KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces shelled an oil refinery in the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk on Saturday and a major fire broke out, a regional governor reported.
Lugansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said it was not the first time the refinery had been targeted and accused the Russians of trying to “exhaust” local emergency services. He pointed out that there was no fuel at the refinery at the time of the attack and that “remnants of oil sludge” were burning.
Ukraine’s presidential office reported on Saturday that missile strikes and shelling in the past 24 hours have occurred in eight regions: Donetsk, Lugansk and Kharkiv in the east, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kirovohrad in central Ukraine and Mykolaiv and Kherson to the south. The strikes underscored that the whole country remained under threat despite Russia’s pivot to mount a new offensive in the east.
In Kharkiv, nine civilians were killed and more than 50 were injured on Friday, while in the wider region two were killed and three injured, the report said.
The southern Mykolaiv region was beaten on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s airstrikes left five people dead and 15 injured, according to the presidential office. The president of the regional legislature, Hanna Zamazeyeva, said on Saturday that 39 people had been injured in the past 24 hours.
Zamazeyeva said the targets included several residential blocks “where there are no military installations”.
The besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol still holds, but the situation there is critical.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINE WAR:
— War in Ukraine far from over as Russia renews strikes in kyiv
— “We pray for you”: Ukrainian Jews celebrate Passover, if they can
— The Ukrainian port of Mariupol resists against all odds
— War Crimes Watch: The Woman Who Would Make Putin Pay
– The pain of a Ukrainian mother watching her daughter’s funeral on the phone
— Go to https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine for more coverage
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
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KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a televised address on Saturday that 700 Ukrainian soldiers and more than 1,000 civilians – more than half of them women – are currently being held captive by the Russians.
Vereshchuk said kyiv intends to swap the captive soldiers, since Ukraine holds roughly the same number of Russian soldiers but demands the release of the civilians “without any conditions”.
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ROME — Italy is banning all Russian vessels from its ports from Sunday, as part of expanded EU sanctions announced earlier this month. Ships already in Italian ports must leave immediately “after completing their commercial activity”, according to a notice sent to port authorities across the country.
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BERLIN — Peace activists took part in Germany’s traditional Easter marches on Saturday, calling for an end to the war in Ukraine but also, in at least some cases, opposing helping Ukraine defend itself with weapons .
An event in Berlin drew 400 people and one in Hanover 500, the dpa news agency reported, citing police. Marches took place in cities such as Munich, Cologne, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Duisburg. The banners included “End the war in Ukraine” and “Whoever sends arms reaps war”.
The country’s Vice Chancellor, Green politician Robert Habeck, warned protesters against sending the wrong message, saying “there will be peace only when Putin stops his war of aggression”. He said in an interview with the Funke media group that it was “clear who the aggressor is and who defends himself in an emergency and who we must support, also with weapons”.
Ukrainian officials said Germany had sent anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons as well as night vision equipment, body armor and machine guns.
Locally organized peace marches date back to the Cold War era and focus on issues such as disarmament and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
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KYIV, Ukraine – Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person died and several others were injured in Saturday morning airstrikes on the capital’s Darnytsky district as Russian forces resumed scattered attacks on the capital in the west of Ukraine.
“Our air defense forces are doing everything they can to protect us, but the enemy is insidious and ruthless,” Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.
The attacks, which the Russian Defense Ministry said targeted an armored vehicle factory in the Ukrainian capital, were a searing reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite pivoting Russian forces towards the east, where a new offensive is to be feared. .
Klitschko urged Ukrainians not to return to Kyiv just yet in televised remarks on Saturday, warning that strikes on the capital were likely to continue and its suburbs were packed with explosives. “We do not rule out further strikes on the capital,” Klitschko said. “We cannot prohibit, we can only recommend. If you have the opportunity to stay a little longer in the cities where it is safer, do so.
The mayor of Kyiv added that because of the mines, Kyiv residents are not allowed to visit the parks and forests of the northeastern regions that border the liberated territories once occupied by the Russians.
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MOSCOW — Russia has banned the British Prime Minister and a dozen other senior British officials from entering the country in response to British sanctions imposed on Russia for its military operation in Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the decision on Saturday targeting Boris Johnson, a number of British ministers and former Prime Minister Theresa May.
The ministry statement cited “unprecedented hostile actions by the British government, expressed, in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against senior officials” in Russia.
“The Russophobic course of the British authorities, the main objective of which is to stir up a negative attitude towards our country, the reduction of bilateral relations in almost all areas is detrimental to the well-being and interests of British residents. Any attack on sanctions will inevitably backfire on their initiators and receive a decisive rebuff,” the statement said.
On Friday evening, the ministry announced the expulsion of 18 European Union diplomats from Moscow, in retaliation for the bloc’s declaration of 19 diplomats from the Russian mission to the EU and the European Energy Community. atomic persona non grata.
The European Union said the expulsions were groundless and that the EU diplomats targeted were working within the framework of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
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KYIV, Ukraine – Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in an online post that Kyiv was struck early on Saturday in Darnytskyi district in the eastern part of the capital, saying there were “explosions “.
