Thread: Russia launches Ukraine invasion

Originally Posted by sabang

Oh but it does if it transits through Russia, and is embarked at Russian ports. Or do you think they do it for charity?
More complex would be if Russian interests, such as Gazprom, hold an equity in any of these projects. Certainly not unusual.

It might be if only sanctions didn’t include transit through Russian territory.

They don't.

Originally Posted by sabang

They don't.

They do. Why bring it up, if it’s of no benefit to Russia? Sure Gazprom might have a minor financial interest, but such loopholes are closed as they appear.

Russian teacher ‘shocked’ as she faces jail over anti-war speech pupils taped | Russia | The Guardian

On 18 March, Gen’s 13- and 14-year-old students asked her why Russian athletes were banned from participating in international competitions – a decision by the west that she said she tried to put in context.

“Until Russia starts to behave in a civilised manner, the non-admission of Russian athletes to competitions will continue forever … I think that is correct,” she said in the audio, which was first shared by Kremlin-linked Telegram channels. “Russia wanted to reach Kyiv and overthrow the government! Ukraine is, in fact, a sovereign state, there is a sovereign government … We are living in a totalitarian regime. Any dissent is considered a crime.”

Gen also voiced her disapproval of the way Russian state media framed the bombing of a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol as a Ukrainian-style provocation.

Five days after her anti-war remarks to students, she got a call from the local FSB branch telling her to come to their office, where she was informed security agencies had received the footage of her speaking out in class.

“I was shocked. I had no idea I was being recorded,” Gen recalled. “I told the prosecutors that I wasn’t lying. That I was merely citing respected western outlets like AP and BBC, outlets that I believe are professional and objective in their reporting,” Gen said. “But, of course, that wasn’t really an argument they would accept.”

At the end of last month, Russian prosecutors announced they had opened a criminal case against Gen under a recently introduced law that criminalises the spread of so-called fake news about the Russian army.

Prosecutors specifically took issue with the statements Gen made about the Mariupol maternity ward. She has since been banned from leaving the country, and her lawyer said she faced up to 10 years in jail if found guilty.

Russia has launched an unprecedented crackdown on anti-war sentiments and Gen’s case is one of at least four that are known about in which teachers who criticised the war were either fired or prosecuted after students complained about them to their parents and the authorities.

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“I am simply being prosecuted for a viewpoint that isn’t the official one. My family already went once through a denunciation campaign in the Soviet Union,” Gen said referring to Stalin’s great purge in which hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens denounced their neighbours, friends and relatives as “enemies of the state”.

Following on from an earlier post in relation to the US imports of Russian oil

A big fat 0

Looks like they upped the Canadian imports to off-set ...

Weekly Preliminary Crude Imports by Top 10 Countries of Origin (ranking based on 2020 Petroleum Supply Monthly data)

‘I couldn’t keep it inside’: ballet star Olga Smirnova on quitting the Bolshoi and fleeing Russia

After Putin invaded Ukraine, the Russian dancer denounced the war, left the Kremlin-allied company – and flew out of Moscow that night. As she prepares for her debut at the Dutch National Ballet, Smirnova speaks for the first time

My life totally changed in one day,” says Olga Smirnova. “In the morning, I did not know I was going to leave Russia. And in the night, I was sitting on the plane.” The 30-year-old dancer was one of the Bolshoi Ballet’s star ballerinas, a universally lauded performer at the peak of her powers, at a company that has long had close ties to the Kremlin. Earlier this month, she made a shock announcement: she had joined Dutch National Ballet (DNB), leaving Moscow behind. The move came shortly after Smirnova wrote a heartfelt post on the online messaging service Telegram about Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “With all the fibres of my soul I am against the war,” she wrote. “I never thought that I would be ashamed of Russia … But now the line is drawn on the before and after.”

Speaking via video call from Amsterdam, she explains her reason for leaving: “It did not feel safe.” Although there had been no direct threat from the authorities, she adds: “I just felt the atmosphere was tense in the country. International flights were being cancelled and there were rumours the borders would be closed, so we decided to leave. We didn’t want to risk it and wait longer.”

She knew making such a statement would put her in the spotlight. Why did she do it? “I don’t know,” she says. “I just felt I needed to speak out. I couldn’t keep it inside. There were many artists who spoke out. I admire Russian literature. Dostoevsky and Tolstoy are my favourite writers and you learn from their example that you must speak honestly and openly.”

