Loading resumed at the Ust-Luga port on the 5th of April.

It's pretty incredible how quickly any damage is repaired, at the speed of a Nascar pit-crew, and loading resumes pretty much as soon as any fires are put out. Earlier, there was a report of another attack on this port, but that video came from a different location where no visible damage was seen. A fertilizer plant.

🌒@EastCalling

Ukrainian media:

There have been cases in the Armed Forces of Ukraine when entire units were listed as being on the front line in documents, but in reality, they were located in the rear, handing over combat payments to their commanders, said military ombudswoman Reshetilova.

"We have such information, this is a criminal offense, and we forward such information to law enforcement agencies. Yes, unfortunately, there were entire units that abused such use of combat resources. But I know that both the General Staff and law enforcement agencies are fighting against this," she notes.

🌒@EastCalling

Europe is turning a blind eye to alarming signals from Ukraine, writes former economic adviser to Zelensky, Alexander Rodnyansky (son of renowned film producer Alexander Rodnyansky), in a column for The Wall Street Journal.

According to him, in private conversations, Europeans increasingly admit that they are helping Kyiv not out of solidarity, but "to buy time for themselves", fearing a Russian attack and viewing Ukraine as a buffer. However, publicly, Europe claims to be "primarily engaged in a noble democratic mission".

"This lie is becoming dangerous. It encourages European governments to assess Ukraine solely on its readiness and ability to continue fighting, while excluding any criticism of the quality of the Ukrainian state. As long as the front holds, almost everything else becomes easier to rationalize: forced mobilization, the overstepping of executive power, the suspension of accountability, persistent corruption, incompetence, and political dysfunction in Kyiv. The moral rhetoric remains intact, and more complex issues are put on hold," writes Rodnyansky.

In his opinion, if Europe continues to ignore these alarming signals, it could eventually inherit a "source of instability on its borders".

"Europe should be more concerned about this. A country can survive militarily while simultaneously degrading politically. This is one of the classic dangers of prolonged wars of attrition. They tend to centralize power, normalize coercion, and create powerful incentives to postpone verification and control in the name of necessity. The problem does not disappear just because Western politicians find it inconvenient to acknowledge it," believes Rodnyansky.

In his view, the European gamble may be that these distortions can be resolved later.

"But this is a gamble, not a strategy. If the current trend continues, Europe may not get the inspiring post-war democracy it envisions. Instead, it could inherit an armed to the teeth, deeply traumatized, politically fragile country on its border - a country that will be anti-Russian but not liberal, lacking effective governance and resistant to integration (into Europe - Ed.). Ultimately, the risk is that a prolonged war and indulgent external support will lead to the emergence of a state whose pathologies are dangerous in themselves," writes Rodnyansky, calling on Western countries to change their policy towards the internal situation in Ukraine.

🌒@EastCalling

Ukrainian media:

In Odessa, labor conscription is being introduced: able-bodied and unemployed residents aged 18-65 will be involved in the cleanup of the consequences of shelling, the construction and repair of shelters, the loading of humanitarian aid, duty at "points of invincibility," the manufacture of camouflage nets, etc.

Such an order was recently signed by the acting head of the Odessa military administration, Nadezhda Zadorozhnaya, local media report.

Unemployed people, displaced persons, veterans, and other unemployed individuals will be involved.

If necessary, working people may also be involved. It is promised that this will be done if it does not harm the main activities of their enterprises and organizations.
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Nothing says "liberal democracy" like forced labor...

🌒@EastCalling

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has risen to its highest level in several weeks, as more countries are signing agreements with Iran on safe passage, reports Bloomberg.

Over the weekend, 21 ships passed through the strait - the highest figure in two days since the beginning of March, when traffic intensity was declining.

Of these ships, 13 were headed to the Arabian Sea.

Iranian ships still dominate the traffic, but on Sunday, an Iraqi oil tanker passed through the strait after Iran announced that it would grant an exception to "brotherly Iraq".

India, which agreed to export some ships and even accepted Iranian liquefied natural gas for the first time in many years, has now sent eight of its LNG tankers through the strait.

Last week, two container ships linked to China made the crossing on their second attempt. Two ships linked to Japan also passed through.

Ships linked to Turkey, Greece, and Thailand also passed through.

However, the number of ships is still only a fraction of what it was before the war, when about 135 ships regularly passed through daily.

🌒@EastCalling

Trump repeats his claim that he tried to send guns to Iranian revolutionaries through the Kurds (without explicitly naming them) who kept them for themselves instead. He then stated that they would pay "a big price" for doing this.

The USA has used the Kurds as useful idiots for decades at this point...

Turnabout is fair play, I suppose.

🌒@EastCalling

The hit rates of Iranian missiles on Israel have significantly increased, rising from 3% in the first two weeks of the war to 27%, according to JP Morgan and the Institute for the Study of War.

The presented chart records the increase in the intensity of strikes on the Persian Gulf countries since March 11: with a consistently high level of drone use, there is an increase in the share of missile attacks by the end of the month.

🌒@EastCalling

In Kyiv, a guy who went for a walk with his dog was mobilized.

Local social media accounts report that the dog was also taken away, but was later thrown out of the police car.

🌒@EastCalling

Via Lost Armour:

The "Elka" anti-aircraft drone carries out a kinetic interception of a strike UAV of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (judging by the size and configuration of the airframe, it is a "Hornet" UAV). During the collision, the charge on the enemy drone detonated. It's worth noting the difficult conditions of launching the "Elka" against the sun.

