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☆ McCarthy refuses Zelenskyy's invitation to visit Kyiv, reiterating that he's against 'blank checks' for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

McCarthy rejected an invitation from Zelenskyy to visit Kyiv. Zelenskyy invited McCarthy to show him how US aid is being put to use in the war against Russia. "I don't have to go to Ukraine or Kyiv to see it," McCarthy said. McCarthy also reiterated that he does not support providing Ukraine with "blank checks." "I will continue to get my briefings and others, but I don't have to go to Ukraine or Kyiv to see it.

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - China will maintain its cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States despite international concerns about the invasion of Ukraine, U.S. intelligence agencies said on Wednesday. "Despite global backlash over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China will maintain its diplomatic, defense, economic, and technology cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States, even as it will limit public support," they said in a report released as the Senate Intelligence Committee held its annual hearing on worldwide threats to U.S. security. "The next few years are critical as strategic competition with China and Russia intensifies in particular how the world will evolve, and whether the rise of authoritarianism can be checked and reversed," Haines added. Haines described "a grinding, attritional war" in Ukraine and said U.S. intelligence does not foresee the Russian military recovering enough this year to make major territorial gains. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Jonathan Landay, Michael Martina; Editing by Doina Chiacu;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia will have to rely on nukes, cyberattacks, and China since its military is being thrashed in Ukraine, US intel director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Chris Panella | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's military losses in Ukraine will leave it reliant on "asymmetric" options, the US intel director said. Discussions on Russia's relationship with China have also been ongoing, including speculation that Beijing might be considering sending lethal aid to Russia. In late February, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers Russia had lost the war and will emerge from war in Ukraine a "shattered military power." "Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a strategic defeat. Russia's military is going to have to be rebuilt," George Barros, a military analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, told Insider in September.

☆ Ukraine could stage 'tactical withdrawal' from Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailUkraine could stage 'tactical withdrawal' from BakhmutVladimir Putin's offensive in eastern Ukraine intensified as Russia set out to encircle the city of Bakhmut and secure its first gain in more than six months. Meanwhile, west of Bakhmut, Ukrainian troops prepared for a possible retreat.

☆ U.S. says Russia must be punished for war; Putin's nuclear threats are 'unacceptable,' says Quad
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Ministers of the Group of 20 nations continue to discuss the war in Ukraine, with Western countries and their allies issuing condemnations of Russia and urging other countries to follow suit. India is one of the key allies of the U.S. that has consistently refrained from outright condemning Russia, but joined the U.S., Australia and Japan in calling Russia President Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats unacceptable. A senior Russian diplomat at the United Nations warned that increasing Western support for Ukraine could result in an open clash between nuclear powers. Meanwhile, military strategists are increasingly doubtful of Ukrainian success in the bloody fight for the eastern city of Bakhmut, which is now completely destroyed.

☆ Russia repeated a battle tactic that failed miserably in Bucha and once again lost tanks critical to the war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia lost 130 tanks during three weeks of fighting near Vuhledar, per Ukrainian officials. But long before the staggering losses in Vuhledar, Russia's tank failures were evident just weeks into the war. Soldiers walk amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 3, 2022. Just like in Bucha, Russia failed to capture its intended target in Vuhledar, making the same mistake that already cost them scores of tanks a year ago. It's one of the more egregious errors in what Miles called the "half-baked" Russian offensive playing out in Vuhledar and Ukraine's east.

☆ Dozens of sanctioned superyachts seized from Russian oligarchs still hang in limbo, racking up millions in maintenance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Grace Kay | Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Seized yachts owned by sanctioned Russian oligarchs hang in limbo as US and European authorities decide next steps. Annual maintenance for some of the yachts costs as much as $115.6 million. Earlier this week, CNBC reported that billions of dollars in oligarch's assets — from yachts and villas to private jets — are still frozen. And while the Russian oligarchs are still technically responsible for paying for yacht maintenance, they're unlikely to fork over the maintenance cost or authorities will encounter difficulty collecting the funds due to sanctions on financial transactions with the billionaires. According to Maltby, the maintenance cost of a yacht usually totals about 15% to 20% of its overall value.

☆ If Donald Trump were president during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s forces would be in Poland right now, Scaramucci says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIf Donald Trump were president during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s forces would be in Poland right now, Scaramucci saysAnthony Scaramucci, founder of Skybridge Capital, says that Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces would be in Poland right now, if Donald Trump were U.S. president.

☆ Russia may run of out money next year and needs foreign investors due to 'serious' pressure from sanctions, oligarch warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska warned Thursday that Russia may run out of money in 2024. Deripaska said Russia needs foreign investors due to "serious" pressure from western sanctions. Deripaska, who founded Rusal, one of the world's biggest aluminum producers, said the gloomy economic outlook was due to "serious" pressure from western sanctions, per the report. The US has imposed more than 2,700 sanctions against Russia, more than any other country, according to the Atlantic Council's database. He told the forum that Russia needed to ensure a safe business climate for foreign investors, Bloomberg reported.

