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☆ How Ukraine's closest allies turned the tide on sending advanced tanks, and could do the same for military jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Their success, an expert told Insider, shows how Europe's balance of power has shifted eastwards since Russia's invasion in February 2022. Sergei Grits/APEstonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told Insider that Ukraine's allies had been "too slow" when deciding to send weapons to Ukraine. AP Photo/Martin Meissner, FileReinsalu, Estonia's foreign minister, told Insider that he had repeatedly engaged with his German counterpart about the decision. Kallas and Šimonytė, the two prime ministers, both told Insider that they support Ukraine getting military jets. "Ordinarily, on less critical matters, peer pressure happens but the public sees very little of it or none of it," he told Insider.

☆ In a worrying sign, NATO ally says Russia can fight in Ukraine for two more years at current intensity
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lithuanian intelligence estimated that Russia can hit Ukraine hard for two more years, per Reuters. Support from Iran and North Korea will also impact how long it can fight intensively, the intel said. Lithuania has long called for greater military support for Ukraine. He added: "How long Russia is be able to wage the war will also depend on the support for Russia's military from states such as Iran and North Korea." Russia has also taken delivery of drones from Iran and ammunition from North Korea throughout the war.

☆ Ukraine, Neighbors Sign Pact on Prosecuting the Crime of Aggression
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Ian Lovett | Oksana Grytsenko | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

International prosecutors including U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, third from left center, met to discuss the international response to aggression against Ukraine. LVIV, Ukraine—Representatives from seven countries agreed Saturday to establish an international center for prosecuting the crime of aggression, which they hope will be a first step toward going after the top Russian officials responsible for invading Ukraine. At a summit in Lviv that brought together leaders from across the Western world, officials from Ukraine, the Baltic states, Poland, Romania and Slovakia signed the agreement to create the new center in The Hague.

☆ Fact Check-Clip of Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussing U.S. support to Ukraine taken out of context online
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A short clip of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussing U.S. support to Ukraine and repercussions should Russia invade a NATO member state has been taken out of context online with the false suggestion that he was calling for U.S. troops to fight on the ground in Ukraine. The 19-second clip shared online originates from a 2-hour news briefing delivered by Zelenskiy on Feb. 24, marking the first anniversary of the full-scale war. Thank you.”Zelenskiy, via the translator, responded by first thanking “all the American people that are supporting Ukraine” (timestamp: 1.37.59s). He subsequently states that the number of Americans who view that the U.S. is providing too much support for Ukraine is increasing. Zelenskiy was discussing the repercussions should Russia invade a NATO member state if Ukraine loses the war, not calling for U.S. troops to join the current war in Ukraine.

☆ Even a weak Russia is a problem for Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

TINOS, Greece, Feb 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Almost a year after Russia invaded Ukraine it is hard to see Vladimir Putin winning his war. After all, that would involve either Ukraine surrendering land, which it cannot accept, or Russia giving up all the territory it has occupied including Crimea, which Putin won’t do. Radoslaw Sikorski, a former Polish foreign minister who is now a member of the European Parliament, says Russia only reforms itself after military defeats like the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War, World War One and the Cold War. Europe, which was late to appreciate the danger posed by Putin, won’t quickly forget the lesson even if he goes. Yet even a Russia weakened by a year of war and sanctions remains a problem for Europe.

☆ Estonia to order munitions in one of its largest military purchases
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VILNIUS, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Estonia is set to order a "significant quantity" of so-called loitering munitions, to be delivered in 2024 to increase the distance of its attacks, defence ministry said on Saturday. The loitering munitions, also called "kamikaze drones", cruise towards their target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact. The purchase of an unspecified number, set to be one of the largest in Estonia's history, is expected to be concluded this quarter. It is being made "in order to significantly increase (Estonian) indirect fire capability as a consequence of Russian aggression", the defence ministry said. Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hungary's Orban says Europe 'drifting into' Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUDAPEST, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday that Europe was "indirectly at war with Russia" as several European countries pledge to send battle tanks to help Ukraine fight Moscow's invasion. Orban, who last met Russian President Vladimir Putin just three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, projected that the war could drag on for years. "Europe is drifting into the war in these very minutes, it is doing a dangerous balancing act," he told his supporters in a speech. Orban said the stance of Poland and the Baltic states with respect to the war was understandable. It could have treated it as a local regional war, or a military conflict between two Slavic nations as Hungary suggested," Orban said.