Smirnova barely heard from her Bolshoi colleagues, save for a couple of “supportive and touching” messages. “People are afraid to speak out. If they don’t have any choice but to stay, they prefer not to speak out. Everyone should be able to decide what type of society they want to live in and how much freedom one needs for living.”

Appearing to criticise the Russian regime can have consequences. The Bolshoi theatre’s general director Vladimir Urin is among a number of cultural leaders who signed a letter against the war. At a meeting with arts laureates last Friday, Putin suggested merging the directorship of the Bolshoi theatre with St Petersburg’s Mariinsky theatre under its director and Putin loyalist Valery Gergiev, implying that Urin would be ousted.

“I never followed politics,” says Smirnova, being careful with her words. “But politics became impossible to ignore, which is why I spoke out against the war. War is an unacceptable way in our civilised world to resolve any conflict.” Besides wanting the war to stop as soon as possible, she worries about the future relationship between Russia and the rest of the world. “It’s really painful,” she says. “Because it’s also about the reputation of the whole Russian people. Russia’s reputation has been severely damaged by the actions of Russia’s government.”

Smirnova’s parents are still in Russia. They only knew she had left when the DNB announcement was made. “Only then could I speak to them and explain the situation,” she says. “And, of course, for them it was really hard to accept. First of all, because they are parents and want to have me close. They are upset, they wanted me to stay, but I think they just need more time to accept and understand my decision.”

When the invasion began, Smirnova was recovering from an injury, so wasn’t caught up in the busy daily schedule of rehearsals and performances. “It helped to see the situation from outside,” she says. After making the decision, she had five hours to pack her things. She and her husband initially flew to Dubai, then on to Amsterdam where Smirnova started rehearsals the next day.

She had always wanted to work internationally: she has loved working with visiting choreographers at the Bolshoi, loves the modernity of the repertoire at DNB, and dreams of dancing ballets by its resident choreographer Hans van Manen. Still, these are not the circumstances she would have chosen.

She is already rehearsing for a new production of Raymonda, opening in April. Is she able to concentrate in the studio? Smirnova smiles and visibly relaxes. “It is real happiness to be able to rehearse again,” she says. “In some way, it saves you from the chaos outside. I can say it’s the safest place, where I can be quiet and concentrate. I’m so glad I could rehearse from the first day I was here.”

Smirnova plans to stay in Amsterdam for the foreseeable future, having no idea what that future holds. “The company made a warm welcome for me,” she says. “I will try to do my best for them.” Whether she will be able to return to Russia is moot. “To come back to Russia, I think probably I would need to take my words back. And there’s no way I can do that. Of course I would like to see my parents, be able to go to my native St Petersburg. But the future is so uncertain now, both the country’s and my own.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has abruptly transformed the world. Millions have already fled. A new Iron Curtain is grinding into place. An economic war deepens as the military conflict escalates and civilian casualties rise.

Relations between Russia and Greece appeared to have reached unprecedented heights after President Vladimir Putin met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Sochi in December last year and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias in Moscow on February 18.

However, the war in Ukraine quickly reversed all advancements made.

The ruling New Democracy government immediately condemned what they recognized as an invasion and hastily made the decision to send weapons – something that has proven to be immensely unpopular with Greek citizens, especially as they can end up in the hands of the Azov Battalion that oppressed the ethnic Greek community of Mariupol.

According to a poll conducted by MEGA TV, 66% of Greeks disagree with sending military equipment to Ukraine, whilst only 29% agree with the government’s decision. The poll found that an overwhelming majority of Greeks (70%) back Ukraine in the war, but are against being involved and sending weapons, especially as the decision was made without Mitsotakis consulting his foreign minister, let alone the political opposition.

The poll’s data comes as TRAINOSE railway workers in Greece refused to carry NATO and US weapons from the port of Alexandroupolis to Ukraine. TRAINOSE employees, who were threatened with dismissal, said in a statement: “We will not be complicit in the passage of the war machine through the territory of our country. We railroad workers, by transporting NATO war materials, are working to ensure that the country is not involved in dangerous schemes.”


For their part, furious railway bosses of the private company told workers: “You don’t care what the trains carry, it’s your job.” This sparked solidarity as railway workers from other parts of Greece refused to plug the labour gap in Alexandroupolis and held large-scale protests in major cities.

