REUTERS
"U.S. Treasury's Adeyemo says price caps could limit Russian oil revenues"
By Reuters Staff
JUNE 14, 2022
WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Tuesday that Russia’s oil profits have likely risen despite lower crude exports, and the United States and its allies must find ways to reduce Moscow’s oil revenue, possibly by capping prices.
“There are a number of options in terms of reducing Russia’s revenue,” Adeyemo told a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
“There are things like introducing a price cap,” he said, adding that such moves must be taken in cooperation with U.S. allies and partners.
(Reporting by David Lawder and Tyler Clifford)
https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine ... SW1N2XU02V
RUSSIA
Re: RUSSIA
REUTERS
"U.S., allies need to limit Russian oil revenue -deputy Treasury chief"
By David Lawder and Tyler Clifford
June 14, 2022
WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - Russia's oil profits have likely risen despite lower crude exports and the United States and its allies must find ways to reduce Moscow's oil revenue, possibly by capping prices, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Tuesday.
Adeyemo told a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing that higher oil prices have offset lower production and export volumes since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
The United States is discussing with European and Asian allies a way to impose a cap on prices paid for Russian crude to limit its benefit from higher crude prices, Adeyemo said.
But he declined to provide details on the status of those talks, saying that such information would be reserved for a classified briefing for senators.
"So the goal is to make sure that you reduce the price that they are able to gain from selling their crude going forward," Adeyemo said, adding that otherwise, Russia is benefiting directly from the higher prices caused by its own aggression in Ukraine.
The United States has already banned Russian energy imports but the European Union, heavily dependent on Russia, is working to phase in a boycott starting at the end of 2022.
Asked why Washington has not imposed a full trade embargo on Russia, Adeyemo said such a move would only have "a marginal impact on Russia's economy at best," given the limited amount of trade between the two countries.
Adeyemo gave no indication of a broader move toward secondary sanctions on countries and companies that are continuing to do business with Russia.
But he said there were some actions being taken against individual firms, including those servicing yachts for Russian oligarchs under sanctions.
The Treasury was working to spread a greater understanding of the consequences of violating sanctions among non-financial firms.
Financial institutions have a lot of experience complying with sanctions and understand their scope, but firms in other services and real estate do not, he said.
Reporting by David Lawder and Tyler Clifford; editing by Grant McCool
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 022-06-14/
"U.S., allies need to limit Russian oil revenue -deputy Treasury chief"
By David Lawder and Tyler Clifford
June 14, 2022
WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - Russia's oil profits have likely risen despite lower crude exports and the United States and its allies must find ways to reduce Moscow's oil revenue, possibly by capping prices, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Tuesday.
Adeyemo told a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing that higher oil prices have offset lower production and export volumes since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
The United States is discussing with European and Asian allies a way to impose a cap on prices paid for Russian crude to limit its benefit from higher crude prices, Adeyemo said.
But he declined to provide details on the status of those talks, saying that such information would be reserved for a classified briefing for senators.
"So the goal is to make sure that you reduce the price that they are able to gain from selling their crude going forward," Adeyemo said, adding that otherwise, Russia is benefiting directly from the higher prices caused by its own aggression in Ukraine.
The United States has already banned Russian energy imports but the European Union, heavily dependent on Russia, is working to phase in a boycott starting at the end of 2022.
Asked why Washington has not imposed a full trade embargo on Russia, Adeyemo said such a move would only have "a marginal impact on Russia's economy at best," given the limited amount of trade between the two countries.
Adeyemo gave no indication of a broader move toward secondary sanctions on countries and companies that are continuing to do business with Russia.
But he said there were some actions being taken against individual firms, including those servicing yachts for Russian oligarchs under sanctions.
The Treasury was working to spread a greater understanding of the consequences of violating sanctions among non-financial firms.
Financial institutions have a lot of experience complying with sanctions and understand their scope, but firms in other services and real estate do not, he said.
Reporting by David Lawder and Tyler Clifford; editing by Grant McCool
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 022-06-14/
Re: RUSSIA
REUTERS
"Russian-flagged ships transport Ukraine's grain to Syria, Maxar says"
By Kanishka Singh
June 16, 2022
WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - Russian-flagged ships have been carrying grain harvested in Ukraine last season and transported it to Syria, U.S. satellite imagery company Maxar said on Thursday.
Maxar's images showed two Russian-flagged bulk carrier ships docked in the Russian-controlled Crimean port of Sevastopol in May and being loaded with grain, the company said.
Days later, Maxar satellites collected images of the same ships docked in Syria, with their hatches open and semi-trucks lined up ready to haul the grain away, Maxar said.
Syria and Russia are staunch allies.
The company said another image from June also showed a different ship being loaded with grain in Sevastopol.
Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from the territories that Russian forces occupied since its invasion began in late February.
The war threatens to cause severe food shortages as Russia and Ukraine account for about 29% of global wheat exports.
Ukraine is one of the world's largest grain exporters, and Western countries have accused Russia of creating the risk of global famine by shutting Ukraine's Black Sea ports.
On June 8, the deputy head of Ukrainian agriculture producers union UAC said that Russia has stolen about 600,000 tonnes of grain from occupied territory and exported some of it.
Russia calls its action in Ukraine a "special military operation" claiming its aim was to disarm and "denazify" its neighbor.
The West and Ukraine say this is a pretext for unprovoked aggression.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Grant McCool
https://www.reuters.com/world/russian-f ... 022-06-16/
"Russian-flagged ships transport Ukraine's grain to Syria, Maxar says"
By Kanishka Singh
June 16, 2022
WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - Russian-flagged ships have been carrying grain harvested in Ukraine last season and transported it to Syria, U.S. satellite imagery company Maxar said on Thursday.
Maxar's images showed two Russian-flagged bulk carrier ships docked in the Russian-controlled Crimean port of Sevastopol in May and being loaded with grain, the company said.
Days later, Maxar satellites collected images of the same ships docked in Syria, with their hatches open and semi-trucks lined up ready to haul the grain away, Maxar said.
Syria and Russia are staunch allies.
The company said another image from June also showed a different ship being loaded with grain in Sevastopol.
Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from the territories that Russian forces occupied since its invasion began in late February.
The war threatens to cause severe food shortages as Russia and Ukraine account for about 29% of global wheat exports.
Ukraine is one of the world's largest grain exporters, and Western countries have accused Russia of creating the risk of global famine by shutting Ukraine's Black Sea ports.
On June 8, the deputy head of Ukrainian agriculture producers union UAC said that Russia has stolen about 600,000 tonnes of grain from occupied territory and exported some of it.
Russia calls its action in Ukraine a "special military operation" claiming its aim was to disarm and "denazify" its neighbor.
The West and Ukraine say this is a pretext for unprovoked aggression.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Grant McCool
https://www.reuters.com/world/russian-f ... 022-06-16/
Re: RUSSIA
FOX NEWS
"Putin lambasts US as acting like 'God's messenger,' claims world order is changing"
Caitlin McFall
18 JUNE 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted the U.S. in speech from St. Petersburg Friday, accusing Washington of believing it is "God’s messenger" and warning that the world order is changing.
"After declaring victory in the Cold War, the United States proclaimed itself to be God’s messenger on Earth," Putin claimed.
"They seem to ignore the fact that in the past decades, new powerful and increasingly assertive centers have been formed."
Putin’s speech, which was delayed for over an hour due to an alleged cyber-attack, focused almost solely on attacking the U.S. and its Western allies.
Russia has come under immense international condemnation following the illegal and deadly invasion of Ukraine four months ago – an incursion that has resulted in the greatest threat to European security since World War II.
But Putin, who has long relied on propaganda to drive the political temperature in Russia, suggested Moscow had been hit with severe sanctioning due to Western fears that the global order is changing.
"Our colleagues are not just denying reality."
"More than that, they are trying to reverse the course of history," Putin claimed.
"They consider themselves exceptional."
"If they are exceptional, that means everyone else is second rate."
The Kremlin head accused the U.S. of attempting to "cancel" states that do not accept western values.
Putin claimed Moscow is just the latest victim to be hit by "crazy" and "insane" sanctions and said Western efforts would not stop the world order from changing.
"Nothing lasts forever," he said.
"While planning their economic blitzkrieg, they did not notice, simply ignored the real facts of how much our country had changed in the past few years."
The U.S., European and other western allies have not only slapped Russia with tough sanctions in an attempt to stymie its war efforts, but have moved to block the sale of Russia's largest income earners – oil and natural gas.
The European Union, which imported a whopping 40 percent of its energy needs from Moscow prior to its invasion of Ukraine, has said it will cut 90 percent of its Russia oil imports by the end of the year.
Additionally, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen vowed earlier this month to address the other 10 percent as well.
But despite high inflation, its flagging ability to supply its armed forces in Ukraine and rising internal frustrations over economic pains at home, Putin on Friday claimed the West’s efforts were not working.
