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☆ Antony Blinken Pledges Western Support for Ukraine’s Power Grid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( William Mauldin | Daniel Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure as a reason for Western nations to stick together in supporting Ukraine. BUCHAREST—Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Western countries would step up support for Ukraine’s power sector and remain united against efforts by Russian President Vladimir Putin to divide Europe over energy supplies. “His strategy has not and will not work,” Mr. Blinken told reporters following meetings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies. “We will continue to prove him wrong,” said Mr. Blinken, who added that “heat, water, electricity—for children, for the elderly, for the sick—these are President Putin’s new targets.”

☆ Russia-Ukraine War U.S. Rushes to Secure Aid for Ukraine to Repair Energy Grid Before Winter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Edward Wong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

On Tuesday, American officials pledged to give Ukraine $53 million to repair the electrical grid, and sought to rally other allies to make similar offers. Western officials say the Ukrainian energy reconstruction campaign should be considered a second front in the war. In April, not long after Russian troops swept into Ukraine, American officials marshaled dozens of allies to furnish Ukraine with long-term military aid, and organized the countries into the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The United States is organizing a working group to help Ukraine repair energy equipment and to better defend its power plants and grid from attack. That energy “contact group” is centered on those nations and their close partners, and is expected to meet again next month in Paris.

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerCompanies Lockheed Martin Corp FollowBERLIN, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The leaders of Germany and Norway said on Wednesday they would jointly ask NATO to coordinate the protection of Europe's subsea infrastructure in light of the suspected attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipeline network. European countries have stepped up vigilance around critical installations after the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, ruptured in September and spewed gas into the Baltic Sea. "We take the protection of our critical infrastructure very seriously and nobody should think that attacks would remain without consequences," he said. In an emailed statement, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomed Germany and Norway's proposal. "We have stepped up our efforts after the recent sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, and it is vital to do even more to ensure that our offshore infrastructure remains safe from future destructive acts," he said.

☆ Heaviest Ukraine fighting rages in east, West seeks to sustain support against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Ukrainian servicemen fire with a Bureviy multiple launch rocket system at a position in Donetsk region, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, Ukraine November 29, 2022. In Washington, a $1.2 billion contract for six National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) for Ukraine was awarded to Raytheon, the Pentagon said. At the NATO foreign ministers meeting, allies on Wednesday pledged to help Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as they face pressure from Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and ministers said. Russia invaded Ukraine nine months ago in what it calls a "special military operation" to rid Ukraine of nationalists it considers dangerous. "We haven't seen these Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles for about two weeks ... the first batch has probably already run out," he told Ukraine's main television network.

☆ U.S. Inflation Reduction Act 'super aggressive,' Macron tells lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron addressed U.S. lawmakers from both political parties on Wednesday and pushed back over new American subsidies that are riling European leaders, according to a participant in a closed-door meeting. In a meeting with U.S. lawmakers at the Library of Congress, Macron said the act was "super aggressive" toward European companies, one participant told Reuters. [1/3] French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris hold a briefing during a visit to NASA headquarters in Washington, U.S., November 30, 2022. France joined the United States and several other nations in ruling out destructive, direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing after Russia struck one of its own satellites in orbit last year, creating debris and drawing scorn from the United States and its allies. The United States, which last demonstrated such a missile in 2008, first announced its ban on the tests in April.

[1/4] U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the "Foreign Ministers of Partners at Risk of Russian Disinformation and Destabilization" session at the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Bucharest, Romania, November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Stoyan NenovBUCHAREST, Nov 30 (Reuters) - NATO foreign ministers will on Wednesday seek to reassure fragile countries in Russia's neighbourhood that they fear could be destabilised by Russia as the conflict in Ukraine drags on, squeezing energy supplies and pushing up prices. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told reporters that NATO wanted to be ensure that, after the war in Ukraine, Russia would have "no chance to dictate security options and a way of life to its neighbours". Bosnian Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic, invited to join the NATO meeting, said she was concerned about Russia's intentions for her country. "The stability in western Balkans is important for peace," Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani said.