The New Democracy party is traditionally the pro-US/Atlanticist pole in Greek politics, but their accession to government in mid-2019 saw a revitalized foreign policy led by Dendias that sought a balance between the world’s Great Powers. However, the differing and competing factions within the party is well documented – mostly between the overtly pro-Washington faction and the pro-Paris/European faction. Even Turkish state-run media Anadolu Agency acknowledged factionalism in New Democracy, highlighting that Mitsotakis and his sister MP Dora Bakoyannis are part of a Turkey-friendly faction, in opposition to most of the party.

None-the-less, even with the significant progress in building modern Russian-Greek relations, the military operation in Ukraine provided the outlet for the pro-US faction of New Democracy to quickly reverse advancements made. From the Greek perspective, the military operation in Ukraine was always going to be condemned, especially as northern Cyprus remains occupied by Turkey. For citizens though, it is hard to fathom that Greece has become a weapons conduit for what they see as a depressing inter-Orthodox war.

For their part, New Democracy are now feeling the full affects of their Ukraine policy. According to a poll by Metron Analysis, when asked which party they would vote for if a general election was held, 27% of respondents picked the ruling party, massively down from the 39.85% achieved in the 2019 election. Much of this decline is over concerns for the economic situation, inflation and unemployment, which have significantly increased, especially after the imposition of sanctions against Russia.

However, despite the factionalism in New Democracy, it is still with little surprise that they quickly adhered to the call to send weapons to Ukraine. It is noted that US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt is a former ambassador to Ukraine and is known in Greece as the “architect of the Maidan coup.” With his encouragement, the decision to send weapons was made without consulting the Greek people and opposition parties, something that will come to haunt the New Democracy party in the next election.

It also comes as the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) released a report at the end of March that found New Democracy is “obsessed with controlling the message” and “minimizing critical and dissenting voices.” This has been proven beyond doubt, especially as pro-government media attempted to whitewash the Azov Battalion when at the same time the Greek Consul General to Mariupol Manolis Androulakis falsely claimed that the neo-Nazi group does not attack “their own people”, i.e. civilians. This is disturbing as effectively the Greek State and Greek media have whitewashed a criminal organization that terrorized the 120,000+ Greeks of Mariupol since 2014.

The Greek diplomat ignores the fact that only 10 days before the war began, the Azov Battalion killed an ethnic Greek and shot another two only for speaking Russian. At the same time, an ethnic Greek from Sartana on the outskirts of Mariupol testified that “The Russians do not discriminate, while the Ukrainians did, they forced us to speak only Ukrainian, although I do not know it at all.”

A Greek refugee from Mariupol testified that “I remember when leaving Mariupol, Ukrainian soldiers stopped us and threatened us. Russian soldiers in tanks were trying to calm us down after all of that.” Also, another ethnic Greek from Mariupol testified when asked if he planned to leave the city: “how can I leave? When you try to leave you run the risk of running into a patrol of the Ukrainian fascists, the Azov Battalion. They would kill me and are responsible for everything.”

Yet, despite Greece having the unique responsibility to maintain ties and connections with the 120,000+ Greeks of Mariupol, the government and its media arms have instead decided to whitewash the Azov Battalion, even to the point of claiming they do not harm civilians. More disturbingly, the weapons that Greece is transferring will end up in the same hands of those who oppressed the Greeks of Mariupol since 2014, especially because the majority of Greek villagers voted to join with the Donetsk People’s Republic, a fact that Athens finds difficult to acknowledge and reconcile with.

Mitsotakis’ Popularity Plunges As Greek’s Protest Against Weapons Transfers To Ukraine — Greek City Times

Russian forces in Ukraine appear to be using a new type of weapon as they step up attacks on civilian targets: an advanced land mine equipped with sensors that can detect when people walk nearby.Ukrainian bomb technicians discovered the device, called the POM-3, last week near the eastern city of Kharkiv, according to Human Rights Watch, a leading human rights group, which has reviewed photos provided by Ukraine’s military.

Older types of land mines typically explode when victims accidentally step on them or disturb attached tripwires. But the POM-3’s seismic sensor picks up on approaching footsteps and can effectively distinguish between humans and animals.

Humanitarian deminers and groups that campaign against the use of land mines said the POM-3 would make future efforts to locate and destroy unexploded munitions in Ukraine vastly more complicated and deadlier.

“These create a threat that we don’t have a response for,” said James Cowan, who leads the HALO Trust, a British American charity that clears land mines and other explosive remnants of war to help countries recover after conflicts. The group began removing unexploded munitions from the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine in 2016, after Russian-backed separatists started fighting the Ukrainian government.

