Category: News

In a year when the markets are posting double-digit declines, it is good to remember the phrase attributed to Warren Buffett that only when the tide goes out is it discovered who was swimming naked. This aphorism, applied to investment funds, could be applied to the long-term profitability of their managers, which becomes more imperative in times of crisis. And then it is discovered that many of the best performing collective investment vehicles, in the conservative categories, are Spanish.

The problem is that most investors do not know them, because by having a Spanish ISIN (the exclusive registration number used to identify each product) their marketing in other distribution networks than those of their bank – the usual channel of purchase for an investor – is an almost impossible mission, if you do not go to certain platforms.

In some cases, they are even funds belonging to financial entities, so their sale is limited to their clients. And a few of these products, although backed, are actually private banking client strategies that are not actively traded, although any eligible investor can purchase them.

But compared to their competitors, both from other Spanish managers and those from international firms, they achieve a very long-term performance that places them at the top of their category. In many cases, these are mixed funds , those that are more suitable for a conservative investor, so their profitability data stands out even more.

Among the mixed products classified as aggressive by Morningstar, those that can allocate a greater part of their portfolio to equities, are Bestinver Mixto , with 5.79% annualized over 20 years, and Bona Renda , from GVC Gaesco, with 4 .89%, which are among the top five in their group for profitability in this period of time. The first belongs to one of the most recognized independent firms by investors, although its flagships are pure stock market products, such as Bestinver Bolsa or Bestinver Internacional , while the second belongs to one of the most deeply rooted firms, especially in Catalonia. .

If aggressive mixed but with a global strategy are considered, Fontibrefondo , from Santander AM, stands out, earning 6.02% annualized over twenty years, the second best product of its group.

Among the flexible mixed funds, four Spanish funds hold the top positions for twenty-year annualized returns. This is Inverbanser, another product from the Santander catalog, which leads its category in this period of time with 5.17% , followed by Espinosa Partners Inversiones , with 4.43%, Fondcoyuntura , from Renta 4, with 3 .7 %, and Welzia Coyuntura , with 3.66%.

The first, managed by atl Capital, can have an exposure to equities of up to 100%, although this usually ranges between 30%-60% , they say at the firm. “The current exposure is approximately 30%, since it covers part of the portfolio with futures of the European EuroStoxx 50 index. Regarding the selection of securities, it incorporates actions that it sees as driven by fundamentals, but taking into account the macroeconomic situation. It currently has a blend-value bias and is overweight in pharma and basic resources. It has practically no currency risk”, comments Félix López, partner and director of atl Capital.

The Welzia fund, which was created in 1991, is heir to Foncafix, which was managed by Arcalia Inversiones, a team to which the current co-manager of the vehicle, Rafael Vilarrasa, belonged. After the creation of the firm Egeria Activos in 2011 , the fund was renamed Egeria Coyuntura, a monent in which José Gregori joined as co-manager. After the merger of Egeria Activos with Welzia Management to date, the fund continues to maintain the same management team.

“Welzia Coyuntura has lived through different economic cycles, but has always remained faithful to its investment philosophy, characterized by its global character. Depending on the economic situation, we can invest the portfolio in equities up to a maximum of 75%. Companies that listed in Europe are the most represented.

The rest of the assets are invested in fixed income, with no duration limit or credit rating. Currently, given the complicated macroeconomic scenario, it shows a cautious positioning with a portfolio that has exposure to equities around to 60% and where we can find companies like Novo Nordisk, Capgemini or LVMH among its main positions”, point out those responsible.

Within the global flexible mixes, Rural Multifund 75 Standard appears , with 3.46%, Abante Asesores Global , with 3.41%, Gesrioja , managed by Trea AM (inherited after the acquisition of Novo Banco), with 3 .38%, and Renta 4 Delta , with 2.72% among the ten most profitable.

In the group of moderate mixed funds , GVC Gaesco’s Financialfond , with a twenty-year annualized return of 4%, Caixabank Fonduxo Universal , with 3.99%, Santalucía Fonvalor Euro , with 3.49%, Gesconsult León Valores Mixto Flexible A , with 3.27%, Caixabank Mixto RV 50 Universal , with 2.85%, and March Paribas Global Asset Allocation , with 2.71% can also boast of being among the ten most profitable in their category, although the rest of the products of the group that has this history of life are also Spanish.