☆ NATO concerned about China's 'opaque' military buildup -Blinken
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a news conference at the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Bucharest, Romania, November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File PhotoBUCHAREST, Nov 30 (Reuters) - NATO allies are concerned about China's rapid and opaque military buildup and its cooperation with Russia, and discussed concrete ways to address the challenges posed by Beijing on Wednesday, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "The members of our alliance remain concerned by the PRC's (People's Republic of China) coercive policies, by its use of disinformation, by its rapid, opaque military buildup, including its cooperation with Russia," Blinken told a news conference after a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the Western defense alliance. While NATO continues to be focused on maintaining unified support for Ukraine, members also want to boost the alliance's resilience by considering new challenges, including those posed by China, Blinken said. "But there's also a recognition that wherever possible, we have to find ways to cooperate on the really big issues."

☆ Ukraine says it will work to convince Germany to provide Patriot systems
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUCHAREST, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine needs the U.S. made Patriot missile defence systems to protect its civilian infrastructure, under heavy attack by Russia, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday, adding he would try to convince Germany to allow their delivery. Russia has carried out regular missile bombardments on Ukraine's energy infrastructure since early October, with damage accumulating as temperatures drop. Spare parts to repair the energy sector, air defence systems to prevent future attacks and NATO-style tanks were the priority, he said. "If Germany is ready to provide Patriots to Poland and Poland is ready to hand them to Ukraine then I think the solution for the German government is obvious," he said, adding that Kyiv would work with Berlin on the issue. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned NATO on Tuesday against providing Ukraine with Patriot systems.

☆ Russia’s War in Ukraine Shifts Black Sea From NATO’s Edge to Center Stage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Daniel Michaels | William Mauldin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BUCHAREST—NATO bridges the Atlantic Ocean but the body of water drawing the most attention recently is on its eastern edge: the Black Sea. Long a center of regional disputes, the sea has been the main theater for Russia’s war in Ukraine, since both countries border its north shore. The Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014 and protrudes far into the sea, is home to a significant Russian fleet.

☆ NATO commits to future Ukraine membership, drums up aid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will get Finland and Sweden as NATO members” soon. Ukraine will not join NATO anytime soon despite Stoltenberg's comments. Yevhen Titov / AFP - Getty Images“We stand by that, too, on membership for Ukraine,” the former Norwegian prime minister said. “I think what he’s afraid of is democracy and freedom, and that’s the main challenge for him.”Even so, Ukraine will not join NATO anytime soon. During the two-day meeting, Blinken will announce substantial U.S. aid for Ukraine’s energy grid, U.S. officials said.

Russia acknowledges attacking Ukrainian infrastructure but denies deliberately seeking to harm civilians. NATO foreign ministers pledged to step up political and practical support to Ukraine and maintain it for as long as necessary. If we have air defence systems, we can protect from the next Russian missile strikes," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. [1/4] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg poses with foreign ministers of NATO countries during the family photo at their meeting in Bucharest, Romania November 29, 2022. Foreign ministers also reaffirmed a 2008 NATO summit decision that Ukraine would eventually become a member of the alliance.

[1/4] A Ukrainian serviceman arranges a dugout at a position in a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Mykolaiv region, Ukraine November 4, 2022. At a location in the southern part of the Donbas in southeastern Ukraine, soldiers showed Reuters around muddy positions where they are living. BATTLEFIELD SLOWDOWNUkraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov told Reuters earlier this month that bad winter conditions would give both Kyiv and Moscow's forces a chance to recuperate. The winter weather will likely favour the Ukrainian military, Jack Watling, an analyst at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, wrote on Twitter. He said Ukrainian fighting positions tended to be well-kept, dry and warm, and soldiers had warm clothing.

