Russian-Ukranian War: Geopolitical Fallout

[Cyrano]

Its a summary of what some of us have been saying in this thread since a long time.

[bala]

Nations like Germany and UK are talking about subsidizing energy costs - Germany 200 B euros and UK 150 B pounds. The other Euro nations are also considering such measures and the amount of subsidy could easily reach 1/2 T euros overall. This is another sheer madness move to stem inflation and discontent. Don't know who's pockets are getting lined up. Surely, the US is extracting its haphta for the Euro adventure. Germany is complaining about Washington's astronomical profiteering. “Friendly” gas suppliers, particularly the US, have been charging enormous prices for their exports, German economy minister Robert Habeck said.

[Deans]

On oil prices - the world is most likely heading into a recession, which will anyway reduce the demand for oil by around 2 MBD. That is the extent of the current output cut. It is much better for OPEC to make that cut now, rather than bicker later, when prices fall, as to who will cut how much.

If prices stay high for a sustained period, fracking becomes viable. Fracking had ben put on hold by the current US administration and it will take time before fresh wells can produce oil from fracking. Saudi & Russia can remove the fracking option by simply increasing their output by 2 MBD, which reduces prices and makes fracking unviable.

[Cyrano]

Op-ed in Indian Express today by a Ukrainan based in London

Dear Indian friends, don’t end up on the wrong side of history — A letter from a Russian-speaking Ukrainian
https://indianexpress.com/article/opini ... r-8189659/

A Russian response: On Ukraine, India is on the right side of history — it is guided by national interest, not western propaganda

Gone are the times when India had to support – by its wealth and soldiers’ lives – the “right side of history”, as perceived by a white Sahib. Now, it determines what to do not by “soft corners” for somebody but by national interest.

Written by Eugenia Vanina

I would like to thank the editors of The Indian Express for publishing the message from Anastasia Piliavsky (‘Dear Indian friends’, October 6). You have been instrumental in letting Indian readers understand with whom and what Russia has been dealing. No Russian propagandist could write something better to disclose the mindset of Ukraine and its Western bosses. I will not waste time and space disproving Piliavsky’s statement of “bad Russia” and “Putin the tyrant”. She seems to be a worthy disciple of L Denivosa, the Ukrainian ombudsman sacked for concocting too many foolish stories of Russian soldiers raping everybody and everything from humans to telegraph poles – nothing has been verified (ask honest journalists like Adrien Bouquet, persecuted for telling the truth about the staging of the “Bucha massacre”). I will, instead, draw the reader’s attention to the utter disrespect shown by the author to Indians. Madam, do you really believe that Indian foreign policy is driven by a “soft corner” and senile nostalgia for “Hindi-Rusi bhai-bhai”? Are you seriously pretending to be an eye-opener for Indian leaders and people that “Russia is not USSR”? Or has it not just occurred to you that a country like India may build its international relations on pragmatic grounds? That it is a young and dynamic society, not immersed in the reminiscences of Raj Kapoor, but building its future? What a “civilised” approach to treat Indians like children who do not know what they are doing! Smells of racism, doesn’t it?

Your message, Madam, is a hysteria of a slave unable to understand how one dares not to obey their master. For your information, India has been an independent country for 75 years now. Gone are the times when it had to support – by its wealth and soldiers’ lives – the “right side of history”, as perceived by a white Sahib. Now, it determines what to do not by “soft corners” for somebody but by national interest – the term fully forgotten by the “democracies” of the West who are ready to let their populations freeze because Uncle Sam wants to profit by selling its shale gas. Why should India be like them? India needs gas, oil, fertiliser, and weapons for its own people, army and country; it needs a Russian market for its goods. Why on earth does it have to sacrifice its interests for somebody else’s?

India has been neutral in this conflict – unlike the “defensive” NATO alliance, which fans the conflict by showering weapons on Ukraine (about its “defensive” character, ask the people of Serbia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, etc). India follows its own interests and remembers the past too. It remembers how once, in East Pakistan, people had been bombed and killed for speaking the language of India’s national genius, Rabindranath Tagore. At the time, Pakistan also said, “they needed no protection” – like Ukrainian propaganda. People were prohibited from learning their mother tongue at school in East Bengal – just as they are now in Ukraine! However, India stepped in to protect them through military action. Again, India acted as a free power, not manipulated by any other country. If some Indians understand that Russia has done the same, it demonstrates that they can think independently of the Western neo-racists and their Ukrainian chamchas.

