War in Ukraine

trump carrying putin's water in direct conflict with what congress is proposing

US and Russia discussing restoration of Russian gas supplies to Europe, Reuters reports

Representatives of the United States and Russia held negotiations regarding US assistance in restoring the supply of Russian gas to Europe, Reuters informs.

The agency notes that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Europe has significantly reduced its gas imports from Russia, leading to huge economic losses for the Russian gas monopoly, Gazprom. Meanwhile, the US has become one of the main suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, replacing Russian supplies.

However, some European countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, continue to receive gas from Russia through the TurkStream pipeline.

Sources from Reuters claim that after a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, more European buyers may return to Russian gas. According to them, US involvement in restoring gas supplies could help Moscow overcome political opposition in most European countries.

 

Fingers crossed.

 

personal sanctions against oil brokers..that's going to make a few people pucker up and reconsider their business associations

Key Player in Russian Oil Trading Hit by U.K. Sanctions

Britain said its “largest ever sanction package” will target dozens of tankers Russia uses to transport oil and five traders from Azerbaijan. They were Eyyub, his business partner Tahir Garayev and three associates.

It is the first time a Western country has sanctioned any of the main oil middlemen who came to Moscow’s aid after Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022. Russia found workarounds to previous rounds of sanctions that had mostly targeted smaller players, as well as tankers and the shell companies that conceal the people moving Moscow’s crude.

Whereas sanctioned firms can easily be replaced, there are a finite number of people and tankers able to distribute oil, said Moody’s sanctions analyst Hera Smith. She said the sanctions appear to be the most potent by Ukraine’s allies to date.

They could complicate Russia’s ability to transport and finance its oil exports, the economy’s lifeblood. The U.K. is home to international banks, insurers and law firms that service the energy sector, and lenders elsewhere in Europe tend to abide by its sanctions.

 

Ukrainians can’t win for losing. Even English-speaking blacks don’t want them in Poland …