A circumstance that is also repeated within the global moderates, led by Patribond , of the manager Patrivalor, with 5.13% annualized over 20 years. Merch-Universal , with 4.10%, Fonprofit , from Gesprofit, with 3.28%.

The Gesconsult León is one of the oldest investment strategies, since at the beginning it was managed through one of the first sicavs that were registered in Spain, until it began its journey as a fund in 1991. It has a replica in Luxembourg , the Gesconsult Flexible Equity and offers an annualized return since its inception of 3.82%.

Gonzalo Sánchez, investment director of the manager , explains that the fund’s flexibility has allowed it to take advantage of the revaluation of the equity or fixed income market depending on the market situation. “During recent years it has been more difficult to find value in the debt part, although now there are opportunities again. Currently the exposure to the stock market is around 52%,but the fund can reach up to 70% within its investment range.

Although we are living under pressure from the fallout from inflation, the Ukraine war, and the energy price shock, and normalization is taking a long time and losing visibility, we are invested in companies that can perform very well in a challenging environment. of recession due to the quality of its business and which form part of the core of the fund’s portfolio”, Sánchez underlines.

Caixabank’s Fonduxo is a product inherited from Bankia and one of the best-performing long-term products of managers of financial entities. “It is a fund with high discretion when making investments in equities and fixed income, focused on Europe, although without giving up other markets, where it can dedicate around 20% of its assets. The investment selection process is based on an in-depth analysis of the markets from both a fundamental and technical point of view.

The versatility in the investment process together with the speed to make changes in these assignments, adapting to market conditions in a very flexible way, are the key to its remarkable evolution. For example, in 2011 and 2020, with a Eurostoxx showing negative returns, the fund was able to obtain positive results,” says its manager, Manuel Miguel Sanabria.

Merch Universal, for its part, belongs to the historic firm Merchbanc, which Andbank acquired four years ago. It is a mixed fund that has a global portfolio, “with an eclectic style: neither growth, nor value, nor cyclical, nor defensive, which is born from a deep knowledge of values, key in an artisanal selection based on fundamental criteria “, assures Marian Fernández, head of Macro at Andbank Spain, who underlines that it is a low-rotation product, with conviction management that is reflected in outstanding weights in some names.

“In the first positions we arewith the best of the Merchfund equity selection -which also belongs to Merchbanc-, together with a greater defensive profile, either with more weight in securities of this type also present in Merchfund (Axa, Roche), or incorporating other spreads.

The fixed income strategy is a ladder strategy, with low duration risk and maintenance of the bonds until maturity. It has corporate issues of high credit quality (2022-2024 bonds) and government issues, mainly Spanish bills and short American terms, with recent entries in German debt,” Fernández points out.

more cautious profile
Among the most conservative mixed funds, those with a cautious profile, according to Morningstar’s terminology, are Bestinver Patrimonio , with a 20-year annualized return of 5.18%, Fondonorte , from the management company Gesnorte, with 2.921%, Sabadell Urquijo Patrimonio Private 2 , with 2.41%, Ibercaja Gestión Evolución , with 2.31%, Caixabank Mixto RF 30 Universal , with 2.29%, Fonemporium , with 2.2%, Gesconsult Renta Fixed Flexible A , with 2%, and Gestifonsa Mixto 25 Base, with 1.98%

And among the global cautious, Artac Fund , managed by Santander AM, with 2.86%, and Dalmatian , which was managed by UBS Management (now integrated into Singular Bank), with 2.3%, are the only Spanish funds which are among the ten most profitable at twenty years, although March Portfolio Max 45 A also appears in the first quartile , with 2.18%, CS Director Bond Focus , managed by the local manager of Credit Suisse in Spain, with a 2.17%, GCO Mixto , from Catalana Occidente, with 2.1%, or Ibercaja Sustainable and Solidarity , with 2.04%, also appear among the best.