The writer is a professor, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

https://indianexpress.com/article/opini ... y-8195808/

[IndraD]

American leaders are “making idiots of” Europe over Ukraine, Irish MEP Mick Wallace argued https://www.rt.com/news/564268-mick-wal ... d-ukraine/
This war is a disaster for the people of Ukraine and is going to drive up the cost of living for everyone across Europe. And we’re doing this on behalf of the US and NATO?” Wallace continued. “The Americans are making idiots of us.”

[IndraD]

Zelensky declares Russian islands as Japanese gives up 4 islands to Japan which has been Russian since independence link

[Cyrano]

Kuchh bhi to stay in the news. Next he will excommunicate Putin from Catholic Church.

[fanne]

I have a simple question, is elensky Kejriwal of Ukrain, or Kejriwal elensky of India? Serious poonch?

[Cyrano]

They are both facades, puppets. We should focus on who is propping them up and pulling their strings.

[dnivas]

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ra ... 022-10-08/

BERLIN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Cables vital for the rail network were intentionally cut in two places causing a near three-hour halt to all rail traffic in northern Germany on Saturday morning, in what authorities called an act of sabotage without identifying who might be responsible...
...
Omid Nouripour, leader of the Greens party, which is part of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's federal coalition, said anyone who attacked the country's critical infrastructure would receive a "decisive response".

best joke of the month.

[dnivas]

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/uk ... 022-10-08/

Ukraine's economy shrank by 30% in first three quarters of 2022

Oct 8 (Reuters) - Ukraine's economy shrank by an estimated 30% in the first three quarters of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021, largely due to Russia's invasion, the economy ministry said on Saturday.

Bad weather in September that slowed the pace of harvesting also played a role, as did interruptions in supply from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the ministry said in a statement. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of shelling the facility.

Exports in September jumped by 23% from August to their highest level since the war started in February, helped by an internationally brokered deal allowing the shipment of grain from Black Sea ports.

I can only imagine what the exports would be once the full operation is complete. No ports , no farming areas and no industrial capacity. It's just a slavic pakistan to the west of Russia.

[IndraD]

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-lab ... 022-10-08/
UK govt change likely in next election as labour take solid lead ahead of Tories

[Karan M]

They are both facades, puppets. We should focus on who is propping them up and pulling their strings.

The vast majority of the west supports the war on Russia. They have brought into the evil empire stuff hook, line and sinker. Also, Germany has stockpiled enough gas to power it through the winter. So even their public will continue to push for a hard line stance.

[Cain Marko]

I gotta wonder though... What's in it for them? The euros that is. Perhaps we can see a motive for the Brits and US ... And attempt to secure hegemony for the anglosphere. But the euros can't be that stupid. This will kill their economy for the foreseeable future.

Maybe the US has assured them of another marshall plan?

[NRao]

They are both facades, puppets. We should focus on who is propping them up and pulling their strings.

The vast majority of the west supports the war on Russia. They have brought into the evil empire stuff hook, line and sinker. Also, Germany has stockpiled enough gas to power it through the winter. So even their public will continue to push for a hard line stance.

The issue is not how much gas they have stockpiled. It is how much is the stockpiled gas worth. The fact that Germany (against EU rules) has allocated Euro 200 billion to keep prices for that gas for civilians under control is the story.

[Atmavik]

I gotta wonder though... What's in it for them? The euros that is. Perhaps we can see a motive for the Brits and US ... And attempt to secure hegemony for the anglosphere. But the euros can't be that stupid. This will kill their economy for the foreseeable future.

Maybe the US has assured them of another marshall plan?

It keeps the us involved in Europe and there by guaranteeing their security, otherwise US was going to pivot to Asia and also ask the euros to do so risking there export market access . Euros have found a willing ally in zelenskywal

[rajkumar]

Behind Moscow's bluster, Russia is starting to suffer.....

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... sia-suffer

[IndraD]

https://www.thelocal.it/20221007/key-po ... he-winter/
Italy introduces drastic measures to save energy in winter.

[IndraD]

Behind Moscow's bluster, Russia is starting to suffer.....

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... sia-suffer

Guardian should worry about UK where price rise, inflation & joblessness is driving people miserable
Only in first 6 months over 200,000 UK companies closed or vanished for US/Canada. https://www.wsj.com/articles/inflation- ... 1664962202

[Cyrano]

The elephant in the room that the west doesn't talk about is that Russia also supplies about 40% of the world's Uranium nuclear fuel. Despite the ongoing sanctions, Russia has continued to deliver N fuel to US, France etc. since this is out of the scope of sanctions. If this brainless escalations continue and Russia stops N fuel deliveries then these countries will be up the icy creek without a paddle.