The Russian president said the efforts to stop his "special military operation" in Ukraine would not work.
He once again claimed his invasion was in response to alleged human rights abuses committed by Kyiv – an accusation the United Nations has repeatedly rejected – and said he was "forced" to invade Ukraine.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pu ... 57c0256cfa
"Putin lambasts US as acting like 'God's messenger,' claims world order is changing"
Caitlin McFall
18 JUNE 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted the U.S. in speech from St. Petersburg Friday, accusing Washington of believing it is "God’s messenger" and warning that the world order is changing.
"After declaring victory in the Cold War, the United States proclaimed itself to be God’s messenger on Earth," Putin claimed.
"They seem to ignore the fact that in the past decades, new powerful and increasingly assertive centers have been formed."
Putin’s speech, which was delayed for over an hour due to an alleged cyber-attack, focused almost solely on attacking the U.S. and its Western allies.
Russia has come under immense international condemnation following the illegal and deadly invasion of Ukraine four months ago – an incursion that has resulted in the greatest threat to European security since World War II.
But Putin, who has long relied on propaganda to drive the political temperature in Russia, suggested Moscow had been hit with severe sanctioning due to Western fears that the global order is changing.
"Our colleagues are not just denying reality."
"More than that, they are trying to reverse the course of history," Putin claimed.
"They consider themselves exceptional."
"If they are exceptional, that means everyone else is second rate."
The Kremlin head accused the U.S. of attempting to "cancel" states that do not accept western values.
Putin claimed Moscow is just the latest victim to be hit by "crazy" and "insane" sanctions and said Western efforts would not stop the world order from changing.
"Nothing lasts forever," he said.
"While planning their economic blitzkrieg, they did not notice, simply ignored the real facts of how much our country had changed in the past few years."
The U.S., European and other western allies have not only slapped Russia with tough sanctions in an attempt to stymie its war efforts, but have moved to block the sale of Russia's largest income earners – oil and natural gas.
The European Union, which imported a whopping 40 percent of its energy needs from Moscow prior to its invasion of Ukraine, has said it will cut 90 percent of its Russia oil imports by the end of the year.
Additionally, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen vowed earlier this month to address the other 10 percent as well.
But despite high inflation, its flagging ability to supply its armed forces in Ukraine and rising internal frustrations over economic pains at home, Putin on Friday claimed the West’s efforts were not working.
The Russian president said the efforts to stop his "special military operation" in Ukraine would not work.
He once again claimed his invasion was in response to alleged human rights abuses committed by Kyiv – an accusation the United Nations has repeatedly rejected – and said he was "forced" to invade Ukraine.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pu ... 57c0256cfa
Re: RUSSIA
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Defiant Putin Says Russia Will Flourish Without the West"
Anton Troianovski, Andrew E. Kramer and Michael Levenson
17 JUNE 2022
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, seeking to rally anti-American sentiment in Europe and across the world, lashed out anew at the United States on Friday, calling it a fading power that treats its allies as colonies, and said the West was falsely blaming its economic woes on the war in Ukraine.
“We all hear about so-called Putin inflation in the West,” Mr. Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual business conference once known as “Russia’s Davos,” seeming to refer to President Biden’s efforts to blame Russian aggression for what he calls a “Putin price hike” that is hurting American consumers.
“When I see this, I always think: Who’s this meant for, this stupidity?” Mr. Putin said.
“For someone who doesn’t know how to read or write.”
Mr. Putin spoke as the European Commission on Friday formally recommended that Ukraine be granted candidate status to become a member of the European Union, the first step in a long and arduous road that may have no immediate impact on the war, but could give the country a symbolic morale boost.
The commission, the E.U.’s executive arm, also recommended candidate status for Moldova — which applied for membership soon after Ukraine, spurred by concerns about Russia’s threats in the region — but not for neighboring Georgia, which was deemed not ready for E.U. candidacy.
“We all know that Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, who opened Friday’s meeting of E.U. commissioners in Brussels wearing a blue shirt and a yellow blazer, Ukraine’s national colors.
“We want them to live with us the European dream.”
Ukraine’s accession into the bloc could take years.
The European Commission has made Ukraine’s candidate status conditional on seven main overhauls in the country’s judicial system and government.
Even while fighting the Russian army, Ukraine will have to guarantee an independent judiciary, weed out high-level corruption, adopt laws on the media, limit the influence of oligarchs, and improve legislation on money laundering and protecting minorities, the commission said.
In some ways, the war appears to have eased these tasks.
The status of the oligarchs has plummeted, as some have fled and others have lost assets and revenue in the fighting, while the economy has become more dependent on foreign aid than on oligarch-dominated commodities exports.
The security services, once in part controlled behind the scenes by these business titans, have solidified their positions as institutions defending the country as a whole, not business interests.
In other ways, the war has created new obstacles for Ukraine’s European aspirations beyond the obvious threat of the country being conquered by Russia.
Under martial law, opposition television stations were excluded from a national cable system.
If the war and martial law persist for months or years, it’s unlikely that regularly scheduled elections will be held.
“The government deserves only applause” for winning Ukraine’s long-sought acceptance as a candidate for E.U. membership, Volodymyr Ariyev, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament in the opposition European Solidarity party, said in an interview.
“But we need to maintain our development in a democratic way, or we could lose our candidate status.”
The ultimate decision to make Moldova and Ukraine formal candidates for E.U. membership will be made by European Union leaders in Brussels next week.
The commission said it would assess Ukraine’s progress at the end of the year.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine welcomed the commission’s recommendation, saying it would help his country stave off Russia.
“It’s the 1st step on the EU membership path that’ll certainly bring our Victory closer,” he wrote on Twitter.
Mr. Putin’s remarks to the economic forum were delayed by over an hour after the Kremlin cited “large-scale” distributed denial-of-service cyberattacks on the conference’s computer systems.
The cyberattack came after IT Army of Ukraine, a “hacktivist” group behind previous attacks on Russian websites, had flagged the event as a target.
Mr. Putin appeared onstage for more than three hours, in his most extended public appearance since he ordered the Ukraine invasion in February.
But he did little to clarify his war aims, reprising his descriptions of Ukrainian territory as historically belonging to Russia while avoiding the even more hostile rhetoric of other Russian officials.
“Only the people who live there will determine their future,” Mr. Putin said of the territory in eastern Ukraine that Russia is capturing, leaving open the question of whether he will seek to annex it.
“And we will respect any choice they make.”
Ukrainian officials have heatedly dismissed the legitimacy of any putative referendums organized by the Kremlin and its proxies.
The chief executives of blue-chip Western companies used to flock to the St. Petersburg conference, but this year guests from Europe and the United States were few.
Instead, it was a small delegation from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan that made headlines in the Russian news media, while the leaders of Egypt and China recorded video greetings that were played at the plenary session after Mr. Putin’s speech.
But even at the session, which appeared aimed at underlining Russia’s global connections despite its Western isolation, the limits of its friendships became apparent.
Mr. Putin shared the stage with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic that has been a close ally of Russia but has said it will not violate Western sanctions against Russia.
Asked about his attitudes toward what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, Mr. Tokayev chose his words carefully, refusing to offer any support.
He said that as with the Russian-backed breakaway enclaves of Georgia, Kazakhstan would not recognize the “quasi-state territories” that Russia is propping up in eastern Ukraine.
Mr. Putin, relaxed and frequently cracking a smile, did not give the appearance of a wartime president.
Instead, he focused on the economy, alternating between the idea that Russia could easily replace Western imports and investment, and the claim that Russians could temporarily do without such comforts.
When the session’s host, the Russian state television executive Margarita Simonyan, presented Mr. Putin with a Russian juice box that was white because of a shortage of imported ink, he said that such details should be the least of people’s worries.
“What’s the most important for us?” Mr. Putin asked.
“To be independent, sovereign and assure our future development now for the following generations?"
"Or to have packaging today?”
Mr. Putin spent most of the session pushing the idea that Russia could still flourish despite Western sanctions.
He promised environmental and regulatory reforms — such as businesspeople being jailed less frequently by corrupt officials — as well as government initiatives to support Russian companies.
“Russia is entering the approaching epoch as a powerful, sovereign country,” Mr. Putin said.
“We will certainly use the new, colossal opportunities that this era is opening in front of us and will become even stronger.”
Turning to the European Union’s sanctions against Russia, Mr. Putin claimed the bloc had acted on orders from Washington despite the fallout for its own economy.
“The European Union has completely lost its political sovereignty,” Mr. Putin said.
But he said Russia would have nothing against Ukraine joining the bloc.
The E.U. is “not a military organization,” like NATO, he said, and it is “the sovereign decision of any country” whether to seek to join it.
“We were never against this — we were always against military expansion into Ukrainian territory because it threatens our security,” Mr. Putin said.
“But as for economic integration, please, for God’s sake, it’s their choice.”
