems.
This has been a monumental task, to demilitarize Russia, and what a horrible cost to the heroic Ukrainians who have had to bear the burden. God bless them.
Math will have its day - and that day continues to draw closer.
“Hong Kong doubled its import of Russian gold in August”
That is another sign of Russia depleting its gold reserves.
When last I saw Speedy post numbers on Russia’s depletion of their liquid financial reserves, I noted that the Russians were reporting no decline in their gold reserves this year, despite marked declines in other liquid assets (like their foreign hard currency reserves essentially zeroing out around new year), which would reasonably result in them drawing more heavily from gold reserves, to maintain their spending rate. My belief is that they simply stopped reporting as the gold balance declines this year, because their obvious trend toward bankruptcy hurts their credit rating and increases their borrowing costs.
If, as seems likely, Russia is now gushing out its gold reserves (likely a good bit in unreported smuggling transactions), then there will be little to no buffer left to absorb future financial shocks - most importantly a fall in oil prices.
Crunch time is coming for Russian finances. Putin’s war spending and growing sanctions costs are unsustainable.
“Watch massive explosions as Israel strikes port in Houthi-controlled Yemen”
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/29/world/video/yemen-explosions-israeli-strikes-port-sciutto-digvid
Far right party comes in first in Austrian elections - but they won’t be in government.
Russian ruble starting to weaken a couple of cents again in the last week.
Maybe the Central Bank is losing the ability to keep spending real money to prop up the ruble?
Israel is on a roll.
“Unconfirmed Reports over the last 24 Hours suggest that Major General Maher al-Assad, the Brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as well as the Commander of the Syrian Army’s 4th Armored Division, was Killed yesterday by an Israeli Airstrike on his Home...”
https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1840590258099933269
If true, Bibi must sense some serious weakness in Assad, to the point he doesn’t fear him at all. Even with war in Gaza and Lebanon. With Russia’s hands more than full in Ukraine, and Iran not wanting to see Tehran burning, who can Assad has nowhere to turn help.
Western countries continue to invest in the growth of Ukraine's defense industrial base (DIB). The Danish Ministry of Defense (MoD), in collaboration with the Danish DIB, announced on September 29 the establishment of a defense industrial hub at the Danish embassy in Kyiv with the aim of enhancing Danish-Ukrainian defense industrial cooperation.[1] The Danish initiative aims to support Danish defense and dual-use companies that want to establish production or partnerships with Ukraine. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Danish Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Troels Lund Poulsen also signed a Letter of Intent on September 29 that pledges Danish financial support for defense production in Ukraine.[2] Denmark will allocate a total of 575 million euros ($641 million) for investment in the Ukrainian DIB, with 175 million euros ($195 million) coming directly from the Danish budget and an additional 400 million euros ($446 million) from profits from frozen Russian assets.[3] Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov stated on September 14 that Ukraine will be able to domestically produce $20 billion worth of defense equipment in 2025 if Ukraine receives additional funding from its partners.[4] ISW has assessed the importance of sustained and timely Western military support for Ukraine, particularly Western assistance to develop Ukraine's DIB, so that Ukraine can become more self-sufficient and reduce its reliance on Western military aid in the long-term.[5]
The Russian government is reportedly planning to further increase defense spending in 2025, although Kremlin officials appear to be highlighting planned social spending while avoiding discussions of increased defense spending. The Russian Cabinet of Ministers approved on September 29 a draft federal budget for 2025 to 2027 and will submit the budget to the State Duma by October 1.[14] The draft budget states that Russia's federal revenues are expected to grow by almost 12 percent in 2025 compared to 2024 and that the share of non-oil and gas revenues in the federal budget is expected to increase to 73 percent. Bloomberg reported on September 23 that it viewed draft proposals of the three-year draft budget, which showed that the Russian government plans to spend 13.2 trillion rubles (about $140 billion) on defense in 2025 — an increase from 10.4 trillion rubles (about $110 billion) projected for 2024.[15] Bloomberg stated that Russia plans to spend roughly 40 percent on national defense and domestic security in 2025 — more than spending for education, health care, social policies, and the federal economy combined. The Kremlin will reportedly increase spending on classified items from 11.1 trillion rubles (about $117 billion) in 2024 to 12.9 trillion rubles (about $136 billion) in 2025.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin claimed on September 24 that the government plans to fulfill “all social obligations to citizens” and highlighted planned funding for medical care, pensions, and national projects.[16] Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov acknowledged that “significant resources” are going towards Russia's “special military operation,” but emphasized that 40 trillion rubles (about $424 billion) will go towards 19 national projects over six years — twice as much as the funding allocated for the period of 2019 to 2024.[17] Siluanov also highlighted that Russia plans to spend 180 billion rubles (about $1.9 billion) on modernized public utilities infrastructure and preferential mortgage programs. Kremlin officials are likely wary of war fatigue among the Russian population and are attempting to maintain public support for the war by highlighting the Kremlin's attention to social projects.
Printing more money!
The problem with printing money
https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/634/economics/the-problem-with-printing-money/
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