[eklavya]

^^^^
Wiki says Russia accounts for 5.45% of global Uranium production.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... production

[IndraD]

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/06/11272124 ... production
US wants to punish Saudi for OPEC oil cut by pulling military support out of Saudi

[NRao]

The "oil price" issue has taken a turn for the worse.

Oct 6, 2022 :: Saudi Arabia lowers oil prices for Europe but raises them again for the US as White House says OPEC+ is siding with Russia

[NRao]

Each tweet is embedded, start at the bottom and work up:

https://twitter.com/GeorgeSzamuely/stat ... 0073972736

Brzezinski too. And Albright.

https://twitter.com/HansMahncke/status/ ... 0194873349

Never understood why the establishment automatically considers it a great idea to let people with personal ties to foreign countries run U.S. foreign policy related to those countries. Nuland and Vindman should've been the last people on earth to be determining Ukraine policy.

https://twitter.com/davereaboi/status/1 ... 4748204033

The really great thing about America is, immigrants can come here; run foreign policy for America as it relates to their home country; and dream of nothing more than crushing their home country’s adversaries. Nice country!

https://twitter.com/AVindman/status/1578777716135849985 (Alexander S. Vindman)

I’ve been dreaming of this moment.

[Vayutuvan]

^^^^
Wiki says Russia accounts for 5.45% of global Uranium production.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... production

Cyrano ji is talking about nuclear fuel, possibly. The right Wikipedia page to look at is the following, I think.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enriched_uranium

Reprocessed uranium (RepU)
Main article: Reprocessed uranium
Reprocessed uranium (RepU) is a product of nuclear fuel cycles involving nuclear reprocessing of spent fuel. RepU recovered from light water reactor (LWR) spent fuel typically contains slightly more 235U than natural uranium, and therefore could be used to fuel reactors that customarily use natural uranium as fuel, such as CANDU reactors. It also contains the undesirable isotope uranium-236, which undergoes neutron capture, wasting neutrons (and requiring higher 235U enrichment) and creating neptunium-237, which would be one of the more mobile and troublesome radionuclides in deep geological repository disposal of nuclear waste.

Low-enriched uranium (LEU)
Low-enriched uranium (LEU) has a lower than 20% concentration of 235U; for instance, in commercial LWR, the most prevalent power reactors in the world, uranium is enriched to 3 to 5% 235U.

High-assay LEU (HALEU) is enriched from 5–20%.[6] Fresh LEU used in research reactors is usually enriched 12 to 19.75% 235U, the latter concentration is used to replace HEU fuels when converting to LEU.[7]

[IndraD]

Jaishankar in Australia when asked about why India maintains a close defense partnership with Russia: “For multiple decades western countries did not supply weapons to India & saw military dictatorship next to us as a preferred partner.” https://twitter.com/DerekJGrossman/stat ... Rpo7UJlkgg

[Cyrano]

Uranium reserves & mining and nuclear fuel are very different things. Requires enrichment, fuel rods/batches production, validation for fuel stability and the fuel package delivered depends on the type of nuclear reactor, its process and design, spent fuel recycling requirements etc.

By EU's own admission
https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innov ... uel-supply

In the EU around 130 nuclear power reactors produce around 25 % of all electricity consumed. Of these, 14 are the Russian-made VVER-440 design, located in Finland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czechia. Another two reactors of the same design are currently operating in Ukraine.

These power plants supply over half of the electricity consumed in the EU countries with the Russian-made VVER-440 design and these rely on a single Russian supplier for their nuclear fuel – leaving these countries vulnerable to supply disruption.

At a global scale:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/23/russia- ... hains.html

Russia is a dominant player in global supply chains of nuclear reactor technology, as is detailed by a new paper published Monday from Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
There were 439 nuclear reactors in operation around the globe in 2021, and 38 of them were in Russia, an additional 42 were made with Russian nuclear reactor technology, and 15 more under construction at the end of 2021 were being built with Russian technology.
Russia owned 40% of the total uranium conversion infrastructure in the world in 2020, and 46% of the total uranium enrichment capacity in the world in 2018, according to the report.
...
Besides Russia, these uranium conversion and enrichment capabilities exist in Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

An excellent article in Outlook which summit all up very well:
https://www.outlookindia.com/internatio ... ews-187729

As Western nations look for ways to reduce their reliance on Russian oil and gas, another aspect of the Ukraine crisis has received less attention: Most of the 32 countries that use nuclear power rely on Russia for some part of their nuclear fuel supply chain.