Russia, in fact, opposed a trade agreement with the European Union that Ukraine was negotiating in 2013.
Ukraine then backed away from the pending deal under Russian pressure, a move that sparked the country’s pro-Western uprising the following year.
In a surprise move intended to show further solidarity with Ukraine, Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, on Friday paid his second visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, one day after the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Romania had met there.
Having recently survived a no-confidence vote among his own lawmakers, Mr. Johnson might have hoped that the visit would boost his popularity.
He promised a new package of help with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days.
Britain, Mr. Johnson said at a news conference, would help the Ukrainian military “to do what I believe Ukrainians yearn to do, and that is to expel the aggressor from Ukraine.”
Reporting was contributed by Matina Stevis-Gridneff, Oleksandr Chubko, Adam Satariano, Stephen Castle, Tess Felder, Monika Pronczuk, and Dan Bilefsky.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a- ... 7533a677dd
"Defiant Putin Says Russia Will Flourish Without the West"
Anton Troianovski, Andrew E. Kramer and Michael Levenson
17 JUNE 2022
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, seeking to rally anti-American sentiment in Europe and across the world, lashed out anew at the United States on Friday, calling it a fading power that treats its allies as colonies, and said the West was falsely blaming its economic woes on the war in Ukraine.
“We all hear about so-called Putin inflation in the West,” Mr. Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual business conference once known as “Russia’s Davos,” seeming to refer to President Biden’s efforts to blame Russian aggression for what he calls a “Putin price hike” that is hurting American consumers.
“When I see this, I always think: Who’s this meant for, this stupidity?” Mr. Putin said.
“For someone who doesn’t know how to read or write.”
Mr. Putin spoke as the European Commission on Friday formally recommended that Ukraine be granted candidate status to become a member of the European Union, the first step in a long and arduous road that may have no immediate impact on the war, but could give the country a symbolic morale boost.
The commission, the E.U.’s executive arm, also recommended candidate status for Moldova — which applied for membership soon after Ukraine, spurred by concerns about Russia’s threats in the region — but not for neighboring Georgia, which was deemed not ready for E.U. candidacy.
“We all know that Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, who opened Friday’s meeting of E.U. commissioners in Brussels wearing a blue shirt and a yellow blazer, Ukraine’s national colors.
“We want them to live with us the European dream.”
Ukraine’s accession into the bloc could take years.
The European Commission has made Ukraine’s candidate status conditional on seven main overhauls in the country’s judicial system and government.
Even while fighting the Russian army, Ukraine will have to guarantee an independent judiciary, weed out high-level corruption, adopt laws on the media, limit the influence of oligarchs, and improve legislation on money laundering and protecting minorities, the commission said.
In some ways, the war appears to have eased these tasks.
The status of the oligarchs has plummeted, as some have fled and others have lost assets and revenue in the fighting, while the economy has become more dependent on foreign aid than on oligarch-dominated commodities exports.
The security services, once in part controlled behind the scenes by these business titans, have solidified their positions as institutions defending the country as a whole, not business interests.
In other ways, the war has created new obstacles for Ukraine’s European aspirations beyond the obvious threat of the country being conquered by Russia.
Under martial law, opposition television stations were excluded from a national cable system.
If the war and martial law persist for months or years, it’s unlikely that regularly scheduled elections will be held.
“The government deserves only applause” for winning Ukraine’s long-sought acceptance as a candidate for E.U. membership, Volodymyr Ariyev, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament in the opposition European Solidarity party, said in an interview.
“But we need to maintain our development in a democratic way, or we could lose our candidate status.”
The ultimate decision to make Moldova and Ukraine formal candidates for E.U. membership will be made by European Union leaders in Brussels next week.
The commission said it would assess Ukraine’s progress at the end of the year.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine welcomed the commission’s recommendation, saying it would help his country stave off Russia.
“It’s the 1st step on the EU membership path that’ll certainly bring our Victory closer,” he wrote on Twitter.
Mr. Putin’s remarks to the economic forum were delayed by over an hour after the Kremlin cited “large-scale” distributed denial-of-service cyberattacks on the conference’s computer systems.
The cyberattack came after IT Army of Ukraine, a “hacktivist” group behind previous attacks on Russian websites, had flagged the event as a target.
Mr. Putin appeared onstage for more than three hours, in his most extended public appearance since he ordered the Ukraine invasion in February.
But he did little to clarify his war aims, reprising his descriptions of Ukrainian territory as historically belonging to Russia while avoiding the even more hostile rhetoric of other Russian officials.
“Only the people who live there will determine their future,” Mr. Putin said of the territory in eastern Ukraine that Russia is capturing, leaving open the question of whether he will seek to annex it.
“And we will respect any choice they make.”
Ukrainian officials have heatedly dismissed the legitimacy of any putative referendums organized by the Kremlin and its proxies.
The chief executives of blue-chip Western companies used to flock to the St. Petersburg conference, but this year guests from Europe and the United States were few.
Instead, it was a small delegation from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan that made headlines in the Russian news media, while the leaders of Egypt and China recorded video greetings that were played at the plenary session after Mr. Putin’s speech.
But even at the session, which appeared aimed at underlining Russia’s global connections despite its Western isolation, the limits of its friendships became apparent.
Mr. Putin shared the stage with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic that has been a close ally of Russia but has said it will not violate Western sanctions against Russia.
Asked about his attitudes toward what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, Mr. Tokayev chose his words carefully, refusing to offer any support.
He said that as with the Russian-backed breakaway enclaves of Georgia, Kazakhstan would not recognize the “quasi-state territories” that Russia is propping up in eastern Ukraine.
Mr. Putin, relaxed and frequently cracking a smile, did not give the appearance of a wartime president.
Instead, he focused on the economy, alternating between the idea that Russia could easily replace Western imports and investment, and the claim that Russians could temporarily do without such comforts.
When the session’s host, the Russian state television executive Margarita Simonyan, presented Mr. Putin with a Russian juice box that was white because of a shortage of imported ink, he said that such details should be the least of people’s worries.
“What’s the most important for us?” Mr. Putin asked.
“To be independent, sovereign and assure our future development now for the following generations?"
"Or to have packaging today?”
Mr. Putin spent most of the session pushing the idea that Russia could still flourish despite Western sanctions.
He promised environmental and regulatory reforms — such as businesspeople being jailed less frequently by corrupt officials — as well as government initiatives to support Russian companies.
“Russia is entering the approaching epoch as a powerful, sovereign country,” Mr. Putin said.
“We will certainly use the new, colossal opportunities that this era is opening in front of us and will become even stronger.”
Turning to the European Union’s sanctions against Russia, Mr. Putin claimed the bloc had acted on orders from Washington despite the fallout for its own economy.
“The European Union has completely lost its political sovereignty,” Mr. Putin said.
But he said Russia would have nothing against Ukraine joining the bloc.
The E.U. is “not a military organization,” like NATO, he said, and it is “the sovereign decision of any country” whether to seek to join it.
“We were never against this — we were always against military expansion into Ukrainian territory because it threatens our security,” Mr. Putin said.
“But as for economic integration, please, for God’s sake, it’s their choice.”
Russia, in fact, opposed a trade agreement with the European Union that Ukraine was negotiating in 2013.
Ukraine then backed away from the pending deal under Russian pressure, a move that sparked the country’s pro-Western uprising the following year.
In a surprise move intended to show further solidarity with Ukraine, Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, on Friday paid his second visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, one day after the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Romania had met there.
Having recently survived a no-confidence vote among his own lawmakers, Mr. Johnson might have hoped that the visit would boost his popularity.
He promised a new package of help with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days.
Britain, Mr. Johnson said at a news conference, would help the Ukrainian military “to do what I believe Ukrainians yearn to do, and that is to expel the aggressor from Ukraine.”
Reporting was contributed by Matina Stevis-Gridneff, Oleksandr Chubko, Adam Satariano, Stephen Castle, Tess Felder, Monika Pronczuk, and Dan Bilefsky.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a- ... 7533a677dd
Re: RUSSIA
CNBC
"Russia’s Putin lashes out over Western sanctions ‘blitzkrieg,’ claims Ukraine invasion was forced"
Karen Gilchrist
17 JUNE 2022
President Putin said that his hand was "forced" over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, meanwhile insisting that a "blitzkrieg" of Western sanctions had failed to undermine Russia's economy.
The comments, made at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, come as Russia remains isolated from the West due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Before the war, SPIEF was a prominent fixture on the business world's calendar, with corporate and political leaders heading to Putin's hometown for the event.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his hand was "forced" over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and claimed a "blitzkrieg" of Western economic sanctions had failed to undermine Russia's economy.
Putin said the "stupid" sanctions, which have barred Russian banks from international payments systems and led international businesses to exit the country in droves, were "doomed from the beginning," adding that the country remains open for business "with those who want it."