“We’ll need to find some donors to procure robotics that can allow us to deal with these threats at some distance,” Mr. Cowan added.

The POM-3 is typically launched by a rocket and falls back to earth by parachute before sticking into the ground — where it waits, according to CAT-UXO, an online resource for military and civilian bomb technicians. When the mine senses a person, it launches a small explosive warhead that detonates midair, producing fragments that are lethal up to about 50 feet away.
Mr. Cowan, a retired British Army major general, said his staff of 430 Ukrainians clearing unexploded munitions in Donbas had been unable to continue working since Russia launched a full invasion of the country in late February, with many staff members temporarily relocating in Ukraine. He anticipates that in the future, HALO’s operation across the country will require about 2,500 workers, given that many areas outside Donbas are now contaminated with unexploded munitions as well.

U.S. government officials have said Russia appears to be moving troops to consolidate its hold on Donetsk and Luhansk, which could mean that even more weapons like the POM-3 will be used in the war.

“The war is entering a static phase — trenches are being dug,” Mr. Cowan said. “This is the time when I would expect the Russians to start using land mines on a massive basis.”
HALO, which stands for Hazardous Area Life-Support Organization, has about 10,000 employees around the world and is among the few international nonprofits that have remained in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of Kabul, the capital, in August. Mr. Cowan said the future cleanup in Ukraine would require roughly the same number of workers as HALO’s current operation in Afghanistan, which is recovering from decades of armed conflict.

The POM-3 is just one new hazard among many that his organization expects to encounter, in addition to an untold number of rockets, bombs and artillery shells that failed to detonate on impact. Russia has also attacked Ukrainian arms depots, causing fires and explosions that typically fling hundreds or even thousands of damaged munitions into surrounding areas.
Once widely used around the world, antipersonnel land mines often kill and maim civilians long after hostilities have ceased. Ukraine is one of the 164 nations that have signed a 1997 treaty banning the use of antipersonnel land mines and pledged to purge their stockpiles. The United States and Russia have refused to join it.

The treaty does not prohibit the use of antitank land mines — which typically have a much larger explosive charge and are designed to detonate only when a vehicle drives over or near them — nor does it address improvised explosive devices built to destroy vehicles. Videos posted on social media purport to show both antitank mines and improvised bomb attacks on Russian vehicles in Ukraine.

Russia’s use of land mines was among the discussions at an event on Tuesday on Capitol Hill for the United Nations’ international mine awareness day, which brought together groups that focus on the issue and lawmakers from Congress’s Unexploded Ordnance/Demining Caucus.

“Wars end, they stay,” Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, said of land mines and unexploded munitions. “The targets are invariably civilians, and they are in places where you have a limited ability to provide lifesaving medical care.”

“Look at what’s happening in Ukraine — Russia is placing land mines in people’s homes, as well as children’s playgrounds and places where people go,” Mr. Leahy said. “That’s using it as a weapon of terror.”

Ukraine-Russia War and Sanctions News: Live Updates - The New York Times

‘I don't trust you': Oil executives accused of profiteering as war drives up petrol prices



Washington: Top executives from some of the world's most lucrative energy companies have rejected criticism they are exploiting the war in Ukraine to rake in record profits, arguing they need government help to lower petrol prices for consumers.

As the price of crude oil spikes and economic sanctions on Russia create more pain at the bowser, the heads of six major oil companies - including Exxon, BP, Chevron and Shell - faced a Congressional grilling in Washington today over claims they were not doing enough to ease the burden on Americans.

Rising prices have emerged as a key concern among voters ahead of mid-term Congressional elections in November.
Oil companies made a combined profit of more than $76 billion last year, but told an energy committee hearing that this came off the back of multi-billion-dollar losses in 2020 - a period when the pandemic was at its peak.

"Big oil is profiteering from our continued reliance on this volatile global commodity," said New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone, who heads the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

During often tense testimony, the executives also argued that they needed the US government to permit more oil leases and drilling on federal land to shore up domestic supply so the industry could be less reliant on overseas reserves.

Exxon chief executive officer Darren Woods told the committee that even before the invasion of Ukraine, "we were seeing a growing imbalance in global oil and gas markets" which had a ripple effect on consumers.

Full Article- ‘I don't trust you': Oil executives accused of profiteering as war drives up petrol prices (msn.com)

"Big oil is profiteering from our continued reliance on this volatile global commodity,"

So it couldn't possibly be commodity traders then.