Desigual expands its borders in search of recovering sales that have fallen since 2015. The Catalan company has focused on Asia to grow and China stands as one of the priority markets in which to increase its business. The company has been present in the country since 2014, but now it is drawing up a plan to reach a turnover of 40 million euros and open up to 60 stores in the next five years.

The organization founded by Thomas Meyer announced on Tuesday the creation of a joint venture with the Chinese E-Shine to develop both online and physical business in the Asian giant. Desigual’s new ally is one of the shareholders of Septwolves Industrial, a fashion firm listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange.

With the association, the Spanish company aims to reach sales of 40 million in five years: half would come from the digital business and the other half from the stores. Although e-commerce platforms are the main reason for the agreement, the opening of new stores in Shanghai and Beijing is planned. In five years, the number of 60 stores would be reached.

“The collaboration is in line with the strategy of developing the business in the Asian market, growing in China, Japan – Desigual’s first market outside of Europe – and South Korea,” said the firm’s general manager, Alberto Ojinaga. Asia today represents 6.5% of the company’s international business thanks mainly to Japan, which is the fifth largest country in the group worldwide.

The importance of Asia for Desigual
The pact also reinforces the digitization of the firm. “Our goal is for sales generated through the digital channel and those from geographies outside Europe to jointly represent 60% of turnover in 2023. Right now this percentage is 49%,” added Ojinaga.

Desigual has been in China since 2014, when it began selling through the Tmall platform. In 2021, it went a step further with various communication campaigns, but it has not been until now that it has made its definitive commitment to the country. It does so through a local partner, something that theoretically should make it easier for you to land by knowing the market.

“Knowledge of consumer habits and preferences in the Chinese market is key to success. Our goal is to grow even more in the digital environment and get closer to new customers with products designed for them and adapted to the characteristics of the market”, settled Ojinaga.

The supplier of cardboard containers and packaging from Castellón, Grupo La Plana, has closed the purchase of 100% of the shares of the company Envases Soler, located in the Alicante town of Crevillente and specialized in the manufacture, design and development of cardboard containers and packaging to measure

Founded in 1959 and of family origin, Envases Soler began its career manufacturing shoe boxes for different shoe factories in Elche, Elda, Alicante and other nearby areas of influence and for other important companies in the toy and textile sector .

In recent years, the company has been expanding its operational scope to new markets, consolidating a wide catalog of different formats of ecological and biodegradable containers and packaging made of corrugated and compact cardboard.

The company from Alicante has specialized in sectors such as the meat and sweets industry, processed food and beverages , and other formats for take away, delivery and street food segments with practical, functional and approved designs that use inks, varnishes, glues and materials. fully suitable for use in food contact packaging.

In addition, Envases Soler also has packaging specifically designed and developed for cosmetic items and parapharmacy products, footwear and accessories in general, and special boxes and cases for toys with special finishes that include accessories also made of cardboard.

Growth with purchases
With facilities of more than 12,000 square meters and a human team of more than 60 professionals, Envases Soler is the sixth production plant to join Grupo La Plana, after the purchase in 2021 of the Madrid company Primera Línea Visual (PLV) , specialized in the manufacture of display solutions at the point of sale.

The operation allows the group to significantly expand its already notable offset packaging manufacturing capacity, which led to the incorporation of Packaging Igualada into the group in 2017.

With this new acquisition, Grupo La Plana exceeds 700 employees and continues to meet the objectives set in its strategic plan for expansion and growth in new markets and geographical areas. A growth that has allowed the Castellón company to exceed 100 million euros in sales.

Grupo La Plana, founded in 1973 by the Piquer Gumbau family, specializes in cardboard packaging solutions and display formats for sectors such as agriculture, food, beverages, fast-moving goods, ceramics and industry. The company has more than 110,000 square meters of facilities, 6 production plants and 14 assembly centers with the capacity to manufacture 500 million square meters of corrugated cardboard per year.

The first link for a new drug to reach Spain goes through the EMA . However, if the process is already slow in this country, we must add the delay of the European regulatory body in the authorization of new therapeutics: Europe takes an average of two years to approve medicines. When compared to its counterpart in the United States, the situation is very different. The FDA takes a year and a half less to give a technical yes to new therapies than the EMA.