"The economic blitzkrieg against Russia was doomed from the beginning," Putin said Friday, according to a translation.
Blitzkrieg describes a surprise attack of overwhelming force; a method widely associated with Nazi Germany in World War II.
"It is obvious that they have failed."
"It didn't happen, they didn't succeed," he said.
Speaking at a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin accused the West of colonial arrogance and said that Moscow's so-called "special military operation" — which has thrown Ukraine into all-out warfare and led to the deaths of thousands — was down to the West's refusal to respect its obligations.
"The decision to launch our special military operation was something that we were forced to do, they forced our hand," he said, adding that the decision had been "difficult" but reaffirmed the Kremlin's commitment to achieving its military goals.
"All the missions we have set for ourselves and all the goals of the special military operation will be completed in full," Putin said, prompting applause from those in attendance.
Russia's president has long pushed back against what he sees as the expansion of the West — and NATO, in particular — along Russia's border, using it as one of the justifications for his internationally condemned invasion of Ukraine.
Putin: 'They are blaming us'
Putin also hit back at what he described as false accusations that the war in Ukraine, and resultant implications for supply chains and commodity markets, were responsible for the worsening global economic landscape.
Putin said he might be "flattered" at the suggestion that Russia's war could have knock-on effects on the U.S. economy, but insisted that was not true — an opinion that has been widely refuted by economists.
"We probably would be flattered to hear that we are so great and so powerful that we could drive inflation to the sky in the U.S.," he said.
"That is simply not true."
In Europe, meanwhile, he said the worsening energy crisis was driven by "failures" in the region's energy policy and specifically its "blind" belief in renewable energies.
Europe has traditionally been a major importer of Russian hydrocarbons but has since curtailed its reliance on Russia in response to the war, leading to supply gluts and increased commodity prices.
"This has started long before our special military operation in the Donbas, and they're blaming us."
"They made their prices soar and they're blaming us," he said.
He also said that the European Union could lose more than $400 billion due to the sanctions, which he said would rebound on those who had imposed them.
His comments to an audience of business leaders at SPIEF come at a time when Russia remains isolated from the West due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
What could happen next?
Before the war, SPIEF was a prominent fixture on the business world's calendar, with corporate and political leaders heading to Putin's hometown for the forum in which Russia sought to promote its economy and attract investors.
However, after the Covid pandemic — and now with the war in Ukraine — the event looks drastically different, with many Western businesses abandoning Russia.
Notably, Russia — now under a raft of international sanctions — still enjoys a close relationship with China and India, further cementing its pivot eastwards.
Russia initially launched a full-scale invasion (or what it calls its "special military operation") of Ukraine on Feb. 24, saying it intended to "de-Nazify and de-militarize" the country, making spurious claims about the leadership in Kyiv that have been roundly rebuffed.
Having invaded from the north, east and south, however, it quickly became apparent that Russia's forces had bitten off more than they could chew.
Moscow then announced that its troops would pull back from the capital Kyiv to focus on "liberating" the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, an industrial region where two pro-Russian, self-styled "republics" are located.
Since its shift in strategy, Russia has pounded towns and cities in the region and made slow but steady progress, seizing a swathe of territory in the east and southeast of Ukraine.
Ukraine continues to ask for more heavy weaponry from its Western allies, although questions are starting to be asked of governments over how long such support is sustainable.
If Russia seizes the whole of the Donbas, what happens next is uncertain.
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine stalled early on in the conflict and Kyiv has repeatedly said it will not concede any territory to Moscow.
In the meantime, Russia is state-building in the territories it occupies, handing out passports to residents in Kherson and Melitopol and planning referenda in occupied cities like Kherson and Melitopol on joining Russia.
Ukraine has condemned what it sees as the attempted "Russification" of its lands and has said any referenda would be a sham and illegal.
There are widespread concerns that — even if Russia was able to seize a corner of Ukraine — it would not be satisfied, and could attempt a further invasion of Ukraine at a later point.
Other former Soviet republics like Moldova and Georgia are also said to be at risk.
Putin has made no secret of his regret at the collapse of the Soviet Union, and last week even positioned himself as a successor to 17th-century Tsar and Russian Empire builder, Peter the Great.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ru ... 7533a677dd
"Russia’s Putin lashes out over Western sanctions ‘blitzkrieg,’ claims Ukraine invasion was forced"
Karen Gilchrist
17 JUNE 2022
President Putin said that his hand was "forced" over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, meanwhile insisting that a "blitzkrieg" of Western sanctions had failed to undermine Russia's economy.
The comments, made at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, come as Russia remains isolated from the West due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Before the war, SPIEF was a prominent fixture on the business world's calendar, with corporate and political leaders heading to Putin's hometown for the event.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his hand was "forced" over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and claimed a "blitzkrieg" of Western economic sanctions had failed to undermine Russia's economy.
Putin said the "stupid" sanctions, which have barred Russian banks from international payments systems and led international businesses to exit the country in droves, were "doomed from the beginning," adding that the country remains open for business "with those who want it."
"The economic blitzkrieg against Russia was doomed from the beginning," Putin said Friday, according to a translation.
Blitzkrieg describes a surprise attack of overwhelming force; a method widely associated with Nazi Germany in World War II.
"It is obvious that they have failed."
"It didn't happen, they didn't succeed," he said.
Speaking at a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin accused the West of colonial arrogance and said that Moscow's so-called "special military operation" — which has thrown Ukraine into all-out warfare and led to the deaths of thousands — was down to the West's refusal to respect its obligations.
"The decision to launch our special military operation was something that we were forced to do, they forced our hand," he said, adding that the decision had been "difficult" but reaffirmed the Kremlin's commitment to achieving its military goals.
"All the missions we have set for ourselves and all the goals of the special military operation will be completed in full," Putin said, prompting applause from those in attendance.
Russia's president has long pushed back against what he sees as the expansion of the West — and NATO, in particular — along Russia's border, using it as one of the justifications for his internationally condemned invasion of Ukraine.
Putin: 'They are blaming us'
Putin also hit back at what he described as false accusations that the war in Ukraine, and resultant implications for supply chains and commodity markets, were responsible for the worsening global economic landscape.
Putin said he might be "flattered" at the suggestion that Russia's war could have knock-on effects on the U.S. economy, but insisted that was not true — an opinion that has been widely refuted by economists.
"We probably would be flattered to hear that we are so great and so powerful that we could drive inflation to the sky in the U.S.," he said.
"That is simply not true."
In Europe, meanwhile, he said the worsening energy crisis was driven by "failures" in the region's energy policy and specifically its "blind" belief in renewable energies.
Europe has traditionally been a major importer of Russian hydrocarbons but has since curtailed its reliance on Russia in response to the war, leading to supply gluts and increased commodity prices.
"This has started long before our special military operation in the Donbas, and they're blaming us."
"They made their prices soar and they're blaming us," he said.
He also said that the European Union could lose more than $400 billion due to the sanctions, which he said would rebound on those who had imposed them.
His comments to an audience of business leaders at SPIEF come at a time when Russia remains isolated from the West due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
What could happen next?
Before the war, SPIEF was a prominent fixture on the business world's calendar, with corporate and political leaders heading to Putin's hometown for the forum in which Russia sought to promote its economy and attract investors.
However, after the Covid pandemic — and now with the war in Ukraine — the event looks drastically different, with many Western businesses abandoning Russia.
Notably, Russia — now under a raft of international sanctions — still enjoys a close relationship with China and India, further cementing its pivot eastwards.
Russia initially launched a full-scale invasion (or what it calls its "special military operation") of Ukraine on Feb. 24, saying it intended to "de-Nazify and de-militarize" the country, making spurious claims about the leadership in Kyiv that have been roundly rebuffed.
Having invaded from the north, east and south, however, it quickly became apparent that Russia's forces had bitten off more than they could chew.
Moscow then announced that its troops would pull back from the capital Kyiv to focus on "liberating" the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, an industrial region where two pro-Russian, self-styled "republics" are located.
Since its shift in strategy, Russia has pounded towns and cities in the region and made slow but steady progress, seizing a swathe of territory in the east and southeast of Ukraine.
Ukraine continues to ask for more heavy weaponry from its Western allies, although questions are starting to be asked of governments over how long such support is sustainable.
If Russia seizes the whole of the Donbas, what happens next is uncertain.
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine stalled early on in the conflict and Kyiv has repeatedly said it will not concede any territory to Moscow.
In the meantime, Russia is state-building in the territories it occupies, handing out passports to residents in Kherson and Melitopol and planning referenda in occupied cities like Kherson and Melitopol on joining Russia.
Ukraine has condemned what it sees as the attempted "Russification" of its lands and has said any referenda would be a sham and illegal.
There are widespread concerns that — even if Russia was able to seize a corner of Ukraine — it would not be satisfied, and could attempt a further invasion of Ukraine at a later point.
Other former Soviet republics like Moldova and Georgia are also said to be at risk.
