The World Blog by humble servant.

Kiev has so far lost 30 drones, 10 helicopters, four jets, three ships, and upwards of 50 troops in failed attempts to take Snake Island, the Russian Ministry of Defense has revealed. Urged on by British advisers, President Volodymyr Zelensky personally ordered the attack and wanted to see a victory by May 9, media reported citing security sources. Another Bayraktar TB-2 strike drone, a Turkish import, was shot down over the island on Tuesday, said Major General Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman for the Russian military. That makes nine Bayraktars destroyed over Snake Island since Saturday, he pointed out. Russian troops noticed on Tuesday three more bodies of Ukrainian attackers that washed up on the beach, Konashenkov added, for a total of 27 special forces and nationalist battalion personnel that perished on the island itself. During Monday’s briefing about the fighting on the island, Konashenkov said that Ukrainian forces had lost three Su-24 bombers, one Su-27 fighter, four heli...

Russian gas conglomerate Gazprom has received no confirmation of force majeure or any obstacles to continued transit of gas through a junction in Lugansk region, the company said on Tuesday, after Ukraine’s operator OGTSU announced it would halt further deliveries starting May 11, due to the presence of “Russian occupiers.” Gas Transit Services of Ukraine (OGTSU) declared force majeure on Tuesday, saying that it was impossible to continue transit of gas through a connection point and compressor station located in the Lugansk area. As OGTSU personnel “cannot carry out operational and technological control” over the Sokhranovka connector point and Novopskov compressor station, the company cannot continue to fulfill its contract obligations, it said. Gas from this connection will not be accepted into the transit system of Ukraine starting at 7 am on Wednesday, OGTSU said. Sokhrankovka accounts for almost a third of Russian gas transiting through Ukraine to Europe – up to 32.6 million ...

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that his country will build a new missile system with Moscow’s help. Speaking at a meeting with military officials, Lukashenko said he had been promised “full support” from Moscow in the development of a missile similar to those used in Russia’s Iskander short-range ballistic missile systems. He added that the matter was discussed last month during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos. “In my presence, President [Putin] told Rogozin to provide immediate support, so we wouldn’t build it from scratch but instead could use the experience of Russian missile experts who had built the Iskander.” Lukashenko said he had struck a deal with Moscow to purchase Iskander missiles, noting that Belarus would “keep” the Russian S-400 air defense missile system currently stationed in the country. Iskander missiles are launched from mobile launchers and can strike ...

A poll published on Saturday found that 53% of Americans believe that sanctions on Moscow hurt the US more than Russia. Amid soaring gas prices and a rising cost of living, voters are losing confidence in US President Joe Biden’s leadership, and 43% say they’re “OK” with Ukraine losing its ongoing conflict with Russia. With inflation at a 40-year peak and gas prices near record highs, the Democracy Institute/Express.co.uk poll revealed that Biden is polling negatively in all policy areas, with foreign policy the worst. Some 56% disapprove of his handling of foreign matters, compared to 40% approving. On Ukraine specifically, only 38% approve of his stewardship, while 52% disapprove. The Biden administration has attempted to blame Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, for the rising cost of living at home, with his officials repeatedly referring to “Putin’s price hike.” However, living costs were rising for months before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, and voters are pointing th...

Key global technology giants have lost over $1 trillion of their value in the last three days of trading amid a stock selloff in the US, CNBC reported on Monday. Apple has shed $220 billion in market capitalization since Thursday, Microsoft is down around $189 billion, while Tesla and Amazon also suffered big losses, according to figures provided by the outlet. This comes amid a wider selloff in US markets, which fell sharply on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday. The downturn carried over into Monday and over the last three days, the Dow Jones ended up plummeting more than 5%, the S&P 500 shed 7%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost around 10%. More traditional stocks, meanwhile, such as food companies Campbell Soup, General Mills and J.M. Smucker, have been on the rise, as investors seem to be preferring safer parts of the market at a time of economic uncertainty. The US central bank’s 50 basis-point hike on Wednesday, the biggest ...

Germany’s third-largest gas importer, VNG, has agreed to Moscow’s new ruble-based gas payment scheme and opened the necessary accounts with Russia’s Gazprombank to transfer payments, the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Monday. “We will pay the invoice amount, which will continue to be denominated in euros, into the accounts at Gazprombank in accordance with the planned procedure, so that timely payment to our supplier is ensured on our part,” the statement read. The company added that it expects the conversion into rubles to not cause any difficulties, noting that “the opening of the account went completely smoothly.” Russia’s new ruble-based gas payment mechanism was introduced on March 31 amid Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine and the resulting Western sanctions. The news puzzled Russian gas buyers, who feared they would be expected to pay for the commodity in rubles. However, it was later clarified that buyers will be able to pay in their currency of choi...

The European Union is planning to fund the operating expenses of the government in Kiev for at least three months, Politico Europe reported on Monday, citing diplomatic sources. The €15 billion would be raised through a new debt emission, using the template established for Covid-19 relief. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told the International Monetary Fund (IMF) he needed $7 billion per month ($1 = €0.95) to pay salaries, pensions and other government expenditures. The US has pledged to provide a third of that sum for the next three months. The EU intends to make up the difference with special bonds, according to Politico. The European Commission (EC) briefed ambassadors of the member countries about the plan on Friday, according to the outlet. It involves issuing debt using guarantees from EU member countries. The scheme is structured along the lines of SURE, the program used to raise €100 billion in aid for EU citizens who lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 lockdowns. ...