☆ United States ready to defend Baltic allies, defense secretary says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VILNIUS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States was ready to defend the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania if required, and will keep its military presence in the region. Speaking in Tallinn after talks with Estonian leaders, he said the U.S. will continue to keep a "persistent, rotational" military presence in the region. "The United States remains steadfastly committed to the freedom and sovereignty of our Baltic allies," Austin told the news conference. The three Baltic States, neighbours of Russia and its ally Belarus, were once ruled from Moscow but are now part of NATO and the European Union. Austin in Tallinn reiterated the United States would be supporting Ukraine with military equipment, and said he expects Russia to continue heavy losses of its "ill-equipped and ill-trained" military personnel.

☆ Putin is 'still convinced he can prevail' in Ukraine, and other nearby countries 'could be at risk of attack' if he wins, top Russia experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The outcome of the Ukraine war will determine the safety of the wider region, Angela Stent and Fiona Hill warn. Putin's "appetite for expansion would not stop at the Ukrainian border" if Russia wins, they said in a new op-ed. They warned that nearby countries like Poland and Finland could face attack if Russia prevails. "Even now, after a year of carnage, Putin is still convinced he can prevail," Stent and Hill wrote in a new op-ed for Foreign Affairs. Putin has often pointed to Russia's imperial past when offering justifications for the war in Ukraine, at one point likening himself to Peter the Great.

☆ Olympics row deepens as 35 countries demand ban for Russia and Belarus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

With war raging in Ukraine, the Baltic States, Nordic countries and Poland had called on international sports bodies to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the Olympics. "At the same time, we know that 70 percent of Russian athletes are soldiers. He said that most participants had been in favour of an absolute exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The IOC has opened the door for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals. While Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of host city Paris, has said Russian athletes should not take part, Paris 2024 organisers have said they will abide by the IOC's decision on the issue.

☆ Russian threat to Baltic security rising -Estonian intelligence report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VILNIUS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service said it believed Russia still had the strength to exert "credible military pressure" on the Baltic region, where the security risk has risen for the medium and long-term. NATO and the European Union members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - the so-called Baltic states - have sharply boosted defence spending in response to Russia's 2014 capture of Crimea from Ukraine and the invasion of Ukraine last year. "Russia considers the Baltic states to be the most vulnerable part of NATO, which would make them a focus of military pressure in the event of a NATO-Russia conflict." Russia's military presence near the Baltic states' borders could be rebuilt in four years, the intelligence service said. Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, editing by Terje Solsvik and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Losses in Ukraine are 'out of proportion' to what NATO has been planning for, the alliance's top general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

NATO leaders have been worried by the heavy casualties and massive ammunition usage in Ukraine. "The scale of this war is out of proportion with all of our recent thinking," NATO's top general said in January. Now the scale and intensity of the fighting in Ukraine has raised questions about the alliance's ability to fight a big-unit war against Russia. "Scale, scale, scale," US Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told a Swedish defense conference in January. That Moscow is buying artillery shells from North Korea suggests that Russia's military is no shape to fight NATO and Ukraine.

☆ EU agrees on price caps on Russian refined oil products
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - European Union countries agreed to set price caps on Russian refined oil products to limit Moscow's funds for its invasion of Ukraine, the Swedish presidency of the EU said on Friday. The price caps, together with an EU ban on Russian oil product imports, are part of a broader agreement among the Group of Seven (G7) countries. Both caps prohibit Western insurance, shipping and other companies from financing, insuring, trading, brokering or carrying cargoes of Russian crude and oil products unless they were bought at or below the set price caps. There will be a 55-day transition period for sea-borne Russian oil products bought and loaded before Sunday. For crude, regular reviews will set a price cap at least 5% below the average market price for Russian oil.

