Posted on 06/14/2022 10:02:47 AM PDT by SpeedyInTexas
Food inflation is a worry when the guy(s) in charge are trying to cause a Depression?
Polish export route is the most expensive way to export the grain (grain which BTW Biden expressly forbids US railroads from transporting). No Ukraine farmer wants his margins lowered so drastically by using that method. Grain is bulk and needs ships to make it most profitable to export
Grain is now shipped south to the border with Romania and then loaded on ships.
Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has been truly catastrophic for Russia. Russia may very well be on the verge of conquering and seizing the Donbass region and may even be taking in record revenue for the oil, gas, coal and grain it sells but the real cost for Russia has been a huge detriment. Thousands of young Russians have been killed or maimed and many families are suffering inconsolable grief. Russia is more isolated from Europe and America than ever before. No longer does the world fear the Russian conventional military juggernaut. The Chinese are now fully aware that Russia does not have the capability to conventionally defend their Siberian treasure house or their rich,underpopulated Far Eastern Asian possessions. All that Putin accomplished reviving Russia from 90 years of debilitating communism has been squandered.
Russia will probably “win” in Ukraine but it will be the worst sort of a Pyrrhic victory.
5 weeks, one platoon at a time.
“Washington (AFP) – Ukraine wants new Himars artillery from the United States on the battlefield now, but the Pentagon is stressing the need for comprehensive training to make sure the long-range precision rocket systems are used effectively against Russian forces.
Himars is a “very sophisticated long-range system,” Milley told reporters. “We have to certify these guys to make sure that they know how to use the system properly.”
He said the Pentagon is coordinating closely with the Ukrainian military on preparing the teams to operate Himars — an agile, wheels-based unit that can fire 227 mm precision-guided munitions up to 80 kilometers (50 miles).
That is around double the distance by the more conventional artillery that both sides have on the ground now.
Ukraine pushed for months to obtain the weapons, and the administration of President Joe Biden announced the decision to provide them on May 31.
But at the time, the Pentagon said it would take some three weeks to train teams to operate them, and another two weeks for maintenance.
“What we decided to do, in coordination with the Ukrainians, was to build one platoon at a time,” Milley said, noting that they will have a battery in a few weeks, and that the program will build up from there.
“We have got to start this thing with a program that is rational and deliberate,” Milley said.
“It would do no good just to throw these weapon systems into the battle. You’ve got to be trained on it in order to get the maximum use of the weapons.”
Ukraine and Western allies hope Himars — and the similar track-based M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System being provided by Britain and another unnamed country — will give Ukraine a battlefield edge over invading Russian forces.
The current fight along the frontlines in eastern and southern Ukraine heavily depends on dueling artillery, much of it without precision-guided fire capability.
“If they use it properly, effectively, they’ll have a very, very good effect on the battlefield,” Milley said of Himars.”
Just like most of east Germany.
Took years for west Germany to fix the damage from WWII when it unified.
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