NATO foreign ministers meeting in Bucharest will focus on ramping up military assistance for Ukraine such as air defence systems and ammunition, even as diplomats acknowledge supply and capacity issues, but also discuss non-lethal aid as well. Part of this non-lethal aid - goods such as fuel, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone jammers - has been delivered through a NATO assistance package that allies can contribute to and which Stoltenberg aims to increase. On the military side, NATO keeps pushing weapons manufacturers to accelerate production but a second diplomat cautioned there were increasing problems with supply capacity. Ministers will also discuss Ukraine's application for NATO membership. NATO ministers will also talk about how to strengthen the resilience of society, days after Stoltenberg warned Western nations must be careful not to create new dependencies on China as they wean themselves off Russian energy supplies.

☆ The U.S. to grant $53 million to Ukraine for power transmission
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BUCHAREST, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday announced $53 million to support the purchase of power grid equipment to Ukraine to help Kyiv fight Russian attacks targeting its energy infrastructure that left millions in the dark with no heating. "This equipment will be rapidly delivered to Ukraine on an emergency basis to help Ukrainians persevere through the winter," a State Department statement said, adding that the package would include distribution transformers, circuit breakers, surge arresters among other equipment. Russia has been carrying out huge attacks on Ukraine's electricity transmission and heating infrastructure roughly weekly since October, in what Kyiv and its allies say is a deliberate campaign to harm civilians, a war crime. Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Benoit Van OverstraetenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Transformers, air defences needed, Ukraine tells visiting ministers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Foreign ministers of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, Lithuania's Gabrielius Landsbergis, Iceland's Thordis Gylfadottir and Sweden's Tobias Billstrom attend a joint news conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/PoolKYIV, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told a gathering of seven Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers on Monday that his country needed transformers and improved air defences to stave off Russian air strikes on energy infrastructure. Kuleba was flanked by officials from Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden ahead of a meeting of NATO military alliance foreign ministers in Bucharest on Tuesday and Wednesday. And we need air defence that will allow us to shoot down Russian missiles targeting our infrastructure." The ministers issued a joint statement after their talks calling for efforts to improve Ukrainian air defences.

☆ NATO's Stoltenberg: Putin trying to use winter as war weapon against Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BUCHAREST, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Russia will likely continue attacking Ukraine's power grid, its gas infrastructure and basic services for the people, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday. "Doing that when we enter winter demonstrates that President (Vladimir) Putin is now trying to use ... the winter as a weapon of war against Ukraine," he told reporters at a news conference in Bucharest ahead of a two-day NATO foreign ministers' meeting. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Benoit Van OverstraetenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Blinken to announce help for Ukraine's power transmission on Tuesday - U.S. official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at Henri Coanda airport, in Bucarest, on November 29, 2022, ahead of a NATO meeting. Daniel MIHAILESCU/Pool via REUTERSBUCHAREST, Nov 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday will announce new assistance to help restore Ukraine’s power transmission ability in the face of Russian attacks targeting the country’s energy grid, a senior State Department official said. Blinken arrived in Romania on Monday evening ahead of a meetings with NATO allies and foreign ministers from the Group of Seven advanced economies. The official did not specify what form the assistance would take or how much it would be worth. “They’re out in the open, they’re not in buildings, they’re very hard to protect," the official said.

☆ Air raid sirens blare in Ukraine as NATO meets to promise aid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"NATO will continue to stand for Ukraine as long as it takes. [1/7] A view shows the city without electricity after critical civil infrastructure was hit by Russian missile attacks, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 23, 2022. That will make it harder for Ukrainian forces to find weakly defended stretches to attempt new breakthroughs. Ukraine's armed forces General Staff said late on Monday that Russian forces were heavily shelling towns on the west bank of the Dnipro River, including Kherson. Ukrainian forces had damaged a rail bridge north of the Russian-occupied southern city of Melitopol that has been key to supplying Russian forces dug in there, it added.