Nuclear power is a critical part of many national electricity grids. European countries especially rely on nuclear power, including France, where it produces 69per cent of the nation’s electricity supply, Ukraine (51per cent), Hungary (46per cent), Finland (34per cent) and Sweden (31per cent).

In the U.S., nuclear reactors generate 20per cent of the nation’s power. Many of these countries originally embraced nuclear power to minimize dependence on imported fossil fuels and, more recently, to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.

Economic fallout from the war in Ukraine could disrupt access to fuel for the nuclear power industry. We believe that countering Russia's influence will require concerted efforts that balance energy security, climate mitigation and a commitment to international law.

A global industry

Around the world, 32 countries operate about 440 commercial nuclear power reactors that generate 10per cent of the world’s electricity supply. The U.S. has the most operating reactors (93), followed by France (56) and China (53).

Many nations export nuclear fuel, materials and services. The leading international suppliers are the U.S., Russia, Europe and China. Several other countries play important roles, including Canada and South Korea.

Producing nuclear fuel involves five steps:
– Raw uranium ore, which usually contains less then 2per cent uranium, is mined from the ground.

– The ore is milled to separate the uranium from other materials, yielding a powder called yellowcake.

– Yellowcake is chemically converted to gaseous uranium hexafluoride.

– Uranium hexafluoride is processed to increase its concentration of uranium-235, which can be split in reactors to produce large quantities of energy. U-235 only makes up 0.7per cent of natural uranium; enrichment for commercial reactor fuel increases its concentration, usually up to 5per cent.

– Enriched uranium is fabricated into fuel rods for reactors.

Uranium conversion, enrichment and fabrication are sophisticated technical processes that are handled at a small number of facilities around the world.

Fuels for nuclear reactors are highly specialized and tied to specific reactor designs. Buying a power reactor from a supplier such as Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear company, or the French company Framatome, can lead to decadeslong supply dependencies.

All of these factors make nuclear supply chains more complex, less competitive and harder to shift rapidly than other energy types, such as oil and gas. And since key materials and technologies for civilian nuclear power can also be used to produce weapon-usable nuclear materials, international nuclear sales are subject to strict export controls and trade restrictions.

Russia as a nuclear supplier

Compared to other mined commodities such as cobalt, world uranium resources are spread reasonably widely. Kazakhstan produces more than 40per cent of the global supply, followed by Canada (12.6per cent), Australia (12.1per cent) and Namibia (10per cent). Russia is a minor player, producing around 5per cent, while the U.S. and Europe produce less than 1per cent.

However, much of the milled uranium from Kazakhstan travels through Russia before it is exported to global markets. Other parts of the supply chain also route through Russia. Only a handful of facilities in the world convert milled uranium into uranium hexafluoride; Russia produced approximately one-third of the 2020 supply, much of it made with uranium from Kazakhstan.

Russia also has 43per cent of the global enrichment capacity, followed by Europe (about 33per cent), China (16per cent) and the U.S. (7per cent). There is some spare capacity in the U.S. and Europe, and China is expanding.

Before it invaded Ukraine, Russia had a national strategy to increase its nuclear energy exports. It is a leading supplier of nuclear reactors, building plants abroad and then providing their fuel. Its customers include former Soviet states and Warsaw Pact members like Ukraine and Hungary, along with new nuclear power users such as Egypt.

Some 16per cent-20per cent of the annual U.S. uranium supply is at least partially sourced from Russia, mainly for enrichment. Many European countries buy converted or enriched Russian uranium, and China is a growing market for Russian nuclear exports.

If U.S. nuclear trade with Russia is affected by the Ukraine conflict, the most serious impact would be on two planned advanced reactor demonstration projects: the Xe-100 in Washington state and Natrium in Wyoming. These reactors need fuel that is enriched to nearly 20per cent uranium-235, and Russia is currently the world’s only supplier.

Market impacts of the Ukraine crisis

Global uranium prices were low for most of the past decade, hovering between USD20 to USD30 per pound after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Then in 2021 and early 2022, market speculation and domestic protests in Kazakhstan pushed prices up.

Now, the war in Ukraine has driven some trades to almost USD60 per pound, and potentially higher. Uranium is not openly traded on markets, so not all prices are public.

