The World Blog by humble servant.

US President Joe Biden is looking to mobilize the military industry and send another $750 million worth of the Pentagon’s own weapons stockpile to Ukraine, according to new reports citing anonymous officials in Washington. This is on top of the $1.7 billion worth of goods sent to Kiev courtesy of American taxpayers since the conflict escalated on February 24. So far the US “lethal” aid has consisted mainly of Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger portable anti-air systems.Now Biden is preparing to escalate the aid to include heavy artillery and other systems, worth three-quarters of a billion or so, Reuters reported on Tuesday citing two US officials. The official announcement could come within a day or two, the agency added. Biden wouldn’t need congressional authorization for this, either, as it would be done under a Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which authorizes transfer from current US military stocks in response to an emergency. Old German tanks could be sent to Ukrai...

US President Joe Biden accused Russia of committing a “genocide” in Ukraine during a speech in Iowa on Tuesday, while trying to promote corn-based ethanol as a way to lower gas prices amid a 40-year record inflation. “Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away,” Biden said in Menlo, Iowa, some 45 miles west of Des Moines. The hamlet of some 300 residents is located next to a factory producing bioethanol from corn – something the White House is trying to encourage now in order to combat the rising fuel prices, for which it blames Russia. “I’m doing everything within my power by executive orders to bring down the price and address the Putin price hike,” Biden said, using his administration’s talking point about the 48% spike in prices at the pump since March 2021. This is Biden’s first officially recorded use of “genocide” to describe the conflict in Ukraine. Last week, Ukrai...

French President Emmanuel Macron said he would not come to Kiev in order to “just make a diplomatic visit” or follow the “fashion” set up by other European politicians. “I am ready to do anything, to go to Kiev or to another Ukrainian city. But, I want it to be useful,” Macron told BFM TV late on Monday. “I would only do it to trigger something new, a new process, so I want it to be useful,” he stressed, adding that he would not come to Ukraine just to follow the “fashion” of going to Kiev, set up by European leaders. At the same time, he welcomed their visits as it demonstrated “European solidarity” with Ukraine. Kiev and its northwestern suburb of Bucha have become the hotspots for top European politicians last week after the Ukrainian authorities accused Moscow of mass-killing civilians at the site. The location has been visited by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the top EU diplomat Josep Borrell, as well as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Austria...

French presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, in an interview on Tuesday, raised her voice against imposing sanctions on Russia’s energy exports since, she believes, the French will have to pay dearly for those restrictions. Le Pen noted that she is not against anti-Russian sanctions in other sectors of the economy. “I stand against sanctions concerning energy because I do not want the French to bear the full brunt of the consequences of such a decision aimed at cutting gas or oil imports. I know what those consequences will be,” the leader of the National Rally told France Inter radio. “I am here to protect the interests of the French people.” Le Pen’s remark came after one of the radio listeners had accused her of being “Putin’s Trojan horse” for her stance on Russia. “I am no one’s Trojan horse,” rebutted the presidential candidate. She argued that she is in favor other anti-Russian sanctions that do not concern the energy sector. Since Russia attacked Ukraine in late February,...

The imposter so call jew.The bigot comic corrupt shoulder monkey of the handlers.Don't you know chimp they throw all there monkeys in a cage. The impostor will be known as the one who show pictures then ask for money as the peace he neither wants or claim.Weapon is his RESPONSE. 4:44 PM · Apr 12, 2022·Twitter Web App View Tweet analytics 1 Retweet johnnie ellington @e7johnny · 54m Replying to @e7johnny They destroying the weapons before they get off the ground the real untold story of the Fabricators. The bigot jew comic will go down as a fraud convenient jew claimer who don't even practice and is marry to a statue idol worshipers and the self genocide of his people for money johnnie ellington @e7johnny · 52m His people are displace and he cry for money.And the filth nazi collaborates in the press as press agents for bigot and nazi. So american. johnnie ellington @e7johnny · 46m The commie in the press .All nazi embraces and american haters gone wild because we can justif...

