Simplicius, Massive Iskander Attack Sends Rats Scurrying
It’s been an eventful past day, as major Russian attacks galvanized panic-headlines and seemed to catalyze a sudden Ukrainian government purge or mass exodus:
All the people who resigned in Ukraine in recent days:
Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba; Minister of Justice Denis Maliuska; Minister for Strategic Industries Alexander Kamyshin; Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets; Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna; Deputy Prime Minister – Minister for Reintegration of Uncontrolled Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk; Deputy head of Zelensky’s office Rostislav Shurma….
..The timing seems odd and obviously paints a portrait of a mass exodus of rats fleeing the now-obviously sinking ship.
..The strike on the 179th training center of the Signal Troops military institute in Poltava—officially called the Poltava Institute of Military Communications—was particularly grievous for Ukraine because it appeared to house not only a vital drone-technical program, but valuable Swedish instructors for the upcoming transfer of Swedish AWACS planes, billed as more future ‘game changers’ that would work in tandem with the F-16s to decimate the Russian airforce from afar…
..Ukrainian medic in Poltava claimed that the losses from the strike on the military training center is closer to 215 killed and 340 injured. The video has since been deleted but she is a medic of the AFU…
..But this may have been at the start, before the majority of the bodies were pulled, because subsequent reports spoke of even more cataclysmic numbers. A local Ukrainian blogger gave the tally as over 700 dead alone…
..Such staggering losses are hard to believe, but apparently it was a Kinzhal or Iskander “double tap”. Granted, the losses appear obscenely high, but recall there’s not one Russian source there: who am I to argue with Ukrainian sources directly from the ground? …
..The NYT article remarks specifically on the missiles’ speed being such that they struck almost at the same time as the first warning sirens, which could not come on fast enough to give people time to escape… This is the true ‘game-changing’ property of hypersonic missiles like the Iskander and Kinzhal. Though they may not be hypersonic at final terminal descent—the jury’s still out on the Kinzhal in that regard—their hypersonic traversal of the airspace prior to that still allows them to arrive on target extremely rapidly without giving time for defensive maneuvers…
..In fact, Russia has been utilizing Iskanders an extreme amount lately, which ties with the report from last time that Iskanders have been brought down to the brigade level, and now brigade commanders can order their own direct strikes without going up to divisional HQ or higher…
..By the way, many poked fun at Sweden receiving such a big blow in Poltava, the predestined town where the previous Swedish Empire had seen its demise.
Now only a day after the Poltava strikes reportedly wrecked the entire Swedish-Ukraine program, Sweden’s FM mysteriously resigns:
(Reuters) – Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Wednesday he will step down next week after almost two years in office, during which his traditionally non-aligned country joined NATO. “It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that I have today informed the prime minister that I will leave the post of foreign minister at the opening of parliament next week,” Billstrom, a member of the conservative Moderate Party, said in a post on X…
..What is going on here?
Last week saw “the largest-scale Russian strikes of the entire war”, followed by a few other high-profile ballistic attacks on sensitive Ukrainian targets with high casualties. Now, we see a mass exodus of the entire Ukrainian government and this. It’s tempting to jump to conclusions about causalities, but the connection seems too obvious to make. It feels like internally the rolling of heads has begun. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/massive-iskander-attack-sends-rats
Rothschild helped Ukraine clinch debt restructuring – Reuters [Wait, that’s 25% of the bondholders, not 100%. “Take it or leave it” for the rest?]
Kiev’s financial adviser arranged face-to-face meetings with bondholders in July 2022 after initial talks failed, according to a report
Kiev announced last week that it had reached an agreement with a group of foreign investors to restructure its $20 billion debt. Bondholders – including US financial giants BlackRock and Pimco, as well as French asset manager Amundi – granted Ukraine a two-year debt freeze in February 2022 when the conflict with Russia broke out.
The bondholders’ committee, which represents the holders of 25% of the bonds, has agreed to accept losses of 37%, or $8.7 billion, on the nominal value of their debt.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reportedly confirmed that the deal was compatible with the parameters of its $122 billion aid package to Kiev. Both the IMF and the country’s creditors, which include the US and the Paris Club, have signed off on it. https://swentr.site/business/603470-ukraine-rothschild-debt-restructuring/
Withhold funds you don’t have. Blame Hungary. EU warns Hungary to pay €200 million EU court fine or have its funding cut
The European Court of Justice fined Hungary in June for not complying with migrant handling rules
The European Commission has announced that if Hungary does not pay the €200 million fine for stopping migration, it will deduct the amount from its frozen EU funds. In parallel with Brussels’ announcement, the European Court of Auditors is pressing for part of the blocked amount to be used to pay the fine.
The European Commission has again ordered Hungary to pay the €200 million fine imposed by the European Court of Justice by Sept. 17 at the latest; it must also pay €1 million a day as long as Hungary delays the implementation of EU rules.
Now, Brussels has announced that if Hungary does not pay, it will launch a so-called “set-off” procedure, deducting the amount from the EU funds due to Hungary, which have been frozen until now. https://rmx.news/european-union/eu-warns-hungary-to-pay-e200-million-eu-court-fine-or-have-its-funding-cut/
‘Global competition’ sparks EU defense policy overhaul “When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose. You’re invisible now, you’ve got no secrets to conceal.”
The European Parliament is set to hold closed-door, high-level discussions on Wednesday in relation to a new report on the competitiveness of the EU defense industry, Politico has reported.
The document, prepared by former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi, reportedly calls on the bloc to rethink its defense policy in light of the Ukraine conflict and the purported threat from Russia.
“The EU’s defense industrial base is facing structural challenges in terms of capacity, know-how and technological edge. As a result, the EU is not keeping pace with its global competitors,” a draft of the document reads, Politico reported on Monday. https://swentr.site/news/603506-eu-defense-competitiveness-report/
Trump refuses to disclose details of his Ukrainian peace plan until election victory
Trump has repeatedly pledged to resolve the conflict in Ukraine before his inauguration, if elected https://tass.com/world/1837805