The Biden administration reportedly is considering nuclear sanctions on Russia. U.S. utilities oppose this step for fear that it would make uranium fuel scarcer and more expensive. Many U.S. nuclear plants are already struggling economically.

If Russia retaliates against Western pressure by withholding converted or enriched uranium, we estimate that plants in the U.S. and Europe could be affected within 18 to 24 months, based on the amount of advanced notice required for fuel orders. Some U.S. utilities have said they do not expect shortages, but the opacity of the market and long time frames make this hard to predict. Utilities will face higher prices if they turn to Europe, Japan or China for uranium conversion or enrichment services.

What about uranium supplies? Western producers – notably, Canada and Australia – have large reserves that would be economic to mine at current price levels. And some U.S. politicians, mainly in western states, are calling for more domestic mining.

But this would be controversial. Over 500 abandoned mines remain from extensive uranium production across the Navajo Nation in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico during the Cold War.

These areas are still experiencing harmful effects, including environmental contamination and claims of mysterious illnesses and cancers.

Opportunities for U.S. leadership Rather than focusing on domestic uranium mining, we see it as a higher priority for the U.S. to reconsider its enrichment capabilities and policies.

Private companies have been reluctant to invest in new enrichment facilities while cheaper alternatives like importing from Russia were available. The Department of Energy is moving forward on a program to fund fuel production for advanced reactors, but it might have to also focus on making fuel for existing U.S. reactors if Russia’s supply is interrupted.

In our view, the U.S. should also work to counter Russia’s efforts to export fabricated fuel and reactors. Ukraine is already working with U.S.-based Westinghouse to develop fuel for its Russian-designed reactors that can replace Russian-manufactured fuel. Seven of Ukraine’s 15 reactors already use this fuel, which is fabricated in Sweden. We believe U.S. policy should support similar efforts elsewhere as needed.

Finally, if the U.S. and other countries seek to remake world nuclear supply chains, we believe the nuclear industry should strive to transcend its toxic legacy.

This would require engaging at the start with affected communities, securing benefits for them, making project plans more transparent and incorporating environmental justice into every project.

Of course, the first step toward ethical uranium is ensuring that the nuclear power industry is not funding Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Copy pasted the entire article - this is worth archiving.

[Cyrano]

A fantastic source of detailed info on Russia's Nuclear cycle and that of other countries:

https://world-nuclear.org/information-l ... cycle.aspx

The level of expertise and scale of end to end infra Russia has built in this space is unparalleled.

[IndraD]

https://twitter.com/RepGosar/status/157 ... 9UZ2TqZNdg
Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS

NO MORE Foreign Aid, especially not to fund a war that we should have NO involvement in.
Biden and his crime family may owe Zelensky, but America doesn't owe him a damn thing.

[Rakesh]

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/06/11272124 ... production
US wants to punish Saudi for OPEC oil cut by pulling military support out of Saudi

https://twitter.com/RoKhanna/status/157 ... 7ci40xgE-w ---> The US should make it clear to the Saudis that we will cut off their aviation parts supply & stop Raytheon & Boeing from selling to them if they cut oil output to strengthen Putin and thereby fleece Americans. We are not helpless. The Saudis depend on us.

The Best Way to Respond to Saudi Arabia’s Embrace of Putin
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/ ... t-00061082
09 Oct 2022

Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Ro Khanna propose new legislation to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia and rebalance the U.S.'s relationship with Riyadh.

[IndraD]

also expect Houthi resistance to strengthen all of a sudden https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/10/midd ... index.html

US's bonhomie with Iran is an important reason for Saudi to go against US, also it won't have served Saudi's interest well to bring oil price down now, like India they are looking after their interest https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... rices-high

[Cyrano]

In the combat tactics thread I said:
Though a lot of us like or believe it to be, Russia's objective (having failed to topple Kiev regime in the first few weeks) has NOT been to "achieve victory in the shortest possible time, even if it means causing limitless destruction and countless casualties civil and military". The economic and geopolitical events and realignments that have unfolded over the past 6 months are in many ways a lot more important and beneficial to Russia than just a military victory over Ukraine. Russia had to work quite hard outside the battlefield as well to secure these, but their gains are very very significant.

