It’s Day 29 of Russia’s escalated invasion of Ukraine. Most concerning to me is the escalating rhetoric between Russia and Poland.
Putin is also testing Europe by forcing gas payments in roubles. People say that it’s a sign of Russia’s weakening economy. It is but it’s also a boast that despite all the strongly-worded letters from Europe and others he still owns them.
Live stream:
Biden cannot do anything below a billion:
President Joe Biden said Thursday following meetings at the NATO summit in Brussels that the U.S. will send $1 billion in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. “Many Ukrainian refugees will wish to stay in Europe closer to their homes but we will also welcome 100,000 Ukrainians to the United States with a focus on reuniting families,” Biden said.
Oh, I’ll look at you, John Kerry. I’ll only look at him to point and laugh. He made one stupid remark about Ukraine and the climate but he outdid himself today.
Climate refugees:
Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, said during the annual CERAWeek conference in Houston Monday that the U.S. must not lose sight of its path toward clean energy now that the Russia-Ukraine war has accelerated the global energy crisis.
“We’re already seeing climate refugees around the world,” he said. “If you think migration has been a problem in Europe in the Syrian War or even from what we see now, wait until you see 100 million people for whom the entire food production capacity has collapsed.”
Zelenskyy went off on NATO in a prerecorded message:
“Please, never, never again tell us that our army does not meet Nato standards,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Thursday to a summit in Brussels.His comments pointed to the troops’ resistance against Russian forces and refusal of Nato members to accept Ukraine into the alliance in past years on claims that its army has lacked reform and fails to meet Nato standards.He repeated his request for more weapons, including fighter jets, and a no-fly zone imposed to ground Russia’s air force.“We have shown what our standards are capable of,” Zelensky said. “And how much we can give to common security in Europe and the world.“But Nato has yet to show what the alliance can do to save people,” he added.“The world is waiting. And Ukraine is very much waiting,” he said.“Awaiting real action. Real security guarantees. From those whose word is trustworthy. And whose actions can keep the peace. Truly. All offers are on the table. Our needs are on the table. We need peace immediately. The answers are up to you.”
Zelensky wants help and “clear answers” from NATO. He did not even ask for membership or a no-fly zone. He just wants 1% of military items so Ukrainians can survive:
In a video address to the NATO summit Thursday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged NATO to provide Ukraine with “1% of all your planes, 1% of all your tanks.”“We can’t just buy those,” Zelenskyy said. “When we will have all this, it will give us, just like you, 100% security.”Ukraine is also in dire need of multiple launch rocket systems, anti-ship weapons and air defense systems, Zelenskyy said.“Is it possible to survive in such a war without this?,” he asked.Zelenskyy also said Russia used phosphorous bombs on Thursday morning, killing both adults and children. He reminded NATO leaders that thousands of Ukrainians have died in the past month, 10 million people have left their homes, and urged NATO to give “clear answers.”“It feels like we’re in a gray area, between the West and Russia, defending our common values,” Zelenskyy said. “This is the scariest thing during a war — not to have clear answers to requests for help.”
Zelenskyy also warned NATO that NATO countries are in danger. We’ve seen Russia hit out at Poland with Dmitry Medvedev’s essay, describing Polish diplomats as vile.
Putin has dropped his usual character of being pragmatic and calculating. He doesn’t care. NATO is stupid if the members think they’re safe from Putin’s wrath.
The NATO conference was the same old bullcrap we get from the beaurocrats. We got a joint statement telling Russia to go away, China to stop supporting Russia, and praise for Ukrainians.
The organization promised more defense on its borders.
NATO listened to Zelenskyy. It will “provide significant support to Ukraine” but did not provide specific details. It will do what it can to support Ukraine:
The US-led alliance also said would “continue to provide further political and practical support to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself.”“Nato allies will also continue to provide assistance [to Ukraine] in such areas as cybersecurity and protection against threats of a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear nature,” it said in the statement.
In other words, it doesn’t want to tick off Putin. Nothing about Russia going after Poland. We’ll all just put Ukraine’s flag in our profiles and tweet out hashtags.
This should be fun. Zelenskyy calls out NATO as much as he can because he knows they’re scared of Putin and that’s why they won’t allow Ukraine to join the organization.
Biden plans on announcing more sanctions against Russia in Brussels on Thursday:
President Biden intends to announce the sanctions on more than 300 members of the Russian State Duma as soon as Thursday during his trip to Europe, where he will meet with allies from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to formulate their next steps, according to U.S. officials and internal documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal.The sanctions will be announced in coordination with the European Union and members of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, U.S. officials said.
40% of Europe’s gas comes from Russia. 75% of Germany’s gas comes from Russia. So if you want Russia’s gas then you must buy its currency. Some in Europe say Putin is violating contracts. That’s fine and dandy.
Do you think Putin cares? He’ll win this staredown because you need the energy:
The rouble briefly leapt after the shock announcement to a three-week high past 95 against the dollar. It pared gains but stayed well below 100, closing at 97.7 against the dollar, down more than 22% since Feb. 24.Some European wholesale gas prices up to 30% higher on Wednesday. British and Dutch wholesale gas prices jumped.Russian gas accounts for some 40% of Europe’s total consumption. EU gas imports from Russia this year have fluctuated between 200 million to 800 million euros ($880 million) a day.”Russia will continue, of course, to supply natural gas in accordance with volumes and prices … fixed in previously concluded contracts,” Putin said at a televised meeting with government ministers.”The changes will only affect the currency of payment, which will be changed to Russian roubles,” he said.German Economy Minister Robert Habeck called Putin’s demand a breach of contract and other buyers of Russian gas echoed the point.”This would constitute a breach to payment rules included in the current contracts,” said a senior Polish government source, adding Poland has no intention of signing new contracts with Gazprom after their existing deal expires at the end of this year.
Putin owns you, Europe. He owns you and you cannot get out of this.
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