Putin has made no secret of his regret at the collapse of the Soviet Union, and last week even positioned himself as a successor to 17th-century Tsar and Russian Empire builder, Peter the Great.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ru ... 7533a677dd
Re: RUSSIA
BBC NEWS
"Ukraine war could last for years, warns Nato chief"
19 JUNE 2022
The West must prepare to continue supporting Ukraine in a war lasting for years, Nato's chief has warned.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the costs of war were high, but the price of letting Moscow achieve its military goals was even greater.
His comments came as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also warned of the need to brace for a longer-term conflict.
Both Mr Stoltenberg and Mr Johnson said sending more weapons would make a victory for Ukraine more likely.
"We must prepare for the fact that it could take years."
"We must not let up in supporting Ukraine," the Nato chief said in an interview with German newspaper Bild.
"Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, also because of rising energy and food prices."
The Western military alliance chief said that supplying Ukraine with more modern weapons would increase its chances of being able to liberate the country's eastern Donbas region, much of which is currently under Russian control.
For the last few months Russian and Ukrainian forces have battled for control of territory in the country's east - with Moscow making slow advances in recent weeks.
Writing in the Sunday Times, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of resorting to a "campaign of attrition" and "trying to grind down Ukraine by sheer brutality."
"I'm afraid we need to steel ourselves for a long war," he wrote.
"Time is the vital factor."
"Everything will depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its soil faster than Russia can renew its capacity to attack."
The prime minister, who visited Ukraine's capital on Friday, said supplies of weapons, equipment, ammunition, and training to Kyiv needed to outpace Moscow's efforts to rearm itself.
Ukrainian officials have spoken bluntly in recent days about the need to boost the supply of heavy weapons to the country if Russian forces there are to be defeated.
On Wednesday the country's Defence Minister, Oleksiy Resnikov, met some 50 countries in the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels to ask for more arms and ammunition.
The country's Western allies have so far offered it major weapons supplies but Ukraine says it has only received a fraction of what it needs to defend itself and is asking for heavier arms.
Russian officials often criticise Nato military support for Ukraine and in an interview last week with the BBC the country's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, cited the prospect of Ukraine joining the Western alliance as a reason for the invasion in the first place.
"We declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the West that dragging Ukraine into Nato was a criminal act," Mr Lavrov told the BBC.
Ukraine is not a member of Nato and although it has expressed a wish to join there is no timeframe for this.
In other updates:
* A pair of captured top Ukrainian military commanders responsible for defending the port city of Mariupol have been transferred to Russia, Russian state media report.
* The fate of hundreds of other Ukrainian soldiers detained after the siege in the city's Azovstal steel plant is unclear
* A senior Russian lawmaker says a Lithuanian ban on the transit of certain goods through its territory to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad breaks international agreements.
* The governor of Kaliningrad, which is separated from the rest of Russia, says goods will now reach the enclave from Saint Petersburg by ferry instead.
* Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has made his first trip to the country's war-torn southern front.
* He visited the hold-out city of Mykolaiv and the port of Odesa, both of which have been targeted in Russian efforts to seize Ukraine's Black Sea coast.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/uk ... d278301166
"Ukraine war could last for years, warns Nato chief"
19 JUNE 2022
The West must prepare to continue supporting Ukraine in a war lasting for years, Nato's chief has warned.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the costs of war were high, but the price of letting Moscow achieve its military goals was even greater.
His comments came as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also warned of the need to brace for a longer-term conflict.
Both Mr Stoltenberg and Mr Johnson said sending more weapons would make a victory for Ukraine more likely.
"We must prepare for the fact that it could take years."
"We must not let up in supporting Ukraine," the Nato chief said in an interview with German newspaper Bild.
"Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, also because of rising energy and food prices."
The Western military alliance chief said that supplying Ukraine with more modern weapons would increase its chances of being able to liberate the country's eastern Donbas region, much of which is currently under Russian control.
For the last few months Russian and Ukrainian forces have battled for control of territory in the country's east - with Moscow making slow advances in recent weeks.
Writing in the Sunday Times, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of resorting to a "campaign of attrition" and "trying to grind down Ukraine by sheer brutality."
"I'm afraid we need to steel ourselves for a long war," he wrote.
"Time is the vital factor."
"Everything will depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its soil faster than Russia can renew its capacity to attack."
The prime minister, who visited Ukraine's capital on Friday, said supplies of weapons, equipment, ammunition, and training to Kyiv needed to outpace Moscow's efforts to rearm itself.
Ukrainian officials have spoken bluntly in recent days about the need to boost the supply of heavy weapons to the country if Russian forces there are to be defeated.
On Wednesday the country's Defence Minister, Oleksiy Resnikov, met some 50 countries in the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels to ask for more arms and ammunition.
The country's Western allies have so far offered it major weapons supplies but Ukraine says it has only received a fraction of what it needs to defend itself and is asking for heavier arms.
Russian officials often criticise Nato military support for Ukraine and in an interview last week with the BBC the country's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, cited the prospect of Ukraine joining the Western alliance as a reason for the invasion in the first place.
"We declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the West that dragging Ukraine into Nato was a criminal act," Mr Lavrov told the BBC.
Ukraine is not a member of Nato and although it has expressed a wish to join there is no timeframe for this.
In other updates:
* A pair of captured top Ukrainian military commanders responsible for defending the port city of Mariupol have been transferred to Russia, Russian state media report.
* The fate of hundreds of other Ukrainian soldiers detained after the siege in the city's Azovstal steel plant is unclear
* A senior Russian lawmaker says a Lithuanian ban on the transit of certain goods through its territory to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad breaks international agreements.
* The governor of Kaliningrad, which is separated from the rest of Russia, says goods will now reach the enclave from Saint Petersburg by ferry instead.
* Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has made his first trip to the country's war-torn southern front.
* He visited the hold-out city of Mykolaiv and the port of Odesa, both of which have been targeted in Russian efforts to seize Ukraine's Black Sea coast.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/uk ... d278301166
Re: RUSSIA
BUSINESS INSIDER
"Oil markets are heading for an 'insanely difficult' summer, with Russian production plunging under EU sanctions"
hrobertson@businessinsider.com (Harry Robertson, Madison Hoff)
18 JUNE 2022
* Despite tough economic sanctions, Russia's oil exports have risen this year as India has snapped up its crude.
* Yet analysts say Russian output is about to tumble as the EU moves to ban roughly 90% of imports by the end of the year.
* The impending drop is setting oil markets up for an "insanely difficult" summer, according to consultancy Kpler.
Despite Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, the world has not been able to reduce its desperate thirst for the pariah state's energy.
Quite the opposite: Russia is now exporting more oil than before the war broke out, and soaring prices mean it's raking in roughly $20 billion a month from foreign sales.
But the European Union's agreement to ban most Russian oil imports is set to change all that.
Analysts predict Russia's production will tumble by around 1 to 2 million barrels per day, or by 10% of current levels.
Oil prices have surged over 50% this year to around $120 a barrel, which has sent US gas prices to record highs of $5 a gallon.
Yet the oil market is heading for an "insanely difficult" summer, analysts say.
The drop in Russian production will make itself felt, but demand will stay high as post-pandemic travel continues to rebound.
Russia's oil exports have risen as India steps in
While other buyers have shunned Russian crude, India has ridden to the rescue.
Attracted by steep discounts on Russia's Urals type of oil, its purchases have shot up from near-zero to more than 800,000 barrels per day.
Russia exported 7.8 million barrels a day of oil on average over the last three months, according to International Energy Agency estimates.
That's up from 7.5 million barrels daily in 2021.
Yet sales to Europe are about to plunge.
After much wrangling, the 27-member EU agreed in May to slash Russian oil imports by up to 90% by year's end.
Ratings agency S&P Global has downgraded a slew of companies since the start of the war in Ukraine.
This week, the agency cut Russia's sovereign rating deep into junk as sanctions have slammed its economy.
The agency said there are already 30 corporates that have tumbled into junk territory as a direct result of the war.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has come with a heavy price for the government.
Western sanctions have isolated it from the international financial system and choked off demand for many of its key exports.
Sanctions have cut off Russia's access to much of its foreign reserves, threatening to plunge the country into default as it could struggle to meet its foreign debt payments.
The ruble has plummeted to record lows and the country's stock market has been paralyzed for weeks.
S&P Global this week cut Russia's credit rating to "CC", which it defines as "default imminent with little prospect for recovery."
Four years ago, almost to the day, the agency awarded Russia an investment-grade "BBB-" rating.
It's not just the government that will struggle to raise capital on the global market.
Sanctions have thrown the future of many of its biggest companies into doubt.
S&P Global said this week it had made 121 changes to the ratings of companies that cited the Russia-Ukraine war, rising energy prices, or both as reasons.
Of that total, 77 were Russian.
