Joe Biden: Russia invasion of Ukraine likely in ‘several days’ February 17, 2022 Joe Biden believes a Russian invasion of Ukraine will happen in the “next several days” and that Moscow’s claims of military de-escalation are untrue. The US President today said the threat of invasion was “very high” and that he believed a false flag operation – in which Russia would fake a Ukrainian attack as a [...]
Europe’s LNG terminals near full-capacity amid deepening tensions between Russia and the West February 17, 2022 Most of Europe's liquefied natural gas terminals have been topped up to full capacity again, following an influx of supplies from the US.
Gazprom’s oil arm revels in record profits as the West warns Russia about sanctions February 17, 2022 Gazprom Neft has reported recorded profits while the West warns Russia of sanctions against key companies if it invades Ukraine.
Oil rallies stutter as US-Iran talks reach final stages February 17, 2022 Oil prices have dropped this morning as talks to revive the aborted nuclear deal with Iran have progressed over recent days.
‘Golden visas’ for wealthy foreign investors to be scrapped amid dirty Russian money concerns February 17, 2022 The government is expected to scrap so-called “golden visas” for wealthy foreign investors amid concerns over links between Russia and the UK. Those eligible for the tier one investor visa, launched in 2008, must have at least £2m in investment funds and have a UK bank account. It has been under review due to repeated [...]
Lazy parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan’s plight only help Putin and Xi February 17, 2022 Beijing is watching developments in Ukraine with an eager eye. It has key economic interests at stake and a shared goal with Russia in undermining Western soft power and liberal institutions. It also has an economic interest, with Russia relying on China to bail it out if the West does impose harsh economic sanctions. In [...]
Ukraine: UK claims Russia has moved troops into ‘attack areas’ February 16, 2022 Russia has begun to move its troops into “attack areas” on the Ukrainian border despite the Kremlin’s claims that it is pulling back its soldiers, UK defence secretary Ben Wallace has said. Wallace, speaking from Nato’s headquarters in Brussels today, told Times Radio he had seen “some movement of Russian military forces from sort of [...]
Russia prepared to re-route gas flows if punished with sanctions February 16, 2022 Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov has warned the country could shift supplies to other markets if it is hit with sanctions.
EU President: Europe can deal with partial disruption to Russian gas flows February 16, 2022 The EU could cope with a partial disruption to gas imports from Russia, argued commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Explainer-in-brief: Is there hope on the Ukrainian border? February 16, 2022 Yesterday morning it seemed like a pressure valve had been released, even if just slightly when Russia announced it was “withdrawing” some troops who had been carrying out “drills” on the Ukrainian border. After weeks of escalating tensions and a constant flow of European leaders travelling to Moscow to demand Vladimir Putin back down, it [...]