The Baltic nations and Poland earlier Thursday called on international sports bodies to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the Olympics and other events while the war in Ukraine continues. "Efforts to return Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sports competitions under the veil of neutrality legitimize political decisions and widespread propaganda of these countries," it added. They called on "all international sports organizations and federations" to remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions until the war ends. Latvia joined Kyiv on Wednesday in threatening to boycott the 2024 Olympics and qualifiers if Russian and Belarusian athletes are included while the war continues in Ukraine. The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26-Aug. 11 next year and the Paralympics from Aug. 28-Sept. 8.

☆ EU struggles to agree Russian oil product price cap, seeks Friday deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The European Commission proposed last week that from Feb. 5 the EU apply a price cap of $100 per barrel on premium Russian oil products such as diesel and a $45 cap per barrel on discounted products such as fuel oil. The price cap numbers have to be approved by all 27 European Union member states. Their ambassadors will meet on Friday to attempt to reach a deal, three EU diplomats told Reuters. One noted, however, that the EU has limited ability to change the price cap since it is a broader agreement among the Group of Seven (G7) countries. The Feb 5. price caps and EU ban on Russian oil product imports follow a $60 per barrel cap imposed on Russian crude on Dec. 5 as G7 countries and the EU seek to limit Moscow's ability to fund its war in Ukraine.

☆ Poland pushes for tanks for Ukraine, will seek German OK
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

He said that Poland is building a coalition of nations ready to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. Poland needs the consent of Germany, which builds the tanks, to send them to a non-NATO country. But even if there is no permission from Germany, Warsaw will make its own decisions, Morawiecki said. Poland has become a leading advocate in the European Union for giving Ukraine the military aid that could help it prevail over the Kremlin’s invading forces 11 months after the war started. Germany’s hesitation has drawn criticism, particularly from Poland and the Baltic states, countries on NATO’s eastern flank that feel especially threatened by Russia’s renewed aggression.

☆ Russia official warns countries supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons risk their own destruction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The speaker of Russia's parliament warned Sunday that countries supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons risked their own destruction, a message that followed new pledges of armored vehicles, air defense systems and other equipment but not the battle tanks Kyiv requested. "Supplies of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime would lead to a global catastrophe," State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said. "If it requires our sending some Abrams tanks in order to unlock getting the Leopard tanks from Germany, from Poland, from other allies, I would support that." Since invading Ukraine, Russia also has increased both the scope and the number of its joint military drills with China. Ukraine is asking for more weapons as it anticipates Russia's forces launching a new offensive in the spring.

☆ Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania urge Germany to send tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 22 (Reuters) - The Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania made a joint call to Germany on Saturday to step up its leadership and send its main battle tanks to Ukraine, putting further pressure on Berlin to move faster on aiding Kyiv in its war against Russia. "We, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Foreign Ministers, call on Germany to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now," Estonia's Foreign Minister said on Twitter. "This is needed to stop Russian aggression, help Ukraine and restore peace in Europe quickly. The statement came a day after Germany and Western allies reached no decision on whether Berlin would agree to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine or permit other countries that have them to do so. Germany's new Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday he plans to visit Ukraine "quickly," adding that Berlin is in "close dialogue" on the issue of tanks with the United States and other international partners.

Western forces on Friday agreed increases to their military support for Ukraine, but Germany wavered on further EU tank deliveries despite mounting calls from Kyiv and fellow allies. He stressed that he intends for Berlin to be prepared if and when a decision is taken on Leopard 2 tanks. Ukraine has repeatedly asked for battle tanks from its Western allies, with Germany's Leopard 2 units being of particular interest. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted that receiving supplies of Western tanks must outpace another Russian attack. In the hours before the meeting, the Kremlin said that Western tanks for Ukraine would "change nothing" and would not stop Russia from achieving its goals, Reuters reported.