"In terms of creditworthiness, the Russian-Ukraine conflict has had the largest impact on banks, with 28% of total related rating actions," the agency said.
And investors are taking no chances.
S&P Global Ratings noted the risk premium on European emerging-market corporate debt is now almost double its five-year average, compared to a roughly in-line reading at the start of the year.
Formerly lucrative firms, such as banks, energy producers and mining companies, have been reduced to junk status.
Commodity traders are deliberately shunning Russian shipments of key raw materials and countries are scrambling to wean themselves off Russian energy supplies.
The agency said there are already 30 "fallen angels" as a direct result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The term refers to an issuer whose credit rating has been cut from investment grade to speculative grade, also known as junk.
Shares in some of the country's biggest corporates no longer trade in New York or London, where stock in the likes of Sberbank, oil and gas producers Gazprom and Rosneft, and metal producers Norilsk and Rusal, plunged to almost $0 a couple of weeks ago.
And it won't end there.
S&P Global said there was huge uncertainty around the extent, the outcome and the consequences of Russia's war in Ukraine.
"Irrespective of the duration of military hostilities, sanctions and related political risks are likely to remain in place for some time," S&P said.
"Potential effects could include dislocated commodities markets -- notably for oil and gas -- supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures, weaker growth, and capital market volatility."
The most worrying thing for the market is European governments' plans to block ships from insuring Russian oil cargoes, according to Claudio Galimberti, a senior analyst at consultancy Rystad Energy.
"It's probably the most important measure," he told Insider, especially if the UK presses ahead with a ban.
"There are not many alternatives to the London insurers right now," he said.
As Russian exports fall sharply, the country's facilities will cut production.
Output, which stood at just over 10 million in May, will drop by around 1 to 2 million barrels a day, analysts estimate.
The IEA goes as far as to suggest 3 million daily.
The production declines will likely come toward the end of 2022.
But markets are forward-looking, and traders know they're coming.
"The immediate effect right now is going to be an insanely difficult and insanely tight summer," Viktor Katona, analyst at energy analytics company Kpler, told Insider.
Demand shows little sign of slowing down
The gap will be hard to fill.
Although the OPEC+ group of oil producing countries agreed to increase output earlier this month, the deal did little to quell rising prices.
An Iran nuclear deal, which could unlock more barrels, looks far off.
Meanwhile, demand is showing few signs of slowing down.
A record run-up in gas prices has deterred some drivers — but not many.
"It's really more a case of demand erosion in our view, than demand destruction," Suzanne Danforth, a research director at energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, told Insider.
"Gasoline demand, for example, is down maybe a percent from last year."
The combination of falling supply from Russia and strong demand is a recipe for even higher prices, analysts say.
Katona expects Brent crude to rise to around $135 a barrel this summer and stay there for months.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs predicts oil will surge to $140, and could go higher.
There are no easy options.
With little hope of growth in supply, a central-bank induced recession might be the only thing that lowers demand.
"Insanely high interest rates hikes coming along — basically, that's the best hope for bringing oil prices down," Katona said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets ... d278301166
"Oil markets are heading for an 'insanely difficult' summer, with Russian production plunging under EU sanctions"
hrobertson@businessinsider.com (Harry Robertson, Madison Hoff)
18 JUNE 2022
* Despite tough economic sanctions, Russia's oil exports have risen this year as India has snapped up its crude.
* Yet analysts say Russian output is about to tumble as the EU moves to ban roughly 90% of imports by the end of the year.
* The impending drop is setting oil markets up for an "insanely difficult" summer, according to consultancy Kpler.
Despite Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, the world has not been able to reduce its desperate thirst for the pariah state's energy.
Quite the opposite: Russia is now exporting more oil than before the war broke out, and soaring prices mean it's raking in roughly $20 billion a month from foreign sales.
But the European Union's agreement to ban most Russian oil imports is set to change all that.
Analysts predict Russia's production will tumble by around 1 to 2 million barrels per day, or by 10% of current levels.
Oil prices have surged over 50% this year to around $120 a barrel, which has sent US gas prices to record highs of $5 a gallon.
Yet the oil market is heading for an "insanely difficult" summer, analysts say.
The drop in Russian production will make itself felt, but demand will stay high as post-pandemic travel continues to rebound.
Russia's oil exports have risen as India steps in
While other buyers have shunned Russian crude, India has ridden to the rescue.
Attracted by steep discounts on Russia's Urals type of oil, its purchases have shot up from near-zero to more than 800,000 barrels per day.
Russia exported 7.8 million barrels a day of oil on average over the last three months, according to International Energy Agency estimates.
That's up from 7.5 million barrels daily in 2021.
Yet sales to Europe are about to plunge.
After much wrangling, the 27-member EU agreed in May to slash Russian oil imports by up to 90% by year's end.
Ratings agency S&P Global has downgraded a slew of companies since the start of the war in Ukraine.
This week, the agency cut Russia's sovereign rating deep into junk as sanctions have slammed its economy.
The agency said there are already 30 corporates that have tumbled into junk territory as a direct result of the war.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has come with a heavy price for the government.
Western sanctions have isolated it from the international financial system and choked off demand for many of its key exports.
Sanctions have cut off Russia's access to much of its foreign reserves, threatening to plunge the country into default as it could struggle to meet its foreign debt payments.
The ruble has plummeted to record lows and the country's stock market has been paralyzed for weeks.
S&P Global this week cut Russia's credit rating to "CC", which it defines as "default imminent with little prospect for recovery."
Four years ago, almost to the day, the agency awarded Russia an investment-grade "BBB-" rating.
It's not just the government that will struggle to raise capital on the global market.
Sanctions have thrown the future of many of its biggest companies into doubt.
S&P Global said this week it had made 121 changes to the ratings of companies that cited the Russia-Ukraine war, rising energy prices, or both as reasons.
Of that total, 77 were Russian.
"In terms of creditworthiness, the Russian-Ukraine conflict has had the largest impact on banks, with 28% of total related rating actions," the agency said.
And investors are taking no chances.
S&P Global Ratings noted the risk premium on European emerging-market corporate debt is now almost double its five-year average, compared to a roughly in-line reading at the start of the year.
Formerly lucrative firms, such as banks, energy producers and mining companies, have been reduced to junk status.
Commodity traders are deliberately shunning Russian shipments of key raw materials and countries are scrambling to wean themselves off Russian energy supplies.
The agency said there are already 30 "fallen angels" as a direct result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The term refers to an issuer whose credit rating has been cut from investment grade to speculative grade, also known as junk.
Shares in some of the country's biggest corporates no longer trade in New York or London, where stock in the likes of Sberbank, oil and gas producers Gazprom and Rosneft, and metal producers Norilsk and Rusal, plunged to almost $0 a couple of weeks ago.
And it won't end there.
S&P Global said there was huge uncertainty around the extent, the outcome and the consequences of Russia's war in Ukraine.
"Irrespective of the duration of military hostilities, sanctions and related political risks are likely to remain in place for some time," S&P said.
"Potential effects could include dislocated commodities markets -- notably for oil and gas -- supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures, weaker growth, and capital market volatility."
The most worrying thing for the market is European governments' plans to block ships from insuring Russian oil cargoes, according to Claudio Galimberti, a senior analyst at consultancy Rystad Energy.
"It's probably the most important measure," he told Insider, especially if the UK presses ahead with a ban.
"There are not many alternatives to the London insurers right now," he said.
As Russian exports fall sharply, the country's facilities will cut production.
Output, which stood at just over 10 million in May, will drop by around 1 to 2 million barrels a day, analysts estimate.
The IEA goes as far as to suggest 3 million daily.
The production declines will likely come toward the end of 2022.
But markets are forward-looking, and traders know they're coming.
"The immediate effect right now is going to be an insanely difficult and insanely tight summer," Viktor Katona, analyst at energy analytics company Kpler, told Insider.
Demand shows little sign of slowing down
The gap will be hard to fill.
Although the OPEC+ group of oil producing countries agreed to increase output earlier this month, the deal did little to quell rising prices.
An Iran nuclear deal, which could unlock more barrels, looks far off.
Meanwhile, demand is showing few signs of slowing down.
A record run-up in gas prices has deterred some drivers — but not many.
"It's really more a case of demand erosion in our view, than demand destruction," Suzanne Danforth, a research director at energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, told Insider.
"Gasoline demand, for example, is down maybe a percent from last year."
The combination of falling supply from Russia and strong demand is a recipe for even higher prices, analysts say.
Katona expects Brent crude to rise to around $135 a barrel this summer and stay there for months.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs predicts oil will surge to $140, and could go higher.
There are no easy options.
With little hope of growth in supply, a central-bank induced recession might be the only thing that lowers demand.
