Ukraine can now target just about any Russian fuel tanker at sea and any Russian oil refinery on land whenever it wants, which lately has been daily

Zelenskyy is destroying Russia's ability to make war.

Too bad Donald Trump never does that.

 

 Ukraine escalates attacks on tankers near Crimea as Russian fuel shortages bite

... Ukraine’s drone force commander, Robert Brovdi, known as Magyar, said via Telegram that 14 Russian ships were hit in the Sea of Azov on Thursday evening, taking the number of Russian vessels stuck by Ukrainian drones to 35 over the last 96 hours. CNBC could not independently verify this report. 

... Ukraine has frequently targeted high-profile oil refineries in major cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg in recent weeks as part of a sustained push to cut off Russia’s energy revenues.

Earlier this week, Ukraine marked what appeared to be one of the country’s deepest attacks on Russian territory in the war so far.

Plumes of black smoke were seen billowing from a key oil refinery in the city of Omsk on Tuesday, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to declare that the country’s upgraded drone capabilities have put Siberia “within reach.”

The Omsk facility is situated nearly 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) from Ukrainian territory and close to Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. ...

Poor Hunter Biden, he went from a $142k Porsche from Kazakhstan in April 2014 to borrowing dough from Joe for a Ford Raptor in January 2019 lol

 Story.

 

 

Where's Vladimir?

From a story about Putin's "disappearance" since the 5th of March, here:

Those keeping track insist Putin has not been seen since March 5.

Regardless of how or when this speculation ends, it tells us much about the political realities of Russia.

This whole thing started after Putin's trip to Kazakhstan was canceled on Wednesday and a Kazakh official told a reporter that the Russian President had fallen ill. Then the Kremlin released a picture of Putin speaking with the leader of the Republic of Karelia. But it turns out that happened on March 4.

On Thursday, Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the President would miss his regular meeting with the Federal Security Service (FSB). When asked about his boss's health, Peskov said he is "absolutely healthy," his handshake so strong he could "break your hand." To illustrate the point, the Kremlin's Russia Today posted a picture of the mighty President slamming a judo opponent hard against the ground. Peskov says Russia is in the grips of a "spring fever" that is causing people to dream up harebrained scenarios.

Secretary Of State John Kerry Causes 11 Letter Pile-Up Between Kyrgyzstan And Kazakhstan, Causing Kyrzakhstan

The former senator from Massachusetts was not seriously injured in the accident, physically.

Story here.

h/t Chris

Central Bank/Institutional Gold Demand Is Running at 630 Tonnes Annualized

The pace of gold acquisition by central bankers and institutions looks to have picked up over 50 percent in Q2 2012 over the 400 tonne-pace set between March 2011 and March 2012, according to this story:

Demand for gold from central banks and official sector institutions more than doubled in the second quarter of this year to 157.5 metric tons from the same quarter a year ago, according to a World Gold Council (WGC) report released Thursday.

That marked a record quarter for central bank buying since the sector began recording net purchases in the second quarter of 2009, according to the WGC report. Central banks in Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and South Korea were among the big buyers.

The Central Banking World Is In A Panic

So says Mish, here:

In a 45-Minute Salvo today, the ECB cuts rates to a record low 0.75 percent and reduced the deposit rate to zero. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China cut their benchmark borrowing costs (the second time in a month), and the Bank of England raised the size of its asset-purchase program.

Also note the central banks of Australia, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Israel cut rates in June, while the Swiss National Bank is buying euros to defend its franc ceiling.

ECB president Mario Draghi said these events were not global coordinated easing.

I am willing to take him for his word. Thus, it's safe to assume that what has transpired was more akin to global uncoordinated panic.

The ECB, Bank of China, Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank are obviously four of the eight big, heavy-hitters which include the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, the Bundesbank, and the Banque de France.

Given what is happening in those other four economies, I'd say they'll be joining the panic soon enough.

Will it be before summer vacation ends, or right after?

How about Monday?!