☆ NATO will not back down but continue supporting Ukraine - Stoltenberg
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 25 (Reuters) - NATO will not let down in its support of Ukraine and also ramp up non-lethal aid for the country, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday. "NATO will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will not back down," he told reporters in Brussels ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting of the alliance in Bucharest next week. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Bart MeijerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Powers meet to pledge urgent support for Moldova as winter nears
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Some 45 countries and institutions meet in Paris on Monday to pledge millions of euros of aid for Moldova, as fears mount that it could be further destabilised by the conflict in Ukraine. Largely dependent on Russia energy supplies, Moldova is facing more difficulties with winter arriving and Moscow cutting natural gas supplies by about 40%, hurting its ability to supply enough electricity to its population. Moldova is a former part of the Soviet Union, some of whose territory is occupied by Moscow-backed separatists. Donor conferences in Berlin and Bucharest earlier this year saw pledges in total of about 1.3 billion euros ($1.34 billion). Aid would be used to support Moldova's budget and electricity supplies as well as the costs for hosting thousands of Ukrainian refugees.

☆ A passenger who smoked a sneaky cigarette in a plane's bathroom sparked a trash can fire during flight, airline says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An Israeli passenger smoked a cigarette in the bathroom of an El Al plane on Friday, per The Times of Israel. The passenger will face legal action when he returns from Thailand to Israel, El Al said. The passenger's cigarette butt set toilet paper and tissues inside the trash can aflame, The Times of Israel reported. Flight attendants and the plane's captains used extinguishers to put the fire out, El Al said, per the newspaper. Police did not detain or remove anyone from the plane, the newspaper reported.

☆ Romanian defence minister resigns, pressured after Ukraine comment
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BUCHAREST, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Romanian Defence Minister Vasile Dincu resigned on Monday, saying he could not collaborate with the country's president, amid pressure weeks after he said Ukraine's only chance to end the war was to negotiate with Russia. Some 2.65 million Ukrainians have fled to Europe through Romania in the eight months since the war started. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"My gesture (resignation) comes as it is impossible to cooperate with the Romanian president, the army's commander-in-chief," Dincu said in a statement. In early October, Dincu said Ukraine needed international allies to negotiate security guarantees and peace with Russia, sparking criticism from President Klaus Iohannis and leaders of the ruling governing coalition. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

She mostly uses one room in her old house, which saves on heating. But many people in villages like Vasilati and non-affluent city neighbourhoods have little room to cut back. Eurostat data showed Romanians had the lowest power consumption per capita in the EU at less than half the average in 2020. Other villagers whose power consumption was driven higher by pumps and boilers said their bill doubled to roughly 3,000 lei ($597.73). Ichim's power consumption is low enough to fit into a government scheme that caps power and gas bills for households and other users up to certain monthly consumption levels.

☆ Bucharest nine presidents say Russian bombardments in Ukraine are war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Mass bombardments of Ukrainian cities by Russia constitute war crimes under international law, the presidents of the Bucharest Nine group of countries, accompanied by the presidents of North Macedonia and Montenegro, said on Tuesday. "We, the Presidents of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia condemn the mass bombardments of Ukrainian cities recently carried out by Russia, which constitute war crimes under international law," they said in a statement. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists. It has denied deliberately attacking civilians. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. candidate beats Russian to head U.N. telecoms agency
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. candidate Doreen Bogdan-Martin on Thursday decisively beat a Russian candidate to be the next Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union in an election seen as a test of how many countries are still siding with Russia. Bogdan-Martin won the election to be the next head the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) with 139 votes out of 172 cast, defeating Russia's Rashid Ismailov, the U.N. agency said in a statement. She is the first woman to head the Geneva-based agency that was set up in 1865 to overcome interruptions in the telegraph system at borders. The ITU also plays a key role in setting standards for new technology, such as artificial intelligence. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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