He said rescuers and paramedics were on the scene and details of the victims would be released later.
Klitschko urged residents to heed air raid sirens and warned those who fled the capital not to return just yet for their safety.
Thick smoke rising from the site on the east side of Kyiv could be seen from parts of the city center near the Dnipro River.
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WASHINGTON — Ukraine is sending top officials to Washington for next week’s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, where discussions will focus on the Russian invasion and its impact on the global economy.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and Central Bank Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko will attend the rally, according to a World Bank official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the visit had not not officially announced.
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KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that existing sanctions against Russia were “painful” but not yet enough to stop the Russian military.
Zelenskyy called on “the democratic world” to ban Russian oil. As US lawmakers and US President Joe Biden have enacted such a ban, Europe is becoming more dependent on Russian energy supplies and the US is working to prevent India from ramping up its use of Russian energy.
“In general, the democratic world has to accept that Russia’s money for energy resources is actually money for the destruction of democracy,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to his nation.
He also said: “The sooner the democratic world recognizes that the oil embargo against Russia and the complete blockade of its banking sector are necessary steps towards peace, the sooner the war will end.”
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TIJUANA, Mexico – A Russian man and a Ukrainian woman have married in the Mexican border town of Tijuana after being unable to travel to the United States together
Daria Sakhniuk was allowed to enter the United States as a Ukrainian refugee, but her partner, Semen Bobrovsky, was unable to travel there after Russia invaded Ukraine. They left Ukraine at the start of the war.
Bobrovski told El Sol de Tijuana that he thinks Thursday’s wedding will boost his chances of entering the United States with his new wife. The United States only allows Russian nationals with family members in the United States to enter the country.
“Without it, we cannot cross because, again for the official US government, we are strangers to each other,” he said.
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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed the fate of the beleaguered port city of Mariupol during a meeting on Friday with the country’s military chiefs and heads of its intelligence agencies.
“Details cannot be made public now, but we are doing everything we can to save our people,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation.
Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, he said Russian troops occupying areas around Kherson and Zaporizhzhia were terrorizing civilians and searching for anyone who had served in the army or government.
“The occupiers believe this will make it easier for them to control this territory. But they are very wrong. They are wrong,” Zelenskyy said.
He added: “The problem with the occupiers is not that they are not accepted by certain activists, veterans or journalists. Russia’s problem is that it is not accepted – and never will be accepted – by all Ukrainian people. Russia has lost Ukraine forever.
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Aging farmers, dying farmland
December 6, 2021
Montana Loans
Comments Off on Aging farmers, dying farmland
Roberta T. Mainor
Credit to Farmers
The expansion of the farm or ranch involves an investment in capital, and is especially challenging for those who are only beginning their journey in business. We have designed loan programs for farmers that are younger than of 35 or who have more than ten years of experience. They are comparable to our loan options that have modified the criteria for approval of credit in order to accommodate this need in the following manner. This program will allow you to get the money you require like this, while also aiding you to improve your financial position.
“At present, the production of eggs is the thing I’m most interested in and also something my grandfather was interested in. About 90 percent of eggs that are produced in the United States [are produced by the 60 farms that are owned by the company” Spencer explained.
Montana along with Montana and the United States of America are not the only countries that are experiencing a shift towards industrialization. As America shifts away from farms that were owned by families and towards growth, corporations are have a greater say in and control of the agricultural sector, using central processing facilities as well as manufacturing cheap products to satisfy the needs of the consumer. Shipping is available throughout in the United States and internationally A increase in the number of farms controlled by companies according to USDA statistics, occurred between 2012 and 2017. The increase was around 10 percent between 2012 and 2017. The amount of farms that are owned and operated by private individuals or households has declined by about the same amount during the same time.
Spencer is a real person in this sense. “I’m not certain if there’s any issue with this. This is just how things are at the moment “he explained. “There always is food to be found. Which do you believe it could be? Are you more a fan of family-owned farms to corporate farms? The agricultural sector will be increasingly controlled by corporate. Since a long time the big firms have attempted to consolidate their control over their businesses in operations and industries.”
The evolution of the American agriculture system however it has its own set of consequences. Small farms and ranches make important economic contributions to local economies, investing money into the local economy selling their products to communities, as well as also creating jobs for the local community. Rural communities are harmed when the longevity is at risk as well as when the employment opportunities available for the agricultural sector are cut down.
“Isn’t it the case that when you purchase something from Walmart there’s no transaction cost and there is no investment in our economy? The location is Walmart’s headquarters “The Community Food & Agriculture Coalition (CFAC) is an organization based in Missoula which works to create regional and local food infrastructure According to Bonnie Buckingham, executive director of the group. It’s feasible in the western part of Montana. “Community and value” is created in the sense that people are connected with their local communities through food, purchasing products from farmers, or by participating in events that bring people together. For producers, these kinds of events help strengthen bonds between the participants in the community.
