Germany’s military must be strong enough to deter Russia from attacking, says Scholz
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany is looking to create closer ties with countries that share its values, naming Japan and India among others.
Lisi Niesner | Reuters
Germany’s leader said a strong military is needed to ensure that Russia does not consider attacking it.
Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz also said on Thursday that Putin is clinging to the idea of a “forced peace” in Ukraine and that will not work, Reuters reported.
Speaking in Tokyo, Scholz said Germany is looking to create closer ties with countries that share its values, naming Japan and India among others.
— Holly Ellyatt
Central bank policy must be cautious amid gas shock threat, official says
The governor of the Bank of Italy and member of the Governing Council of the ECB, Ignazio Visco, warns that the central bank’s policy must be careful amid the threat of the Russian war in Ukraine, but indicates that there could be an increase in the third trimester.
— holly ellyatt
Exxon reportedly declared force majeure on Sakhalin-1 operations
exxon mobile The Russian Exxon Neftegas unit has declared force majeure in its Sakhalin-1 operationsReuters reported.
In a written response to Reuters, a spokesman said Exxon is taking steps to exit the oil and gas project, including addressing contractual and commercial obligations.
The company previously said it would stop operating in Russia, including exiting the project.
Reuters reported that stakeholders in the project are facing increasing difficulties shipping crude oil from the region due to sanctions on Russia, fears of reputational risk and problems finding insurance coverage.
—Chelsea Ong
‘We would never feel safe again’ if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, UK says
“If Putin is successful, there will be untold misery across Europe and dire consequences around the world,” UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.
Mateusz Wlodarczyk | Nurfoto | fake images
Ukraine’s fate hangs in the balance and Western allies must “double down” on their support for the country to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine, the UK foreign secretary said on Wednesday.
“Ukrainian victory is a strategic imperative for all of us,” Liz Truss said in a speech in London last night, arguing that the Group of Seven industrialized nations and their allies must keep up the pressure on Russia through tougher sanctions, which include “cutting off the oil supply”. and gas imports once and for all,” providing further military aid and ongoing humanitarian support.
“If Putin is successful, there will be untold misery throughout Europe and terrible consequences throughout the world,” he said, adding that “we will never feel safe again.”
“So we must be prepared for the long term and redouble our support for Ukraine,” he said. Truss’s comments come at a time when tensions between Western nations and Russia have risen significantly, with President Vladimir Putin warning that Russia will retaliate against any intervention in the Ukraine war.
— holly ellyatt
Blinken says Europe has ‘ambitious’ plans to reduce energy dependence on Russia
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington, U.S., on April 26, 2022. Blinken and the Defense Secretary on Monday committed a total of $713 million in foreign military financing for Ukraine and 15 allied and partner countries.
To Drago | Reuters
European countries have “genuinely ambitious” plans to reduce their reliance on Russian energy, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, adding that “further progress” in Russian oil imports was expected in the coming years. weeks.
“I think the Europeans have genuinely ambitious plans to move away from this reliance on Russian energy. The challenge is to put them into action,” Blinken told a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. About half of Russia’s 4.7 million barrels a day of crude exports go to the EU. Cutting them off would deprive Moscow of an important source of revenue.
“I think we are likely to see in the coming weeks more progress on the oil side of the equation in terms of Russian imports. Gas is a bigger challenge,” he added.
The European Union is considering options to cut Russian oil imports as part of possible additional sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, but none have been formally proposed as governments assess their impact.
— Reuters
White House to make ‘massive’ funding request for more aid to Ukraine
A C-130 Hercules taxis on the flight line July 14, 2014, at Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts.
US Air Force Staff Sgt. Kelly Goonan | US Air Force
The White House is preparing to send a request to Congress for additional aid for Ukraine on Thursday, administration officials confirmed to NBC News.
Officials described the amount of the request as “huge” but did not provide a specific dollar amount as some of the details have not been finalized.
Officials said the dollar amount sought should be able to fund US support for Ukraine through the end of the current fiscal year, which ends in September. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February, the Biden administration has authorized $3.4 billion in military assistance.
Last week, President Joe Biden said he was running out of funds authorized by Congress and would send a request to lawmakers soon.
The latest $800 million military aid package, which is the eighth installment of the aidIt comes after eight weeks of war and as Russian forces prepare for renewed fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine.
— Amanda Macias
Putin threatens to retaliate against anyone who interferes in the war in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past a guard during a ceremony honoring the country’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, April 26, 2022.
Maxim Shemetov | Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned world leaders not to interfere with what he continues to call a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“I want to emphasize once again, the special military operation in Ukraine and Donbas, which began in February, will definitely carry out all the objectives to ensure the safety of people in the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Russian Crimea. and our entire country,” Putin told the Russian Council of Legislators in St. Petersburg.
He said the Russian military averted a “real threat, which was hanging over our homeland.” Putin added that the Kremlin would retaliate against anyone who interfered with the ongoing military operation.
“Our response, our retaliation, those attacks will be lightning fast. We have all the instruments for that. Such instruments that no one can boast of… and we will use them if necessary. I want everyone to know that,” Putin said.
It was not immediately clear what was meant by instruments. Putin also said that global sanctions against Russia have failed to “choke us economically.”
— Amanda Macias