A few weeks ago, Viktor Medvedchuk was celebrating as his party, Ukraine’s largest opposition bloc, topped a nationwide opinion poll. Now, he’s facing charges of funding terrorism that could land him behind bars In an exclusive interview with and chairman of Opposition Platform — For Life, which advocates better ties with Moscow, insisted that the allegations were a tool of political persecution. According to him, they are part of a wider pattern of repression linked to Kiev’s recent moves to shut down Russian-language media that has been critical of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government. The embattled administration has seen its approval ratings nosedive amid worsening economic woes and a chaotic response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Very serious accusations Last week, the country’s National Security and Defense Council announced it would seize properties belonging to seven people, including multimillionaire Medvedchuk and his wife, TV presenter Oksana Marchenko, for allegedly fi...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his delight on Tuesday after Kiev's successor to the Soviet-era KGB arrested the country's most prominent opposition leader. The President s hared a photo of his handcuffed rival Viktor Medvedchuk on social media, with the caption: “A special operation was carried out by the SBU. Well done! Details to follow." Medvedchuk heads the second largest party in the national parliament, the “Opposition Platform - For Life.” He was previously placed under house arrest, last year, as part of Zelensky's clampdown on dissent, which was granted tacit approval by the regime's Western supporters. Formed in 1991, to replace the KGB, the SBU is Ukraine's main intelligence and security agency. Medvedchuk, who opposed the 2014 Kiev Maidan, and believes the country's Western turn to be detrimental to Ukraine's interests, has led his party since 2018. He previously served as Chief of Staff to former President Leonid K...

The timing of the military offensive in Ukraine is determined by the intensity of hostilities and Russia will act according to its plan, President Vladimir Putin explained on Tuesday, during a joint press conference with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. “I often get these questions, ‘can’t we hurry it up?’ We can. But it depends on the intensity of hostilities and, any way you put it, the intensity of hostilities is directly related to casualties,” said the Russian president. He added that “our task is to achieve the set goals while minimizing these losses. We will act rhythmically, calmly, and according to the plan that was initially proposed by the General Staff.” Putin reiterated that Russia’s actions in several regions of Ukraine were intended only to tie down enemy forces and carry out missile strikes with the purpose of destroying the Ukrainian military’s infrastructure, so as to “create conditions for more active operations on the territory of Donbass.” Whil...

The whirlwind of sanctions directed against Russia has intensified to such an extent that the fallout is being felt far beyond the government agencies involved in Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. Oil prices have soared in anticipation of shortages, businesses have announced boycotts, athletes are being excluded from competitions, and some Russians are fleeing the country, losing the comforts to which they’ve become accustomed. Moscow has lost access, at least for now, to $300 billion of its gold and foreign exchange reserves, and seven Russian banks have been disconnected from the SWIFT international payment system. The number of sanctions imposed on the country is unprecedented – 5,787 new restrictions have been imposed against Russian legal entities and individuals since February 22, and their number has reached more than 8,500 in total. No other country has ever had so many restrictions imposed on it. Even Iran, which has been under sanctions for more than 40 years, comes in...

A report by US media company CNN about an alleged Russian Eurobond default announcement is not true, the Russian Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. CNN reported Monday, citing credit-ratings agency S&P, that Moscow has defaulted on its foreign debt because it offered bondholders payments in rubles and not in dollars. “Information posted by CNN does not correspond to the facts,” the ministry’s statement said, adding “Russia did not announce the default on its Eurobond commitments.” “Default means the debtor either has no money to honor his debt liabilities or no desire to honor such liabilities when funds are available. Neither of the two is the case in respect of Russia. The Russian Federation has enough funds to timely service and repay all its debt liabilities,” the finance ministry explained. The ministry stressed that Washington’s actions to block Moscow’s payments have prejudiced the interests of foreign investors. Moscow threatens to sue the West Read more Moscow thre...

The World Bank’s President David Malpass said on Tuesday the lender is preparing a $1.5 billion support package for war-torn Ukraine. The loan will include a $1-billion payment from the development lender’s fund for the poorest countries. According to Malpass, who was speaking in Warsaw, the package was enabled by Monday's approval of $1 billion in International Development Association (IDA) aid by donor and recipient countries, as well as a $100-million IDA payment to neighboring Moldova. He explained the bank’s support as aimed at helping Ukraine provide critical services, including paying wages for hospital workers, as well as funding pensions and social programs. “The World Bank was created in 1944 to help Europe rebuild after World War II. As we did then, we will be ready to help Ukraine with reconstruction when the time comes,” Malpass said. Sources told Reuters that the plan still needs full approval by the World Bank’s board of directors in coming weeks.The funding com...