The EMA’s procedures are much more rigid than the FDA’s. This is the main reason for the temporary difference of one organism compared to another. The American agency has accelerated approval mechanisms for drugs against rare diseases and for those that have no cure. In fact, in 2019, it authorized around 60% of the fast-track requests submitted to it.

The European body also has emergency mechanisms, but they are not as flexible as the American ones . During the most critical months of the pandemic, the EMA launched an exceptional instrument (rolling review) to speed up the approval process for vaccines against Covid-19. However, its use does not seem to have been transferred to those diseases where there are no advances in treatment.

Accelerated approval mechanisms constitute the main divergences between one agency and another . “One of the fundamental differences between the EMA and the FDA is manifested in the existence of accelerated approval mechanisms, which are reserved particularly for drugs that may be more effective for incurable diseases or for unknown treatment,” the report states. The European Medicines Agency (EMA): how to overcome mistakes of the past’ prepared by Citizen Europe.

Oncological and hematological drugs are the most authorized by fast track. While twelve drugs for cancer and five for hematological diseases were approved in the United States, the European authorities only approved seven oncological drugs and two related to hematology.

lack of transparency
Transparency is another of the differences that govern both institutions . The proposal criteria for the members of the Board of Directors of the EMA is open, which may cause political criteria or government affinity to be produced. The national component is deeply rooted in the European organization , since the members that make it up are proposed by the Member States.

The situation is very different in the United States, where there are no territorial parameters in the organization of the FDA . “We have to go to a concept of transparency that is supervised by an autonomous body. The agency lacks a common framework for action. The political and territorial component in the FDA is minimal. However, in the EMA, the Cyprus’ vote than that of countries with top-level research centers such as Belgium, France or the Netherlands”, explains José Carlos Cano Montejano, president of Europa Ciudadana.

These issues are collected in the report ‘The European Medicines Agency: how to overcome mistakes of the past’, prepared by Europa Ciudadana, an academic think tank specializing in European Affairs. It highlights the lack of independence in the election of the members of its committees, the lack of transparency in some processes or the slow pace in the approval of new drugs.

The return to ‘normality’ in September also comes hand in hand with important job offers in various sectors . One of them, that of supermarkets and large distribution, one of the few that has grown steadily despite the pandemic and inflation.

There, Mercadona has established itself as one of the benchmarks both in presence and in hiring and the conditions it offers its employees, which has even improved recently.

Currently, Mercadona is looking for 367 new jobs to work in its stores and logistics centers, with salaries that average around 1,400 euros.

How to join the Mercadona employment exchange
Currently Mercadona has open calls looking for supermarket staff (salesperson and cashiers) and warehouse waiters and waitresses. Some of them are temporary even for the summer campaign, while the vast majority are permanent contracts.

To apply for one of the vacancies you have to visit their website in the employment section, which we leave linked here .

There, the Valencian firm opens its list of job offers to the general public (it can be filtered by type of working day, place of work, date of publication…), but when registering for them, all the suitors who do not are registered must do so in order to submit their candidacy.

First of all, we will have to fill in your personal data. This includes name, surnames, DNI , contact address, telephone or nationality, among others. It will also be necessary to upload a CV to the Mercadona website, as well as inform about our work experience, our studies and other complementary knowledge such as languages, courses. In this process you will also have to choose a user and an access password.

Once our CV has been uploaded (which can also be done by importing data from Linkedin), and the job offer we want to apply for has been chosen, it is time for the questionnaire and the specific questions about the offer. In these sections, it will be necessary to respond to aspects of interest to companies and that may vary depending on the job offer (availability of geographical mobility, driving license…).

Conditions and salaries from 1,400 euros in Mercadona
Mercadona makes a commitment to having most of its staff with a permanent contract and a few months ago it announced a rise of more than 6% in the salary of its employees. Mercadona publishes the salaries of its workers on its own website, so it is not a great mystery to know what conditions and salaries you can aspire to.

As detailed on its website, Mercadona workers have the following net salary based on their seniority:

-With a seniority of less than one year: 1,425 euros gross per month: 1,242 net

-With a seniority of two years: 1,565 euros net per month.