Democrats will make a separate $10 billion coronavirus funding proposal so that nearly $40 billion in weapons and other aid to Ukraine can be approved more quickly ahead of a “critical” deadline, US President Joe Biden said on Monday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi originally had funding for Covid-19 treatments, tests, and vaccines tacked onto a $33 billion proposal for supplemental aid to Ukraine. Republicans, who fully backed funding Ukraine but had a problem with how the Covid funding proposal would affect border policy, had threatened to block it in the Senate. In a statement on Monday, Biden said he would accept splitting the bill if that would get the Ukraine funds – which have since grown by another $6.8 billion – approved faster. “We cannot afford delay in this vital war effort. Hence, I am prepared to accept that these two measures move separately, so that the Ukrainian aid bill can get to my desk right away,” Biden said. “This aid has been critical to Ukraine’s success on...

Dmitry Polyansky, the deputy head of Russia’s mission to the UN, has claimed that the UK’s Sky News abruptly ended an interview with him as soon as he showed a photo with a Nazi symbol that had been posted by the Ukrainian president. Volodomyr Zelensky had promoted the image on Monday, which marked the victory of the Soviet Union over Adolf Hitler's Germany in World War Two. “The host’s response? He quickly wound up the talk, muttering that our time, as it turned out, was up suddenly, and that Sky News could not verify this information,” the diplomat wrote on Telegram on Monday. “So much for the freedom of speech in the West… they don’t need the truth! From now on, they’ll think a hundred times before inviting Russian diplomats to a live show!” In an interview with Sky News, Polyansky was asked whether he agreed that Russian troops in Ukraine were “dishonoring their grandfathers who fought the Nazis,” and that their actions were “mirroring fascism.” Polyansky called the asse...

Gasoline prices at the pump in the US hit a new all-time record on Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). The average retail cost of a gallon of gas hit $4.374 early on Tuesday, the AAA said, surpassing the former record of $4.331, set in March. The increase is mainly due to the high cost of crude oil, which was hovering near $100 per barrel last week and is now closing in on $110, the association explains on its website. Futures of Brent crude, the main global benchmark, have actually dropped 7% since March 30. As a result, gas prices ticked slightly lower in April but are now up roughly 10%. The retail price of diesel fuel also reached a record this week, hitting $5.45 per gallon. A recent survey found that increasingly expensive fuel has forced roughly two-thirds of vehicle owners in the US to change their driving habits. Oil prices have been pushed higher by some US refineries having closed during the pandemic, while the remaining ones are nearing f...

Germany has been busy working on emergency measures to help the country cope in case of an abrupt stop to Russian natural gas flows, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing government sources. According to the outlet, the package of proposed measures includes providing further loans to energy firms from German state development bank KfW in order to help deal with skyrocketing prices, which have fluctuated wildly since the start of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine and the Western sanctions that followed, including from Germany. Reuters sources also said that Berlin could resort to nationalizing critical companies, such as energy firms and refineries. EU rejects ban on shipping Russian crude — mediaREAD MORE: EU rejects ban on shipping Russian crude — media Russia supplied 55% of Germany’s gas imports in 2021, with many industries heavily dependent on Russian energy. However, Berlin has come under pressure to sever ties with Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine. The g...

Germany and Qatar have failed to reach an agreement regarding long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contracts, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing people close to the talks. According to the outlet, Berlin will not agree to Qatar’s demand to sign deals for a duration of at least 20 years. Despite seeking to end its reliance on Russian natural gas amid the situation in Ukraine, Berlin reportedly views this timeframe as contradicting its plan to slash carbon emissions by 88% by 2040. “The issue of LNG contract length potentially putting Germany’s decarburization targets at risk is part of the ongoing discussions with Qatar,” one of the sources told Reuters, noting that Germany is not the only nation eager to secure LNG supplies from Qatar. Qatar also wants to contractually prevent Germany from rerouting the LNG deliveries to other European states, and this measure is not welcome by the EU, the sources said. EU state working on emergency plan for Russian gas halt – mediaREAD M...

Americans are markedly more concerned about their personal finances compared to last year, with a significant portion reporting they’re “very” or “moderately worried” about ma More than half (52%) of poll respondents expressed worries about maintaining their standard of living, a seven-point increase over the previous year. The sharpest increase was seen among those concerned about being able to pay their monthly bills, with 40% – an eight point uptick since 2021 – expressing worry over those responsibilities. Concern had also grown by five points regarding rent and mortgage payments, credit card bills, and retirement savings – worries occupying the minds of 35%, 22%, and 63% of poll respondents, respectively. The only financial issues that had remained static were those related to medical bills and paying for their children’s education. The poll was conducted in the first three weeks of April alongside another survey, which showed Americans’ personal estimation of their finances wa...

An EU agreement on a Russian oil ban will come in “a matter of days,” French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune claimed on Tuesday, as Hungary, the key critic of the embargo, said that “a lot more needs to be done” for it to drop its objections. European Union members, in response to Russia’s ongoing military offensive in Ukraine, are now conducting difficult negotiations on the sixth package of sanctions, which includes a gradual ban on Russian oil. In an interview with LCI TV, Beaune said an agreement could be reached “within a week,” and this is the goal of the French presidency. “We are working hard on it… It’s probably a matter of days. And I can say with confidence, there will be a sixth package of European sanctions, they will be very powerful, and we will gradually, with a timetable, phase out Russian oil first but also Russian hydrocarbons in general,” he stated. Beaune explained that the EU is now considering two ways to accommodate the needs of the countries that a...