Japan approved additional sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, freezing the assets of a further 398 Russian individuals. The list includes family members of top Russian officials, namely the wife of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin's two daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova. "To prevent a further escalation of the crisis, realize a cease-fire as soon as possible and stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine, our country must impose tough sanctions against Moscow while working with the international community," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference. The move brings to 499 the total number of Russian individuals subject to asset freezes by Japanese authorities since the beginning of the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine in late February. Up to now, Tokyo had targeted top Russian officials and lawmakers, including Putin and Lavrov, as well as senior military commanders. It was not immediately clear whether an...

James Heappey, the UK armed forces minister, confirmed on Tuesday that the country’s military will train Ukrainian soldiers on British soil. An unspecified number of troops are expected to arrive within the “next few days” to learn how to operate armored vehicles that Britain has pledged to supply to Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. “There’s 120 armored vehicles that are in the process of being made ready,” Heappey told LBC Radio. “And the Ukrainian troops that will operate them will arrive in the UK in the next few days to learn how to drive and command those vehicles.” The new arms delivery to the Ukrainian authorities was pledged by London last week amid the surprise visit of PM Boris Johnson to Kiev. He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, touring the capital and pledging further “financial and military aid, which is a testament of our commitment to [the] country’s struggle against Russia’s barbaric campaign,” Johnson said. Apart from the 120 armored vehicl...

Germany wanted to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a guest to a G7 summit that it will host in June, but may reconsider due to New Delhi’s refusal to condemn Russia for its attack on Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The list of guests for the event in Bavaria was compiled before the attack in late February by Russia and also includes nations like Senegal, South Africa and Indonesia, the news outlet said, citing sources familiar with the situation. When asked for comment, a spokesman for Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the head of the German government “would like to see as many international partners as possible joining the [anti-Russian] sanctions,” and that the list of G7 invitees would be revealed when it is finalized. The G7, or Group of Seven, is an informal cohort of nations that were the biggest economies in the world in the 1970s, when it was formed. It includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US. The same nations are at the forefront o...

In the aftermath of an off-the-cuff remark made by US President Joe Biden about Russian President Vladimir Putin (“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power!”) which many believed articulated a policy of regime change, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was compelled to issue a public clarification. “We do not,” Blinken told reporters, “have a strategy of regime change in Russia or anywhere else for that matter.” Tell that to the supporters of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, who this past weekend was removed from power after a vote of no confidence in the Pakistani Parliament which many believe was orchestrated by the United States, who had grown increasingly wary of the former cricket star’s criticism of US policy in the region and the world. The constitutional crisis which brought down Imran Khan will shape how Pakistan will fit into a new world order that is emerging from the fallout of Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. At the heart of Pakistani crisis is the wo...

The Taiwanese Air Force has held air-defense exercises in the vicinity of the country’s capital, Taipei, to prepare for a potential aerial attack by China, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) revealed. The drills were held early on Tuesday morning and were meant to test the defensive capabilities and combat readiness of ground troops, officials claim. According to an anonymous military official cited by Focus Taiwan news outlet, simulated sorties took place without warning over areas near Taipei using several US-made F-16 and Taiwanese-made IDF fighter jets, along with AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. The main objective of the exercise was to check the country's air defense forces' readiness in an environment resembling real-life combat. The official also noted that the drills were of particular importance in the face of a potential Chinese aerial attack. Meanwhile, Taiwan's military unveiled a comic-strip survival guide on Tuesday for use by civilians in the event o...

The German government has proposed legislative amendments that could see energy companies put under temporary management or nationalized, TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the country’s media. Amendments to the Energy Security Act, proposed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, would enable authorities to put energy companies under temporary management in case of an acute crisis, or, in extreme cases, to nationalize them, according to Funke Media Group, Germany’s third-largest newspapers and magazine publisher. According to the draft amendments, the ministry would have the power to transfer the ownership of key energy infrastructure operators if they are unable to perform their tasks, thus threatening the stability of energy supply. If external management cannot guarantee energy security, nationalization would be an option. According to German law, draft legislation has to be approved by the German parliament and signed into law by the president. Last week, Ge...