-With an age of three years: 1,738 euros net per month.

-With a seniority of more than four years: 1,929 euros net per month.

But the salary is only part of the Mercadona agreement. Added to this is its leave policy, which can be extended up to 12 years for child care . The job in question is kept for one year, but during the rest of the period a return to the company is ensured.

To care for dependent people, the leave also goes to 5 years, as in the case of victims of gender violence, which have a period of 18 months.

Another of the characteristics that have made Mercadona a reference is its bonus policy . The company has been sharing profits with its workers for 20 years, to whom it pays 3 extra payments in addition to this dividend.

It also stands out for paying 255 euros a month to managers who speak foreign languages ​​and, above all, for implementing a revolution in the sector a year ago: the guaranteed two-day rest.

The 31st edition of the World Buiatrics Congress (WBC)] will be held at the Ifema Municipal Conference Center in Madrid from September 4 to 8 and will bring together the world’s leading ruminant veterinary specialists.

The National Association of Specialists in Bovine Medicine of Spain (Anembe), which brings together 1,400 expert veterinarians in cattle, is in charge of its organization by delegation of the World Association of Buiatrics (WAB), made up of 53 professional associations from all over the world. world, with more than 50,000 associates who carry out their activity in the field of veterinary specializing in production ruminants.

Throughout the more than 1,000 interventions, topics related to the work of ruminant veterinarians will be discussed and the latest news and scientific research at an international level will be announced.

For this reason, in addition to a complete scientific program with twenty-five topics on different veterinary specialties for cattle, sheep, camelids and alpacas, and the best speakers of the moment on each of the main topics, round tables have been organized for each day with the four best oral presentations and with the two main speakers, where you can interact with them on the most relevant aspects of each of their presentations.

Veterinary and human health
At the end of each scientific day, the section called ‘Vip Presentation’ will be held, open to society in general, which can be attended by any person with prior registration.

It will address current issues related to the work of the farm veterinarian, such as the importance of their work for the prevention of diseases in human health, the reduction of methane emissions through productive efficiency, the importance of ruminants in the face of rural depopulation and the cleaning of the mountains to avoid the forest fires that we are suffering.

In this sense, the member of the organizing committee of the Congress, Marco Sánchez-Moreiro, official veterinarian and medical health inspector, stresses that society’s perception of buiatrists is, today, “partial and reductionist.

The population of a pie ignores –alert– that human health depends on the good condition of animalsand that, when we check cows for tuberculosis or control the pasteurization of milk in industries and drug residues in the food chain, we are carrying out prevention for people, fighting against zoonosis, that word so well known since the pandemic of the covid-19. “The control of welfare on the farm, in transport and in the slaughterhouse, now reinforced with video surveillance cameras, is key to animal health, but also to public health,” he says.

On sustainable production, population fixation in rural areas and the work of livestock in the face of fires, Sánchez adds that ” both sides of the balance should be assessed before talking about sustainability or pollution, putting the rancher as the bad guy the movie”.

In accordance with these ideas, the veterinarian and partner of Anembe, Pablo González, who carries out his professional activity in the province of Ourense, one of the most affected by forest fires, corroborates that “these years of pandemic, in which the sector has not stopped, they have been a crucial moment to show the real data in terms of CO2 emissions and it has been shown that the pollution represented by livestock farming is well below that of other much more polluting industrial activities”.

González, very sensitive to fires and aware of the role of livestock against them, warns that “livestock farms perform a fundamental task in clearing scrub, maintaining high mountain pastures and rotating pastures. They contribute drastically against fires in some areas where livestock activity is greater”.

In addition, there will be the presence of such media characters as the American veterinarian Dr. Jan Pol, protagonist of the number 1 series broadcast by National Geographic Wild, The Incredible Dr. Pol; with Odile Rodríguez, biologist and science communicator, daughter of the naturalist Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente (creator of the legendary series El Hombre y la Tierra) or with the philosopher and writer Fernando Savater.