"Insanely high interest rates hikes coming along — basically, that's the best hope for bringing oil prices down," Katona said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets ... d278301166
Re: RUSSIA
NEWSWEEK
"Troops 'Must Prepare to Fight in Europe' Amid Russia Threat: UK Army Chief"
Fatma Khaled
19 JUNE 2022
The United Kingdom's Army Chief Sir Patrick Sanders said that British troops "must prepare to fight in Europe" as the Russia-Ukraine war rages on.
"There is now a burning imperative to forge an Army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle," Sir Patrick said, writing to his charges after he took over his new post on Monday, according to The Independent.
"We are the generation that must prepare the Army to fight in Europe once again."
The British government announced plans last March to lower the number of personnel of its regular Army from 82,000 to 72,500 by 2025.
The Army had about 76,500 regular soldiers at the time of the announcement.
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine underlines our core purpose to protect the UK by being ready to fight and win wars on land," Sir Patrick added.
His remarks come after Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv on Friday where he said that the war in Ukraine might take longer to end.
After his visit to the country's capital, the prime minister warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin's war is "entering a new phase," and that he "would not stop at dismembering Ukraine" if Russian troops achieve their goals.
"I am afraid that we need to steel ourselves for a long war, as Putin resorts to a campaign of attrition, trying to grind down Ukraine by sheer brutality," Johnson wrote in The Sunday Times, according to Sky News.
"The UK and our friends must respond by ensuring that Ukraine has the strategic endurance to survive and eventually prevail," the prime minister added.
"Everything will depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its soil faster than Russia can renew its capacity to attack."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg echoed his remarks, saying that Russia's invasion could last for "years," during an interview published in the German weekly Bild am Sonntag on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
He also called for allies to continue supporting Ukraine "even if the costs are high, not only in terms of military aid, but also because of the increase in energy and food goods prices."
Russia May Increase Its Troops in Ukraine
Meanwhile, with four months into the war, Russia might increase its troops in Ukraine, according to Mark Voyger of the Transatlantic Defence and Security Program at the Center for European Analysis.
The former adviser to the U.S. Army warned Saturday that Belarusian troops could potentially be deployed into Ukraine as the Belarusian military is set to conduct training this month and in July in the Gomel region, which closely borders Kyiv.
"These drills will cause serious concern because, unfortunately, Russia and its allies have consistently been using military drills as a mask to cover their aggressive actions," said Voyger.
Newsweek reached out to the British government's communications office for comment.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tr ... 935f6de30f
"Troops 'Must Prepare to Fight in Europe' Amid Russia Threat: UK Army Chief"
Fatma Khaled
19 JUNE 2022
The United Kingdom's Army Chief Sir Patrick Sanders said that British troops "must prepare to fight in Europe" as the Russia-Ukraine war rages on.
"There is now a burning imperative to forge an Army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle," Sir Patrick said, writing to his charges after he took over his new post on Monday, according to The Independent.
"We are the generation that must prepare the Army to fight in Europe once again."
The British government announced plans last March to lower the number of personnel of its regular Army from 82,000 to 72,500 by 2025.
The Army had about 76,500 regular soldiers at the time of the announcement.
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine underlines our core purpose to protect the UK by being ready to fight and win wars on land," Sir Patrick added.
His remarks come after Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv on Friday where he said that the war in Ukraine might take longer to end.
After his visit to the country's capital, the prime minister warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin's war is "entering a new phase," and that he "would not stop at dismembering Ukraine" if Russian troops achieve their goals.
"I am afraid that we need to steel ourselves for a long war, as Putin resorts to a campaign of attrition, trying to grind down Ukraine by sheer brutality," Johnson wrote in The Sunday Times, according to Sky News.
"The UK and our friends must respond by ensuring that Ukraine has the strategic endurance to survive and eventually prevail," the prime minister added.
"Everything will depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its soil faster than Russia can renew its capacity to attack."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg echoed his remarks, saying that Russia's invasion could last for "years," during an interview published in the German weekly Bild am Sonntag on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
He also called for allies to continue supporting Ukraine "even if the costs are high, not only in terms of military aid, but also because of the increase in energy and food goods prices."
Russia May Increase Its Troops in Ukraine
Meanwhile, with four months into the war, Russia might increase its troops in Ukraine, according to Mark Voyger of the Transatlantic Defence and Security Program at the Center for European Analysis.
The former adviser to the U.S. Army warned Saturday that Belarusian troops could potentially be deployed into Ukraine as the Belarusian military is set to conduct training this month and in July in the Gomel region, which closely borders Kyiv.
"These drills will cause serious concern because, unfortunately, Russia and its allies have consistently been using military drills as a mask to cover their aggressive actions," said Voyger.
Newsweek reached out to the British government's communications office for comment.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tr ... 935f6de30f
Re: RUSSIA
CNBC
"Russia’s ruble hit its strongest level in 7 years despite massive sanctions. Here’s why"
Natasha Turak @NATASHATURAK
PUBLISHED THU, JUN 23 2022
KEY POINTS
* Russia’s ruble hit 52.3 to the dollar on Wednesday, an increase of roughly 1.3% on the previous day and its strongest level since May 2015.
* The ruble has actually gotten so strong that Russia’s central bank is actively taking measures to try to weaken it, fearing this will make the country’s exports less competitive.
Russia’s ruble hit 52.3 to the dollar on Wednesday, its strongest level since May 2015.
On Thursday afternoon in Moscow, the currency was trading at 54.2 to the greenback, slightly weaker but still near seven-year highs.
That’s a world away from its plunge to 139 to the dollar in early March, when the U.S. and European Union started rolling out unprecedented sanctions on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
The ruble’s stunning surge in the following months is being cited by the Kremlin as “proof” that Western sanctions aren’t working.
“The idea was clear: crush the Russian economy violently,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week during the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“They did not succeed."
"Obviously, that didn’t happen.”
In late February, following the ruble’s initial tumble and four days after the invasion of Ukraine began on Feb 24, Russia more than doubled the country’s key interest rate to a whopping 20% from a prior 9.5%.
Since then, the currency’s value has improved to the point that it’s lowered the interest rate three times to reach 11% in late May.
The ruble has actually gotten so strong that Russia’s central bank is actively taking measures to try to weaken it, fearing that this will make the country’s exports less competitive.
But what’s really behind the currency’s rise, and can it be sustained?
Russia is raking in record oil and gas revenue
The reasons are, to put it simply: strikingly high energy prices, capital controls and sanctions themselves.
Russia is the world’s largest exporter of gas and the second-largest exporter of oil.
Its primary customer?
The European Union, which has been buying billions of dollars worth of Russian energy per week while simultaneously trying to punish it with sanctions.
That’s put the EU in an awkward spot – it has now sent exponentially more money to Russia in oil, gas and coal purchases than it has sent Ukraine in aid, which has helped fill the Kremlin’s war chest.
And with Brent crude prices 60% higher than they were this time last year, even though many Western countries have curbed their Russian oil buying, Moscow is still making a record profit.
In the Russia-Ukraine war’s first 100 days, the Russian Federation raked in $98 billion in revenue from fossil fuel exports, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a research organization based in Finland.
More than half of those earnings came from the EU, at about $60 billion.
And while many EU countries are intent on cutting their reliance on Russian energy imports, this process could take years – in 2020, the bloc relied on Russia for 41% of its gas imports and 36% of its oil imports, according to Eurostat.
Yes, the EU passed a landmark sanctions package in May partially banning imports of Russian oil by the end of this year, but it had significant exemptions for oil delivered by pipeline, since landlocked countries like Hungary and Slovenia couldn’t access alternative oil sources that are shipped by sea.
“That exchange rate you see for the ruble is there because Russia is earning record current account surpluses in foreign exchange,” Max Hess, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told CNBC.
That revenue is mostly in dollars and euros via a complex ruble-swap mechanism.
“Although Russia may be selling slightly less to the West right now, as the West moves to cutting off [reliance on Russia], they are still selling a ton at all-time high oil and gas prices."
"So this is bringing in a big current account surplus.”
Russia’s current account surplus from January to May of this year was just over $110 billion, according to Russia’s central bank – more than 3.5 times the amount of that period last year.
Strict capital controls
Capital controls – or the government’s limiting of foreign currency leaving its country – have played a big role here, plus the simple fact that Russia can’t import as much any more thanks to sanctions, meaning it’s spending less of its money buying stuff from elsewhere.
“Authorities implemented pretty strict capital controls as soon as sanctions came on,” said Nick Stadtmiller, director of emerging markets strategy at Medley Global Advisors in New York.
“The result is money is flowing in from exports while there are relatively few capital outflows."
"The net effect of all this is a stronger ruble.”
Russia has now relaxed some of its capital controls and lowered its interest rate in an effort to weaken the ruble, since a stronger currency actually hurts its fiscal account.
The ruble: Really a ‘Potemkin rate’?
Because Russia is now cut off from the SWIFT international banking system and blocked from trading internationally in dollars and euros, it’s been left to essentially trade with itself, Hess said.