The West’s sanctions have failed to cripple Russia, said Russian President Vladimir Putin during a joint press conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday. “The “blitzkrieg”, on which our opponents counted has failed, this is quite obvious. Our financial system and industry are working rhythmically,” stated Putin, noting the Russian economy’s resilience and stability in light of the sanctions and highlighting the importance of adapting the economy to new realities and limitations. He added that he believes that the best course of action is to de-bureaucratize the economic sphere, and expressed hope that common sense will ultimately prevail in the West in light of the consequences they face due to the imposed sanction

Kiev has gone back on the tentative agreements made between the Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams in Istanbul in late March, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. According to Putin, the peace talks have now “returned to a deadlock”. Ukraine has refused to recognize Crimea as Russian and the Donbass republics as independent, the Russian president explained at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East on Tuesday. He emphasized that those two points were key topics without which no progress could be reached in the talks. The latest round of negotiations between Moscow and Kiev was held two weeks ago in Istanbul, Turkey, where, according to the Russian side, the Ukrainian delegation offered its first draft of written proposals on how to resolve the conflict. Ukraine explains why it’s not interested in temporary truceREAD MORE: Ukraine explains why it’s not interested in temporary truce Moscow is demanding that Kiev officially recognize Crimea as part of Russia and ...

Prices for natural gas in Europe pushed higher on Tuesday after seven sessions of declines, as Russian supplies via Ukraine are expected to drop. Orders have reportedly decreased to some 68% of the amount that Russian energy giant Gazprom is capable of sending under the current transit contract. Gazprom reiterated that gas flows were in line with requests from customers. As of April 12, requests reportedly stood at 74.5 million cubic meters. Meanwhile, supplies through Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline were near full capacity. In the Dutch market, the contract for May delivery at the TTF hub rose as much as 3.9%, and were 2.8% higher at 102.91 euros per megawatt-hour as of 10:35am in Amsterdam. In the British gas market, the within-day contract gained 3.5% to 220.51 pence a therm. Reversed Russian gas flows by means of the Yamal-Europe pipeline via the Mallnow metering point from Germany to Poland grew on Tuesday, while nominations for deliveries to Slovakia via Ukraine fell, in line w...

Kiev openly refused to implement a peace deal with rebels from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics so Russia had no option but to use military force to defend people living there, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated on Tuesday. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior officials “declared that the Minsk agreements cannot be implemented,” Putin recalled, referring to the roadmap to peace in Ukraine brokered by Russia, Germany and France. The 2014 agreements detailed how Kiev could reintegrate its breakaway regions by offering them a general amnesty, greater autonomy, and representation in the government. Kiev stalled progress on the deal, claiming that it could only proceed with its part after retaking control of the rebel-held areas. Hostilities in eastern Ukraine between government and rebel forces have continued since 2014, when authorities that came to power in Kiev after an armed coup used the military to quash the uprising in the east. "T...

The Russian economy could contract by more than 10% in 2022 due to Western sanctions, the head of the Accounts Chamber and former finance minister Alexey Kudrin said on Tuesday, as cited by TASS. This is the official scenario that is currently being worked out at the level of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance, he said, at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets. “Certainly, [GDP] will decrease. The official forecast would be for more than around a 10% decline,” said Kudrin, who served as Putin's finance minister from 2000 to 2011. Previous Russian government forecasts estimated GDP growth of 3% this year after the economy expanded by 4.7% in 2021. A contraction of 10% would amount to the biggest decline in gross domestic product since 1994, according to World Bank and International Monetary Fund data. This month, the World Bank projected Russian GDP output would fall 11.2% in 2022. The Kremlin said recently t...

Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina says Russia holds enough yuan and gold in its reserves to limit the impact of Western sanctions – even after Washington and its allies froze half the country’s holdings in dollars and other currencies. The regulator cut the share of dollars in reserves to 10.9% as of January 1 from 21.2% a year earlier. Meanwhile, euro holdings reportedly rose to 33.9% from 29.2%. At the same time, yuan holdings grew to 17.1% from 12.8% a year earlier, while the share of gold held steady at 21.5%. Ukraine-related sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and its allies include the freezing of up to half of the nation’s $642 billion in foreign currency reserves. “This extraordinary, shock situation will lead to large-scale changes,” Nabiullina said in her annual report to parliament on Monday. “The difficult process of adapting to the new conditions will inevitably lead to a contraction in GDP but the Russian economy will be able to return to a growth trajector...