Acknowledgments
During the Congress, a series of prizes will be awarded, among which the Ruminant Welfare Achievement Award stands out, endowed with 10,000 euros, with which the best work in this area will be recognized. Likewise, another series of prizes and scholarships will be awarded to young veterinarians and veterinary students, with an endowment of 23,300 euros.

The general director of Tourism of the Junta de Extremadura, Francisco Martín, has highlighted that the employment generated in the month of July is the best data in absolute numbers of the last 30 years.

20,405 employed workers and 7,981 self-employed are the employment data for this month of July, which increases employment by 8.27% compared to July 2021 and 4.12% compared to 2019, the best year in the different tourism indicators . With respect to the accumulated employment of the previous year in the first semester, 28,386 jobs have been created, a growth of 16.28%

According to Francisco Martín, these data confirm the forecasts that the Junta de Extremadura had regarding this summer , which is being a good summer for tourism in general.

Regarding overnight stays, he highlighted that they are also very good, since 1,500,126 overnight stays have been reached in these first 6 months of this year , the same figure reached in 2019, considered globally the best year in tourism so far.

And it is that in the words of Francisco Martín these data are irrefutable, they are two key data that together with the number of cutlery sold by the hotel industry make this summer “a good tourist moment”.

However, it is necessary to continue being prudent , working with the sectors, associations and local action groups to continue betting on quality tourism that is an engine of socioeconomic development. He stressed that thanks to the labor reform, the job that is being created is being a higher quality job.

Meetings with areas affected by the fires
The general director of Tourism of the Junta de Extremadura, Francisco Martín, has highlighted that they are meeting with the areas affected by the fires, in all of them he wanted to show his “empathy, solidarity and support” in the localities that have suffered some cancellations “because of the tremendous vision of some national television network” that with headlines such as “hurdes are burning or Extremadura is burning” have negatively affected the promotion of the area. For this reason, he appeals to responsibility and asks the media to cite specific locations and not name regions in a general way.

To support both the areas affected by the fires and the rest of the region, in September the Minister of Tourism, Nuria Flores, will present a tourism promotion campaign in regional and national media , both on television, radio, press and digital media. to invite you to visit this “Extremadura destination” with great natural beauty, a rich heritage, culture and excellent cuisine. According to the General Director of Tourism, “the colors and flavors of autumn in Extremadura will enable travelers to have unforgettable experiences”.

In addition to this campaign , television programs and webinars will be promoted from the affected areas.

Marketing support
Another of the Board’s commitments will be the “Meets” in Seville (October 6) and Lisbon (October 27) , both Andalusia and Portugal are major sources of tourists in our region, according to Francisco Martín they are two very important markets.

During these meets, tourism entrepreneurs will be able to meet directly with tour operators in order to market their tourism companies and products .

Both the promotion campaign and this support for marketing are intended to work on the consolidation of a sector both in the final part of summer, as well as in autumn, winter and next spring. A long-term vision that seeks to continue improving trends.

Forest fires burn thousands of hectares throughout Spain every year and produce, in the most extreme cases, irreparable environmental and human damage. However, a specific group of companies were able to see a business opportunity in these catastrophes.

This is the self – called Group 6 , a criminal organization that for two decades dominated public contracting of aircraft for firefighting in Spain . The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor calculates that the total of the agreements would have exceeded 151 million euros .

Founded in 2001 by a group of companies in the aviation sector -among which are Avialsa, Grupo FAASA, Trabajos Aéreos Extremeños, Grupo Martínez Ridao, Espejo and Cegisa- , Group 6 agreed to share the fleet of firefighting aircraft and distribute Spain geographically, while with the competitions they distributed them on a rotating basis . As published this Sunday by the newspaper El Español , the organization had the support of officials and politicians from the PP, PSOE and CIU of Andalusia, the Valencian Community, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, Castilla-La Mancha or Catalonia throughout the entire time it was active. .

In order to be awarded the contracts, the members of the group reached clandestine agreements through which they managed to get the administrations to accept their prices – much higher than those of other entities – in exchange for deliveries of cash and the payment of gifts of all kinds, from hunts to trips .