The smaller farms also are green, as they tend to not use an excessive amount of toxic pesticides and will be more likely to aid in the protection of the species diversity in the agricultural and ecological realm as well as other advantages. They also have a higher ethical standard from an animal’s point viewpoint than most people. Spencer is a great example. He feeds his chickens a 100 100% vegetarian diet and keeps in cages which he claims is the most humane approach.
It is possible that farms like Spencer’s could be destroyed completely due to development, which will result in irreparable erosion of soil. Only a small amount of Montana’s topsoil could be utilized for agriculture however, only in small amounts. As per the CFAC the CFAC, just 8 percent of the land of Missoula County, for example has soils suitable for the production of agricultural crops. It would take about 1000 years to make three centimeters of topsoil out of the soil developed over the course of many thousands of years.
The majority of the soil is in the lower part of Missoula Valley, which happens to be the exact location that developers are currently eyeing to develop. If the soil isn’t properly prepared for paver and paving, it will not be able to carry out vital ecological functions like food production or water retention. It is also able to absorb carbon dioxide, which is a vital service to the ecosystem, and becomes more important as policymakers try to slow the progression of global warming.
“It is possible that the soil could be lost forever should we not safeguard it today. This kind of soil might be located in a field that can be grazed with horses, or just left to grow grass. It could be possible to obtain viable productive, productive, as well as productive soils near term which can be protected similar way as described in this article “Buckingham stated. If there’s a structure or industry located on it, or the land is dispersed and divided, we will never be able cultivate food on the soil.
In the course of addressing certain issues that confront the state, non-profit organizations and officials from government have come up with inventive ways to broaden its activities and engage more people.We’ll be in the process of ending our current state of things if we don’t safeguard it in its current shape.
One example of this could be Trust Montana. Trust Montana is a non-profit entity committed to the preservation of the agricultural land across the state. The organization was previously focused around the protection of low-cost housing However, in May 2020, the organization partnered along with other organisations, such as the Agrarian Trust and the Vilicus Training Institute in order to create the Montana Agrarian Commons, which is currently at its third year in operation. To stop the development of land that is not agricultural communities will be granted conservation easements that permit the parcel of land to remain an estate of trust to be used by the community, and it will be let to new farmers at a reasonable cost. Agrarian Commons is a program which can offer a unique selling opportunity for farmers and ranchers who have retired who wish to see their land be managed and developed with respect for the environment.
“Agrarian commons are designed to protect land for agriculture use in perpetuity to benefit of the future generations. Farmers also have leases for long-term tenure of their land “King-Ries explained. “And we’re seeking ways to assist farmers in earning cash and creating equity in a way similar to the way owners or landowners achieve this without the property getting sold for market value , and without the property becoming a commodity in its own.”
CFAC has adopted a unique approach to establishing a website named Farm Link Montana, which is designed to aid those who are new to farming, retiring and those who want to sell their farm land. The website, according to Mary Ellis, the new Farm Programs Coordinator of the coalition’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Program is an “kind match service.” She described it as such.”The retired farmer may be able collaborate with them to help them move gradually to larger areas or make a deal to sign a lease or a partnership together for a specific duration and for a limited time period,’ Ellis explained. So, I’m hoping to make it easier for farmers looking to get started. ”
According to Ellis the range of matches is from two to five games every year go over the normal investigation phase in the procedure. Even though that it is an insignificant amount, “in our program, we believe it is an impressive achievement when compared to other aspects to be taken into consideration,” she explained.
“This item has been tested on the field. Farmer-approved. The program offers grants of between $5,000 and $5,000 to farms in order to aid new farmers at the beginning stages the process of establishing their farms. A collaboration with Kiva which is a non-profit organisation which provides loans to those who make the difference in their community, allows the organization to provide small loans to farms and other agriculture-related enterprises.
Zach Brown of the Gallatin County Commission has been working with the Gallatin County Commission to aid farmers who are just beginning in their careers as farmers and face financial challenges. This legislation, dubbed the Montana Farmer Student Loan Assistance Program legislation that he wrote was approved by the year of 2019. The new farmers and ranchers could get up to 50 percent of their student loan payments through this scheme, managed through the State Department of Agriculture. Individuals who decide to work in the field could discover that the debt is an enormous obstacle to their dreams.
“Essentially the thing it’s doing is creating a process by which a prospective farmer or rancher could submit an application to government officials for loans aid program.” writes the book’s author. Brown has shared his ideas. Therefore that when they return to their ranches or farms they aid in the payment of students’ loans
MORGAN ROSE was one of the first organizations to be granted assistance with the repayment of loans from The Ministry of Agriculture’s Repayment Assistance Program. Dillon, Montana, is the home of Rose who is a fourth generation Montana breeder birthed and raised in the tiny town of only a few hundred people located in the southwest region of the state. It has the estimated number of people residing there at 5,000. “There isn’t any moment that I was contemplating pursuing a job in any other field than the field of production agriculture,” she said emphatically.