That means that while Russia’s built up a formidable volume of foreign reserves that bolster its currency at home, it can’t use those reserves to serve its import needs, thanks to sanctions.
The ruble’s exchange rate “is really a Potemkin rate, because sending money from Russia abroad given the sanctions — both on Russian individuals and Russian banks — is incredibly difficult, not to mention Russia’s own capital controls,” Hess said.
In politics and economics, Potemkin refers to fake villages that were purportedly constructed to provide an illusion of prosperity to Russian Empress Catherine the Great.
“So yes, the ruble on paper is quite a bit stronger, but that’s the result of crashing imports, and what’s the point of building up forex reserves, but to go and buy things from abroad that you need for your economy?"
"And Russia can’t do that.”
“We should really be looking at the underlying issues in the Russian economy, including the cratering imports,” Hess added.
“Even if the ruble says it has a high value, that is going to have a devastating impact on the economy and on quality of life.”
Does this reflect the actual Russian economy?
Does the ruble’s strength mean that Russia’s economic fundamentals are sound and have escaped the blow of sanctions?
Not so fast, analysts say.
“Ruble strength is linked to a surplus in the overall balance of payments, which is much more driven by exogenous factors linked to sanctions, commodity prices and policy measures than by longer term underlying macroeconomic trends and fundamentals,” said Themos Fiotakis, head of FX research at Barclays.
Russia’s Ministry of Economy said in mid-May that it expects unemployment to hit nearly 7% this year, and that a return to 2021 levels is unlikely until 2025 at the earliest.
Since Russia’s war in Ukraine began, thousands of international companies have exited Russia, leaving huge numbers of unemployed Russians in their wake.
Foreign investment has taken a massive hit, and poverty nearly doubled in just the first five weeks of the war alone, according to Russia’s federal statistics agency, Rosstat.
“The Russian ruble is no longer an indicator for the health of the economy,” Hess said.
“While the ruble has surged thanks to the Kremlin’s interference, its inattention to Russian’s well-being continues."
"Even Russia’s own statistics agency, famous for massaging numbers to meet the Kremlin’s goals, acknowledged that the number of Russians living in poverty rose from 12 [million] to 21 million people in Q1 2022.”
As for whether the ruble’s strength can be sustained, Fiotakis said, “It is very uncertain and depends on how the geopolitics evolve and policy adjusts.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/23/russias ... tions.html
"Russia’s ruble hit its strongest level in 7 years despite massive sanctions. Here’s why"
Natasha Turak @NATASHATURAK
PUBLISHED THU, JUN 23 2022
KEY POINTS
* Russia’s ruble hit 52.3 to the dollar on Wednesday, an increase of roughly 1.3% on the previous day and its strongest level since May 2015.
* The ruble has actually gotten so strong that Russia’s central bank is actively taking measures to try to weaken it, fearing this will make the country’s exports less competitive.
Russia’s ruble hit 52.3 to the dollar on Wednesday, its strongest level since May 2015.
On Thursday afternoon in Moscow, the currency was trading at 54.2 to the greenback, slightly weaker but still near seven-year highs.
That’s a world away from its plunge to 139 to the dollar in early March, when the U.S. and European Union started rolling out unprecedented sanctions on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
The ruble’s stunning surge in the following months is being cited by the Kremlin as “proof” that Western sanctions aren’t working.
“The idea was clear: crush the Russian economy violently,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week during the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“They did not succeed."
"Obviously, that didn’t happen.”
In late February, following the ruble’s initial tumble and four days after the invasion of Ukraine began on Feb 24, Russia more than doubled the country’s key interest rate to a whopping 20% from a prior 9.5%.
Since then, the currency’s value has improved to the point that it’s lowered the interest rate three times to reach 11% in late May.
The ruble has actually gotten so strong that Russia’s central bank is actively taking measures to try to weaken it, fearing that this will make the country’s exports less competitive.
But what’s really behind the currency’s rise, and can it be sustained?
Russia is raking in record oil and gas revenue
The reasons are, to put it simply: strikingly high energy prices, capital controls and sanctions themselves.
Russia is the world’s largest exporter of gas and the second-largest exporter of oil.
Its primary customer?
The European Union, which has been buying billions of dollars worth of Russian energy per week while simultaneously trying to punish it with sanctions.
That’s put the EU in an awkward spot – it has now sent exponentially more money to Russia in oil, gas and coal purchases than it has sent Ukraine in aid, which has helped fill the Kremlin’s war chest.
And with Brent crude prices 60% higher than they were this time last year, even though many Western countries have curbed their Russian oil buying, Moscow is still making a record profit.
In the Russia-Ukraine war’s first 100 days, the Russian Federation raked in $98 billion in revenue from fossil fuel exports, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a research organization based in Finland.
More than half of those earnings came from the EU, at about $60 billion.
And while many EU countries are intent on cutting their reliance on Russian energy imports, this process could take years – in 2020, the bloc relied on Russia for 41% of its gas imports and 36% of its oil imports, according to Eurostat.
Yes, the EU passed a landmark sanctions package in May partially banning imports of Russian oil by the end of this year, but it had significant exemptions for oil delivered by pipeline, since landlocked countries like Hungary and Slovenia couldn’t access alternative oil sources that are shipped by sea.
“That exchange rate you see for the ruble is there because Russia is earning record current account surpluses in foreign exchange,” Max Hess, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told CNBC.
That revenue is mostly in dollars and euros via a complex ruble-swap mechanism.
“Although Russia may be selling slightly less to the West right now, as the West moves to cutting off [reliance on Russia], they are still selling a ton at all-time high oil and gas prices."
"So this is bringing in a big current account surplus.”
Russia’s current account surplus from January to May of this year was just over $110 billion, according to Russia’s central bank – more than 3.5 times the amount of that period last year.
Strict capital controls
Capital controls – or the government’s limiting of foreign currency leaving its country – have played a big role here, plus the simple fact that Russia can’t import as much any more thanks to sanctions, meaning it’s spending less of its money buying stuff from elsewhere.
“Authorities implemented pretty strict capital controls as soon as sanctions came on,” said Nick Stadtmiller, director of emerging markets strategy at Medley Global Advisors in New York.
“The result is money is flowing in from exports while there are relatively few capital outflows."
"The net effect of all this is a stronger ruble.”
Russia has now relaxed some of its capital controls and lowered its interest rate in an effort to weaken the ruble, since a stronger currency actually hurts its fiscal account.
The ruble: Really a ‘Potemkin rate’?
Because Russia is now cut off from the SWIFT international banking system and blocked from trading internationally in dollars and euros, it’s been left to essentially trade with itself, Hess said.
That means that while Russia’s built up a formidable volume of foreign reserves that bolster its currency at home, it can’t use those reserves to serve its import needs, thanks to sanctions.
The ruble’s exchange rate “is really a Potemkin rate, because sending money from Russia abroad given the sanctions — both on Russian individuals and Russian banks — is incredibly difficult, not to mention Russia’s own capital controls,” Hess said.
In politics and economics, Potemkin refers to fake villages that were purportedly constructed to provide an illusion of prosperity to Russian Empress Catherine the Great.
“So yes, the ruble on paper is quite a bit stronger, but that’s the result of crashing imports, and what’s the point of building up forex reserves, but to go and buy things from abroad that you need for your economy?"
"And Russia can’t do that.”
“We should really be looking at the underlying issues in the Russian economy, including the cratering imports,” Hess added.
“Even if the ruble says it has a high value, that is going to have a devastating impact on the economy and on quality of life.”
Does this reflect the actual Russian economy?
Does the ruble’s strength mean that Russia’s economic fundamentals are sound and have escaped the blow of sanctions?
Not so fast, analysts say.
“Ruble strength is linked to a surplus in the overall balance of payments, which is much more driven by exogenous factors linked to sanctions, commodity prices and policy measures than by longer term underlying macroeconomic trends and fundamentals,” said Themos Fiotakis, head of FX research at Barclays.
Russia’s Ministry of Economy said in mid-May that it expects unemployment to hit nearly 7% this year, and that a return to 2021 levels is unlikely until 2025 at the earliest.
Since Russia’s war in Ukraine began, thousands of international companies have exited Russia, leaving huge numbers of unemployed Russians in their wake.
Foreign investment has taken a massive hit, and poverty nearly doubled in just the first five weeks of the war alone, according to Russia’s federal statistics agency, Rosstat.
“The Russian ruble is no longer an indicator for the health of the economy,” Hess said.
“While the ruble has surged thanks to the Kremlin’s interference, its inattention to Russian’s well-being continues."
"Even Russia’s own statistics agency, famous for massaging numbers to meet the Kremlin’s goals, acknowledged that the number of Russians living in poverty rose from 12 [million] to 21 million people in Q1 2022.”
As for whether the ruble’s strength can be sustained, Fiotakis said, “It is very uncertain and depends on how the geopolitics evolve and policy adjusts.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/23/russias ... tions.html