☆ Russia and Ukraine have a lot of the same tanks and jets, but Kyiv has a decisive 'flesh and bone' advantage, top US enlisted leader says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia and Ukraine have often fought against each other using the same military hardware. But Ukraine has a "human dynamic" advantage that Russia lacks, a top US enlisted leader said. US and Ukrainian officials have praised the role of Ukraine's NCOs during the conflict for being leaders on the front lines. "The government of Ukraine decided to go all in on an NCO development model," Colón-López said this week. "It is definitely a decisive advantage that the Ukrainians have that the Russians do not."

☆ Stocks pinned to lows as rate fears weigh
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Softer-than-expected growth and inflation data in Australia sent the Aussie dollar to a two-month trough at $0.6696 in early trade, but lifted the local stockmarket (.AXJO) from lows as traders wound back interest rate expectations. The mixed tone of data in the last few days seems to have lots of assets pausing at major chart levels. Two-year Treasury yields , a guide to short-term U.S. rate expectations, are close to four-month highs, but at 4.8407% are below a November peak of 4.8830%. Commodities steadied as China demand hopes balance global growth concerns, and Brent crude sat at $83.45 a barrel. "Should Beijing send Russia arms, it risks a rapid geopolitical breaking of the world economy," said Rabobank's research head, Jan Lambregts.

☆ Hacking attack prompts Russian regional broadcasters to issue air alert warnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A hacking attack caused some Russian regional broadcasters to put out a false warning on Tuesday urging people to take shelter from an incoming missile attack, the emergencies ministry said. Radio stations played a loud siren sound with a message stating: "Attention, attention. Attention, attention. Russian state media cited some local officials blaming Ukraine for the messages. Gazprom Media, which operates a number of regional TV stations, said its infrastructure had been "attacked" in a statement cited by RIA Novosti.

☆ The West hits Russia with fresh sanctions and raises tariffs on key commodities a year after the invasion of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

On the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Western allies hit Russia with new sanctions. The US said Friday that, alongside G-7 partners, it will sanction more than 200 individuals and entities supporting Moscow's war efforts. The US is also raising tariffs on Russian metals, minerals and chemical products. Alongside Group of Seven nations, the US will sanction more than 200 individuals and entities in Russia and other nations that are supporting Moscow's war initiatives. Additionally, the US is restricting key components used in Iranian drones, which Russian forces have been using in Ukraine.

☆ After a year of war, Ukraine's military is facing a new test of its resolve, holding the line until key weapons arrive
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Military experts told Insider that Russia is pushing forward with an offensive in eastern Ukraine. Putin has a small window to attack before Kyiv receives advanced Western armor, but Ukraine will need to hold out. The challenge for Kyiv's forces will be absorbing assaults by Russia's numerically larger force long enough for more advanced Western tanks and artillery to arrive that could drive the Russians back. The Russians have that same problem, and Ukraine is trying to attack Russia's logistics system to degrade its ammunition stockpiles. Just as the Russians have been trying to exhaust Ukrainian forces, the Ukrainians have been delivering heavy losses to the Russians.

☆ Yellen says Russian officials at G20 meeting 'complicit' in war atrocities
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen accused Russian officials attending a G20 finance leaders meeting on Friday of being "complicit" in atrocities in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and for the damage the war has caused to the global economy. In remarks to an opening session of the gathering on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, Yellen called on G20 counterparts to "redouble their efforts to support Ukraine and restrict Russia's capacity to wage war." She said Russian President Vladimir Putin's "weaponisation" of food and energy has hurt not only Ukraine, but the global economy and especially developing countries. "I urge the Russian officials here at the G20 to understand that their continued work for the Kremlin makes them complicit in Putin’s atrocities," Yellen said. Russia was represented in the room by senior economic officials, according to a U.S. Treasury official.

METALS AND MININGIn a significant widening of its Russia-related sanctions, Treasury announced a new determination by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that allows sanctions on any individual or entity operating in Russia's metals and mining sector. On Friday, it hit four mining and metals sector companies, including TPZ-Rondol, a unit of Russia's largest ammunition maker, for producing weapons for the Russian military, including the navy, the Treasury said. Among other entities hit on Friday were more than a dozen Russian banks. Another bank hit was MTS Bank, which is located in Moscow and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Brian Nelson, Treasury's top sanctions official raised concerns about UAE's decision to license the Russian bank during a visit to the country the week of Jan. 30.

☆ Two Germans parked a mangled Russian tank in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin as an anniversary gift
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A ruined Russian tank has been dumped outside the country's embassy in Berlin. The rusted heap appeared as a vivid symbol on the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The gesture came on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The destroyed T-72 1B tank sits at an intersection near the embassy on the city's famed Unter den Linden boulevard. A ruined Russian T-72 tank sits on a flatbed truck outside the Russian embassy in Berlin, in February 2023.