☆ Ukraine has repeatedly pleaded for tanks to fight Russia — its Western allies could now be ready to provide them
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesUkraine has repeatedly asked its Western allies to provide it with battle tanks to help it fight Russia but up until now, its Western allies appeared reluctant to do so, fearing the provision of offensive weapons could provoke Moscow further. Last week, the White House again declined to say whether the U.S. would specifically provide Ukraine with main battle tanks. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesThe impasse over tanks seemed to break when the U.K. announced at the weekend that it would be sending 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. Poland's President Andrzej Duda reiterated his calls for Ukraine to receive more Western tanks when he appeared on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday. Ukrainian armed forces' soldiers drive a T-72 tank on the outskirts of Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine on December 21, 2022.

Total global LNG imports rose to 409 million tonnes last year from 386.5 million tonnes in 2021, according to data from Refinitiv, while figures from commodity analysts Kpler showed a slightly lower 400.5 million tonnes, up from 379.6 million tonnes. China imported 64.44 million tonnes of LNG in 2022, down 19.4% from the previous year, according to Kpler data. Much of the increase was met by supply from the United Stares, with imports rising to 52.06 million tonnes from 21.5 million tonnes in 2021. However, it's worth noting that Europe's imports of Russian LNG hit a record high of 15.95 million tonnes in 2022, up from 13.46 million tonnes in 2021. Given Europe's increasing dependence on LNG as Russian pipeline gas supplies are curbed, it may prove challenging for the continent to halt, or even cut back, on Russian LNG.

☆ Kremlin says new Western armoured vehicles for Ukraine will 'deepen suffering'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that new deliveries of Western weapons, including French-made armoured vehicles, to Kyiv would "deepen the suffering of the Ukrainian people" and would not change the course of the conflict. France and Germany announced last week that they would send light combat vehicles to Ukraine, ramping up their military support for Kyiv. The United States said it would also provide armoured fighting vehicles to Ukraine. "This supply will not be able to change anything", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday. Macron was criticised in Ukraine and in some Western capitals for holding hours-long phone calls with Putin in the early weeks of Russia's invasion.

☆ Analysis: EU unity over Russia sanctions falters as Europe's economy wilts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( John O'Donnell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Some, such as Belgium and Greece, as well as Hungary which still relies heavily on Russian energy imports, pushed back against further sweeping measures, EU diplomats told Reuters. Russia says sanctions have boomeranged against the West, driving up inflation as energy prices have rocketed higher. Meanwhile, existing EU measures are not always watertight. Others are more discrete, while some have half an eye on a future relationship with Russia after the war ends. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this month that the EU would "tighten the sanctions against Russia for as long as Putin continues his war".

☆ EU members fail to reach agreement on new Russia sanctions - diplomats
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - European Union member states failed to agree on a ninth package of Russia sanctions in talks late on Wednesday, diplomats said as EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday for their last summit of the year. Fresh sanctions on Moscow have been held up by disagreement over whether the EU should make it easier for Russian fertiliser exports to pass through European ports, even in the case when the fertiliser companies are owned by blacklisted oligarchs. Some say EU restrictions pose a food security threat to developing countries, while others argue that relaxing them would allow Russian oligarchs who own fertiliser businesses to dodge EU sanctions against them. Some member states want the World Food Programme involved on authorisation for exports of fertilisers to countries that need it. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and John Chalmers Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: East Europeans count their pennies for Christmas as food costs soar
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Krisztina Than | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Food prices in Hungary were a staggering 45.2% higher in October than a year earlier, Eurostat data shows, with 10 countries in the EU's east facing food price inflation of more than 20%. The cost of food was 33.3% higher in Lithuania and up 30% in Latvia compared to October 2021. read moreCzech headline inflation slowed to 15.1% in October but food prices grew, while in Poland food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation was 22.3% in November, well ahead of overall CPI at 17.4%. Inflation in Hungary is expected to start a very slow decline in the first half of next year. "There are still no durable signs that the inflation dynamics are improving in Hungary," Goldman Sachs has said.

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