So here goes:

The "recoil with horror" reaction of Europe and the US driven sanctions and various actions that followed, though to some extent were anticipated by Russia and prepared for it, have still surprised Russia by their mindless viciousness. The promises of financial and military aid and the supplies that followed showed in broad daylight what US & Europe can do at the best ever level of cooperation and coordination. So by playing the cards they did, all of them at once, the west enabled Russia to gauge the max that they can do, helping Russia update their assessment of the west's ingrained attitude and capabilities, refine their geopolitical calculus and crystallise their own strategic postures for the future. There cant be any more real surprises now !

Russian formidable strategists and diplomats swung into action and have not only contained the maligning of Russia by the west, but actually revived and upscaled Russia's credibility, stature and prestige in the eyes of the world. Despite the mega media machine run by the west non stop, Russia let the double standards, hypocrisy and profiteering of the west shine through for all to see. It also showed the world that resisting the west's systemic domination and suffocation was possible and swung the whole of global non-west to its view point.

I would have thought such a coup on the world stage is impossible, unreal a few months ago. And that Russia could do it so majestically, culminating in Putin's annexation speech a few days ago. Imagine such a massive annexation this day and this age sailing through without attracting universal opprobrium and condemnation !

What we are seeing unfold in Africa and Middle East now is further distancing of countries that depended on the west, with a new determination to throw away the western yoke and chart their futures as _they_ see fit.

The sheer incompetence and cognitive blindness of the western leaders and elites is obvious in their refusal to not even acknowledge that such a rejection of the west is actually happening, but go the opposite way and continue shrill sermonising and threatening of not just Russia but everyone who dares to be neutral, pro Russian or even just ask questions.

During this time, Europe very visibly has shot itself in both feet - energy and economy, and helpless against its "ally and protector" US who is desperately trying to shore up its bankrupt dollar based system by quickly looting whats left of Europe, until the hole gets so big that they can play one last blackmail card on the world - "we are too big to fail" and somehow revive itself by threatening everyone "if we go down we'll take y'all, the whole world, down with us".

Interesting, mind-bending times !

[Dilbu]

India has issued the chai-biskoot statement in response.
Deeply concerned over escalation of conflict in Ukraine: India

NEW DELHI: India on Monday said it is deeply concerned over the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and called for immediate cessation of hostilities and urgent return to the path of "diplomacy and dialogue".

The comments by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi came amid intensification of hostilities, with Moscow carrying out retaliatory missile strikes on Ukraine in response to a huge blast in Crimea on Saturday.

Bagchi said escalation of hostilities is in no one's interest and noted that India stands ready to support all such efforts aimed at de-escalation of the situation.

"India is deeply concerned at the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, including targeting of infrastructure and deaths of civilians," he said.

[IndraD]

UAE president to visit Russia meet Putin https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf ... ia-Agency-

[IndraD]

Iraq Can’t Afford OPEC-Mandated Oil Production Cut, Senior Leader Says
Mohammed al-Sudani, the top candidate for the Iraqi prime minister’s post, said the country needs the money to revive its economy https://www.wsj.com/articles/iraq-cant- ... viwa6njsls

Iraq likely new President Sudani Al to defy OPEC sell oil for money (both Iran & Iraq are largely Shia and against Saudi)

[Cyrano]

Its more than a chai biskoot statement.
India is also telling the west to stop supplying arms to Ukra-een and to stop condoning stupid actions like truck bombing the Crimea bridge. And to start negotiating with Russia for a resolution. No doubt will fall on deaf ears.

[IndraD]

mutterings on SM that Crimea bridge was planned in UK

https://twitter.com/KitKlarenberg/statu ... TXRFHu4x5w Now, this is pretty big. Advise you read in full. In brief though, "audacious" plans for destroying #KerchBridge drawn up at request of infamous British military spook Chris Donnelly, at precisely the time London was sabotaging peace talks between Russia and Ukraine this April.

[rajkumar]

Behind Moscow's bluster, Russia is starting to suffer.....

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... sia-suffer

Guardian should worry about UK where price rise, inflation & joblessness is driving people miserable
Only in first 6 months over 200,000 UK companies closed or vanished for US/Canada. https://www.wsj.com/articles/inflation- ... 1664962202

I agree IndraD but UK shit show is not the subject of this thread. The aim is to highlight the damage Putin has done to Russia and whether people think that this level of damage is acceptable.

[IndraD]

Guardian certianly would not tell that, kindly show me one article in Guardian against this war or in favour of Russia or their viewpoint. Btw what was the need for the West to cancel every news and portal coming out of Russia including RT news?

[NRao]

Well.

British Prime Minister to call urgent meeting of NATO leaders after Russia's latest attacks

Let us see if anyone has the guts to call for peace talks.