Oh believe me- them too. i know this all too well.

A great deal of conjecture and assumptions made by Sabang in his most recent posts. As usual it boils down to a one sided story, ignoring the normal routine of a young democracy.

Did you know the French have a similar reaction to anything the unions don’t like?

Pentagon: Russia has fully withdrawn from Kyiv, Chernihiv

Russian forces have fully withdrawn from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and the city of Chernihiv to its north, the Pentagon said Wednesday, as Moscow prepares to concentrate its invading forces in the eastern part of the country.


“We are assessing that all of the Russians have left,” said a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon. Their full departure was confirmed only in the last 24 hours, this person said, cautioning that Russian forces may have left mines in their wake that would still need to be cleared.

U.S. and European intelligence officials have been tracking for days that Russia is in the midst of reorienting after encountering fierce resistance — and suffering thousands of casualties — in northern Ukraine. Moscow enjoys greater support in the east, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have been locked in a grinding conflict for many years.


But while Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine’s capital region appears to be complete, with many units retreating through Belarus, the Pentagon has yet to see those personnel reenter eastern Ukraine, the senior defense official said Wednesday.

MORE MSN

^^ Excuse me, but these are News articles I have copied and pasted- I am not the author. Thank you for your flattery, but it is unwarranted.

^ Russia confirmed that 3-4 days ago MK.

Finland May Finally Want In on NATO

Sweden is not far behind.

April 6, 2022, 5:04 PM

Just over two months ago, the prospect of Finland joining NATO was virtually unthinkable to most in the northern European country. It had grown closer to the military alliance over the last three decades but resisted the idea of becoming a full-fledged member.

Finland May Finally Want In on NATO – Foreign Policy



Can't blame them. Ukraine will follow sooner or later.

Sources: Greece does not block Finland’s NATO accession.

Sources: Greece does not block Finland’s NATO accession. – EURACTIV.com

Originally Posted by HermantheGerman

Sources: Greece does not block Finland’s NATO accession.


Sources: Greece does not block Finland’s NATO accession. – EURACTIV.com

Sources from the Greek foreign ministry denied rumours in Helsinki that suggest Athens blocks Finland’s potential accession to NATO, EURACTIV Greece reported. Read More. Several sources categorically denied that Athens aims to prevent it – when and if – there should be a formal application from Finland to join NATO.


The sources said there is no such issue, it has not been raised, and if it is raised, all the rules of procedure of the alliance would be followed.
Athens is not blocking any country from joining the Alliance and sees with scepticism attempts to show that Turkey and Greece are aligned on the matter, the sources also added.


The issue came up when Finish media reported on “rumours” that Turkey, Greece and Hungary could stand in the way of Finland’s application for NATO membership.

I get the idea you fellas want to see Nato expand.

Originally Posted by sabang

Finland has been voted the worlds most happy country for five consecutive years.

They also kicked the shit out of the Russians in the Winter War of 1939, so they have something in common with the Ukrainians.

Kind of explains why the US is not happy then.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

And I wonder which fucking moron would would be the first to bleat if Finland joined?

Why would anyone have a problem with Finland joining NATO?

Shell writes down up to $5BILLION after offloading Russian assets



Oil giant Shell has revealed it will write down up to $5billion following its decision to exit Russia, more than previously disclosed.

The post-tax impairments of between $4billion to $5billion in the first quarter will now hit the company's earnings, Shell said in an update ahead of its earnings announcement on 5 May.

Shell, whose market capitalisation is around $210billion, had previously said the Russia writedowns would reach around $3.4billion.

The hike was due to additional potential impacts around contracts, write-downs of receivables and credit losses in Russia, a Shell spokesperson said.

Shell shares have fallen today and were down 1.61 per cent or 34.41p to 2,097.09p just before 10.30am.

The start of 2022 marked one of the most turbulent periods in decades for the oil and gas industry as Western companies, including Shell, swiftly pulled out of Russia, severing trading ties and winding down joint ventures following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Shell said it will exit all its Russian operations, including a major liquefied natural gas plant in the Sakhalin peninsula in the eastern flank of the country.

Shell did not provide any guidance on the future of its stakes in Russian projects.

Shell writes down up to $5BILLION after offloading Russian assets (msn.com)


Tbh, the more interesting question is who will be buying these assets up on the cheap. It certainly won't be Exxon or BP.