Among the contracts that the Prosecutor’s Office has investigated is that of the Andalusian PSOE in 2010 for the transfer by plane of José Antonio Griñán , president of the Board at that time, to a party act in Roquetas de Mar. It has also followed the trail of the gifts received by some public officials, such as the former Valencian Minister of the Interior, Serafín Castellano (PP), who received “no less than 167,177.02 euros” in the form of spa sessions and specific cash deliveries, among others.

Years after it began to investigate the fraudulent contracts of the fire cartel, the trial has not yet begun and, since there is no final ruling, the companies that make it up have continued to present themselves and win most of the public tenders in Spain. .

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office requests prison sentences for businessmen, disqualification from obtaining subsidies and the payment of millionaire compensation . Likewise, it has requested that the members of Group 6 be prohibited from contracting with the public sector for a period of 15 years.

After several weeks without significant changes on the front, the Ukrainian Army has turned the campaign upside down with several sabotage actions in Donbas , the southern corridor and the annexed Crimean peninsula , which have left the Russian enemy without response.

“Our strategy is to destroy logistics, supply lines, ammunition depots and other military infrastructure. This causes chaos in the Russian ranks ,” said Mykhailo Podoliak, a presidential adviser.

Russia finds itself in a situation where it is neither making breakthroughs towards Ukrainian strongholds in the Donetsk region nor can it ensure the security of its stockpiles and supply chains in Crimea and regions bordering Ukraine.

Crimea has been hostile territory for Ukrainian troops since the start of the “special military operation” in February and, in fact, the units that conquered part of the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia came from the peninsula.

Last week nine Russian planes, according to satellite images, were destroyed in explosions at a military airfield . This Wednesday Kiev admitted that they were caused by Ukrainian partisans . On Tuesday it was the turn of an arsenal with fuel and ammunition , an attack that forced the evacuation of thousands of people and that the Western press, citing official sources, attributes to special Ukrainian units.

Today, the Crimean Bridge, the engineering feat that broke the isolation of the territory and linked the peninsula with Russia, is no longer beyond the reach of the Ukrainian forces. ” It is an illegal construction and it is the main door for the supply of the Russian Army. These infrastructures must be destroyed”, indicated Podoliak.

In this regard, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured that the West provides kyiv with weapons so that “Ukraine can protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Precisely, the sabotage of the last week has caused panic among tourists , who quickly left the peninsula the day before through that bridge.

“And the queue these days to leave Crimea for Russia over the bridge shows that the vast majority of citizens of the terrorist state already understand, or at least feel, that Crimea is not the place for them,” the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky .

Medium term strategy
kyiv publicly admits that the objective is to slow down the Russian advance in Donbas, thus buying time to receive more Western heavy weapons, as happened in the long sieges of Mariupol and Severodonetsk. In fact, Podoliak admitted in an interview with The Guardian that his country has requested more than 50 multiple missile launchers from allies .

Both the Ukrainian and Russian authorities have warned that the sabotage actions will continue until the arrival of winter. Precisely, Zelensky urged those who live in territory controlled by Russia or pro-Russians not to approach military installations . He added that in order to expel Russian troops from Ukraine, it is necessary to make the war with Russia more difficult every day, an objective that he described as the “main politico-military task.”

Russian leaders hope “that the Ukrainians, the Europeans and the whole world will get tired of this war.” “We must do everything so that it is not us or our friends and partners who get tired , but rather our enemy,” he stressed.

Frozen conflict?
Faced with recent claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin that the full-scale war has not even just begun, some experts are already predicting that the conflict will last until at least next year .

We must do everything so that it is not us or our friends and partners who get tired, but our enemy”
” I don’t think the freeze variant is possible. There may be a decrease in activity depending on the season. Modern wars are resource wars. Resources, of course, run out on both sides. And each side he needs time to recover,” said Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister.

Reznikov stressed that the Russian Army lost a third of the military potential it used at the beginning of the armed intervention, which includes airborne forces, marines and members of special forces, as well as a thousand pilots.

“That is why, let’s say, a cooling is possible from the point of view of combat. It is a war. A war of survival . And we are going to defend ourselves to survive,” he told The Voice of America and estimated the number of troops at 135,000 Russians currently fighting on Ukrainian soil, including many non-professional soldiers.