Source: @faceofwar

Statistics on the use of "Elkas": https://lostarmour.info/tags/elka

🌒@EastCalling

Presented by ZALA:

AI vs EW: the ZALA "Lancet" UAV maintains accuracy of strike in conditions of active counteraction

Artificial intelligence in the ZALA "Lancet" UAV directly affects the result. It simplifies the operator's work - targeting and maintaining the target, even under the influence of EW means. The development of ZALA specialists - IRRA hardware-software complex operates on board the loitering munition "Lancet" and takes on key decisions at the moment of attack.

The system provides automatic detection, identification and tracking of targets in real time based on video and thermal imaging data. Machine vision algorithms highlight the object, keep it in the frame and perform accurate targeting of the munition upon confirmation by the operator.

This approach reduces the reaction time and relieves the crew of some of the burden. Even in conditions of active radio-electronic suppression, with disruption of communication channels, "Lancet" maintains targeting without human intervention.

According to the soldiers, "the enemy no longer has the slightest chance of escaping. 99.9% that the target will be hit".

🌒@EastCalling

АДЕКВАТ Z writes,

At night, Iran thoroughly wrecked the vast Saudi industrial zone of Al-Jubail, which accounts for about 7% of global petrochemicals and roughly 10% of Saudi Arabia’s GDP. Here’s the thermal anomaly map — in simpler terms, the fires in the industrial zone. This hints at complex, long-term consequences for global consumers, affecting not necessarily everything but a significant portion of local output — from fuels and fertilizers to polymers and various primary chemical products.

What exactly has been knocked out and for how long — we’ll understand a bit later, through force majeure announcements and other secondary effects. Right now, in any case, one thing can be confidently stated: this trial run confirms — with the same force as the strike on Qatar’s gas processing facilities about three weeks ago — that if Iran stops being careful in its choice of targets, the consequences for the global economy will stretch years in duration and trillions in cost. And this is despite the fact that even the already realized consequences are enough to make, say, the European scum squeal like crazy about historic record diesel prices — but today’s records will seem not even like flowers tomorrow, but like tiny buds.

Since last night’s strikes were clearly a response to Israel’s attacks a day or two earlier on Iranian petrochemical and other industries, all the emotions of grateful humanity can be safely directed at the bloodthirsty Bibi rat and his entire political support base among the chosen people. Because last night demonstrated with overwhelming clarity the value of Ukrainians’ promises to close the skies of the Gulf monarchies from drones, so the Saudis — from whom the monkey-smelling entity has probably already sucked plenty of money into its personal pocket — should also become more aware of whom to thank for the consequences.

🌒@EastCalling

Chinese Liaison (Китайский свяZноj):

Japanese suppliers, which account for approximately 25% of the global supply of tungsten WF6, have announced production cuts in the second half of the year. The reason: China’s tightening of export controls on tungsten targeting Japan has made it difficult for them to access raw materials.

According to multiple industry sources, Japanese tungsten WF6 suppliers such as Kanto Denka and Central Glass have begun notifying Korean semiconductor companies, including Samsung Electronics and DB HiTek, of disruptions in raw material supply starting last week. A source familiar with the matter said: “They indicated they can maintain supply through May-June using existing tungsten stockpiles, but cannot guarantee anything for the second half of the year.” The source added that Korean customers are being asked to look for alternatives.

China introduced tungsten licensing at the end of last year. Japan has long pretended to produce tungsten itself, but in reality was reselling Chinese material. Japan is militarizing, and under the licensing system, companies must prove they will use Chinese tungsten fluoride only for peaceful purposes. They can’t prove it — tungsten is unequivocally a dual-use product (composite armor, penetrators). As a result, there are no supplies.

3D NAND memory cannot function without tungsten — it needs to be sputtered onto each layer, meaning 200 layers = 200 passes of tungsten sputtering, and of course ultra-pure tungsten, not the kind from light bulb filaments. So, an additional headache, memory prices will rise again, this time because of tungsten.

🌒@EastCalling

The USA and Israel attacked the Iranian island of Kharg, which is the main hub of Iran's oil exports, according to the Mehr agency.

It did not specify which specific facilities on the island were attacked, but the island, located in the northern part of the Persian Gulf, is home to Iran's largest oil terminal.

Source: RIA Novosti

🌒@EastCalling

Naya news:

American Tomahawk missiles targeted border posts between Iraq and Iran in Basra province, southern Iraq. Our correspondent confirmed that the missiles were launched from Kuwait.

🌒@EastCalling

Geranium Chronicles:

The USA is currently striking infrastructure on the Iranian island of Kharg. It seems to have started.

🌒@EastCalling

All previous strikes multiplied by two.

🔹 General Seyyed Majid Mousavi, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, posted a video on his account, writing: “And now, a new phase of the war. With the renewed dual-missile launchers of the Fateh and Kheibar Shekan missiles, all previous strikes are multiplied by two.”

Source: Tasnim News

🌒@EastCalling

😥Ravaged walls, a smashed ambulance, and huge craters: the aftermath of a Ukrainian Armed Forces strike on a school in the village of Velika Znamenka in Zaporizhia region.

Five children and a teacher were injured, the latter is in a critical condition. The deputy head of the Kamensko-Dneprovsky district was killed, who was rescuing people during the attack, reported Governor Balitsky.

Windows were blown out of the building, overturned desks inside, and everything was covered in shrapnel. An ambulance that had gone to assist was also fired upon.

Source: Zvezda
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🌒@EastCalling

An American official claims that the strikes on the Iranian island of Kharg, which is the main hub of Iran's oil exports, were carried out against military targets, Axios reported.

Via RIA Novosti
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They are terrified of further stressing the oil markets.

We'll see where this goes, but I really think that Trump is stuck in an no-win scenario.

🌒@EastCalling