☆ Most of Putin's presidental administration is secretly against the Ukraine war but don't dare tell him: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Much of Putin's presidential administration is opposed to the Ukraine war, the FT reported. Members of Russia's presidential administration and economic cabinet have told friends they are against the war, according to the Financial Times, whose report drew on the insight of multiple unnamed Putin confidants and former officials. The presidential administration consists of top-level officials who act as the leader's executive office. People close to the president told the FT that Putin's fatal flaw is his weakness for loyalty — valuing this over competence. "They need to be honest with him and they are not," a figure close to Putin told the paper.

☆ Russia spent vast sums paying a network of collaborators before the Ukraine war. Most simply took the money and ran, report says.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia sent masses of cash to pay off officials in Ukraine ahead of the war, the FT reported. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long said that Medvedchuk was Putin's pick to become his puppet leader in Ukraine. With that supposed wellspring of pro-Russian support in Ukraine, the Kremlin envisioned installing Medvedchuk as leader the moment Kyiv had fallen. But none of it was enough to produce the groundswell that Medvedchuk so confidently depicted to Putin, the FT reported. Medvedchuk was arrested by Ukrainian security services in April last year and handed to Russia in a prisoner swap.

☆ Huge Ukrainian flag painted on road outside Russian Embassy in London
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A group of activists poured hundreds of litres of yellow and blue paint onto the road outside the Russian Embassy in London on Thursday to create an enormous Ukrainian flag ahead of the one year anniversary of Moscow's invasion. The campaign group "Led By Donkeys" halted traffic before spreading more than 300 litres of paint across the road using wheelbarrows and brushes to make the 500 square metre (5382 square feet) flag. "The existence of a massive Ukrainian flag outside (Russian President Vladimir Putin's) embassy in London will serve to remind him of that." [1/10] A cyclist rides on a painted road, after Protest group 'Led by Donkeys' spread paint in the colours of the Ukrainian flag on the road, ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, outside the Russian Embassy in London, Britain February 23, 2023. The group said the non-toxic, solvent-free and fast-dry edible paint was washable and designed for road art.

☆ Analysis: China's role as Ukraine peacemaker raises doubt as it 'deepens' Russia ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A year after Russia invaded its southwestern neighbour, its "no limits" partner China is offering to broker peace. It says it will issue a "position paper" on Ukraine and President Xi Jinping is expected to give a "peace speech" this week, Italy's foreign minister said. "At the moment China’s peace effort will stay at the rhetorical level," said Li Mingjiang, associate professor of international relations at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Still, China is unlikely to provide Russia with military aid any time soon, at least not overtly, experts and diplomats said. "China still sees Russia as a central element of its overarching strategy to weaken U.S. power and influence and build a multipolar world," he said.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin rallies support ahead of war anniversary; Ukraine faces 'creeping encirclement' around Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Medvedev repeated a Russian claim that the U.S. "wants the defeat of Russia" and that the world is on the brink of a new global conflict. "If the United States wants to defeat Russia, then we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapon, including nuclear," Medvedev said. We, in addition, have accumulated experience in tracking what is happening in the United States, and not only in the United States, in this area, using other possibilities. The New Start treaty allowed for mutual inspections of each other's nuclear weapons sites, although in practice, these have been suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic and have not resumed since the war in Ukraine began. Russia has also said it wants to see Britain and France's nuclear arsenals counted in any future Start treaty.

☆ Exclusive: Russia plans deep March oil export cuts -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MOSCOW/LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russia plans to cut oil exports from its western ports by up to 25% in March versus February, exceeding its announced production cuts in a bid to lift prices for its oil, three sources in the Russian oil market said. Russia had already announced plans to cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day in March, amounting to 5% of its output or 0.5% of global production. U.S. treasury officials have said the Russian decision to cut oil production reflects its inability to sell all its oil. "The export cuts appear to be deeper than the planned production cuts. Russian oil has traded below than level in recent weeks due to steep discounts and expensive freight rates.

☆ Russia's warship with hypersonic missiles arrives for drills with S.Africa, China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] The Russian frigate 'Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov' arrives in the port of Richards Bay, South Africa, in this still image taken from video released February 22, 2023. Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russia's flagship frigate equipped with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles has arrived in the South African port of Richards Bay for exercises that will include China, Russia's RIA state news agency reported on Wednesday. It calls the drills routine but they have fuelled domestic criticism and fears they could endanger relations with Western partners. In late January, the ship tested its strike capabilities in the western Atlantic Ocean. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he did not read into Vladimir Putin's decision to temporarily suspend participation in a nuclear arms treaty as a signal the Russian president was considering using nuclear weapons, even though the U.S. leader called it a "big mistake." But I don't read into that that he's thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that," Biden told ABC News in an interview. Putin earlier this week backed away from the New START arms control treaty - a 2010 agreement that limits the number of Russian and U.S. deployed strategic nuclear warheads - and warned that Moscow could resume nuclear tests. "The idea that somehow this means they're thinking of using nuclear weapons, intercontinental ballistic missile, there's no evidence of that," Biden said. Moscow has demanded that British and French nuclear weapons targeted against Russia be included in the arms control framework, a position seen as a non-starter for Washington after over half a century of bilateral nuclear treaties with Russia.

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