Page 144 - RusRPTAug22

Sixteen merchant vessels have passed through the mouth of Bystre in Ukraine to seaports in order to load grain. Over the past four days, 16 ships have already passed through the mouth of the Bystre to receive Ukrainian grain for transport. The restoration of navigation through this channel is an important step, which will also allow the unloading of grain through the Sulina channel and speed up the export of grain, said Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Yuriy Vaskov. Presently the channel’s capacity only makes it possible to receive only four to eight ships a day. Vaskov added that the ministry is negotiating with its Romanian colleagues and representatives of the European Commission regarding increasing the number of crossings through the Sulin Canal. More than 90 ships are waiting for their turn to enter the Ukrainian ports at the Sulina Canal. A total of 135 vessels are waiting to enter the Romanian Sulina Canal.
9.1.13 Other sector news
Ukraine has ruined Russian arms exports. Russia's plans to export its weapons are being destroyed by the Russian army’s losses in the war against Ukraine, reported FP. Thus, US military and intelligence believe Russia's severe losses of high-tech equipment in Ukraine, including hundreds of tanks and helicopters, will significantly diminish the Kremlin's arms supply to Africa. This will deprive the Kremlin of a major source of income. At the same time, this may lead to redistribution in this market and lead to the dominance of Russia's competitors, such as China and the US. According to the Stockholm International Institute for the Study of World Problems calculations, Russia accounts for almost half of the main arms exports to Africa, mainly supplying weapons to Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, and Angola. Russia accounts for about one-fifth of the world's arms sales.
144 RUSSIA Country Report October 2020 www.intellinews.com