If you want to hit Russian economy hard, aim for energy export

Sanctions debate rapidly heading towards energy sanctions in Ukraine-Russia crisis

At the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a week ago, almost every analyst agreed that Russian oil and gas would keep flowing westwards. The state of mutual energy dependence seemed too entrenched. On one side, the EU could not decouple itself easily from the source of 38% of its natural gas imports. On the other, Russia under financial sanctions would need cash. Old hands reflected that, even in the long decades of the cold war, the Soviet Union and Europe maintained commercial relationships in energy.

A week later, such thinking looks naive. The “shock and awe” financial sanctions, especially those aimed at Russia’s central bank, exceed anything previously seen, but the shortcoming is obvious: if you really want to hit the Russian economy hard, the place to aim is its energy export sector, a part that has been spared sanctions so far and generates hundreds of millions of dollars daily. The point is made repeatedly by Ukrainian officials in their appeals for the trade to cease, and its moral force is hammered home with every fresh Russian atrocity.

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Ukraine president asks Jewish people around world to speak against Russia

Nazism is born in silence, says Volodymyr Zelenskiy, after missile struck close to Holocaust memorial site

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has appealed to Jewish people across the world to speak out against the Russian assault on his country, a day after a missile hit close to a Holocaust memorial site in the capital, Kyiv.

The missile strike on Tuesday hit Kyiv’s television tower, reportedly killing at least five people. The tower is located close to the memorial site of Babyn Yar, the ravine where Nazi soldiers massacred up to 150,000 people during the second world war, including more than 30,000 Jews, who were shot there in the autumn of 1941 after the Nazi takeover of Kyiv.

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UN votes to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and calls for withdrawal

In an emergency session, 141 of the 193 member states voted for the resolution, 35 abstained and five voted against

The United Nations has voted overwhelmingly for a resolution deploring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for the immediate withdrawal of its forces, in a global expression of outrage that highlighted Russia’s increasing isolation.

In an emergency session of the UN’s general assembly, 141 of the 193 member states voted for the resolution, 35 abstained, and five voted against. The only countries to vote no in support of Moscow were Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria. Longstanding allies Cuba and Venezuela joined China in abstaining.

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Israel tries to balance backing for Ukrainians and not offending Russia

Analysis: Criticism of invasion has been muted and officials yet to condemn Moscow for attack on Holocaust memorial

A week ago the sight was unthinkable: a memorial at the site of one of the worst massacres of the Holocaust, engulfed in smoke and flame from an airstrike.

Yet on Tuesday a Russian attack near the Babyn Yar memorial complex in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, achieved exactly that. Five people died in the strike targeting the television broadcast tower next door, while firefighters battled to extinguish a fire caused by the explosion in a building inside the Jewish cemetery.

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People of colour fleeing Ukraine attacked by Polish nationalists

Non-white refugees face violence and racist abuse in Przemyśl, as police warn of fake reports of ‘migrants committing crimes’

Police in Poland have warned that fake reports of violent crimes being committed by people fleeing Ukraine are circulating on social media after Polish nationalists attacked and abused groups of African, south Asian and Middle Eastern people who had crossed the border last night.

Attackers dressed in black sought out groups of non-white refugees, mainly students who had just arrived in Poland at Przemyśl train station from cities in Ukraine after the Russian invasion. According to the police, three Indians were beaten up by a group of five men, leaving one of them hospitalised.

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Ship carrying luxury cars sinks near Azores Islands after burning for weeks

Authorities fear that thousands of tons of fuel carried onboard could leak and pollute the ocean

An abandoned ship carrying an estimated $401m (£295m) worth of cars, including Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini models, has sunk nearly two weeks after a fire broke out onboard.

The Felicity Ace sank on Tuesday about 400 kilometers (250 miles) off Portugal’s Azores Islands as it was being towed, MOL Ship Management in Singapore said in a statement. A salvage team had put out the fire which had burned for days, fueled by lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles onboard.

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Ericsson admits breaking DoJ deal over Iraq corruption claims

Telecoms group’s admission comes days after revelations about alleged bribes given to Islamic State

The Swedish telecoms group Ericsson broke a formal agreement with US prosecutors by withholding evidence about its involvement in corruption, the firm has announced.

The US Department of Justice had notified Ericsson that the firm has failed, as required, to hand over details of alleged corruption in Iraq to DoJ prosecutors.

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Germany unites behind chancellor’s historic U-turn on arming Ukraine

Olaf Scholz accused of failing to consult over volte-face on military policy, but coalition partners and public back him

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, ambushed his own party and coalition partners when he announced a historic 180-degree policy turn on defence spending and exporting lethal weapons, but for now he seems to be riding a wave of broad public support.

In a speech in front of the Bundestag on Sunday, Scholz crossed several red lines held by his own party in less than half an hour, when he announced that Germany would send missiles and anti-tank weapons to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression and set up a special €100bn (£83bn) fund to modernise its own forces. “A turning point in the history of our continent” called for an appropriate response, he said.

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Could the international criminal court bring Putin to justice over Ukraine?

Even if Russian leader were charged, he would have to be arrested in a state that accepts the court’s jurisdiction

The prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague announced this week that he would launch an investigation into possible war crimes or crimes against humanity in Ukraine. How likely are Putin or other Russian political or military leaders to be brought to justice and what are the obstacles that must be overcome for that to happen?

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Starmer questions why Roman Abramovich is not facing UK sanctions

Labour calls for tougher action against Russian oligarchs at PMQs as Ukrainian ambassador watches from gallery

Keir Starmer has questioned why Roman Abramovich has not faced UK sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Boris Johnson appeared to accept a Labour offer to strengthen a new bill cracking down on illicit assets.

At a prime minister’s questions that began with the rare sight of MPs standing in unison to applaud the Ukrainian ambassador, Vadym Prystaiko, who was watching from the public gallery, Starmer repeatedly called for tougher action against Russian oligarchs.

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European countries dominate half of Asian shark fin trade, report reveals

Despite nearly a third of shark species nearing extinction, Spain supplied 51,000 tonnes of shark fins from 2003-20, says IFAW

European countries are selling so many shark fins to Asia that they dominate nearly half the trade, a study has found.

Shark populations continue to decline, driven by the global shark fin trade. Last year, scientists found a third of sharks and ray species have been overfished to near-extinction, jeopardising the health of entire ocean ecosystems and food security for many countries.

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Ukraine’s bid for fast-track membership of EU likely to end in disappointment

Analysis: There is significant sympathy in the bloc for President Zelenskiy’s cause, but it may lead to no more than warm words

In his latest video address to the nation on Wednesday morning, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was seeking to erase Ukraine, its history and people as he reiterated his appeal for the EU to fast-track its membership application: “This is no time to be neutral.”

There is an urgency to the Ukrainian president’s calls and, naturally, as images of the carnage in Ukraine’s cities beam back to Brussels, there is significant sympathy with his cause.

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Ukraine president condemns Russian strike on Holocaust memorial – video

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said on Wednesday nearly 6,000 Russians had been killed in the first six days of Moscow’s invasion, and that the Kremlin would not be able to take his country with bombs and airstrikes. He condemned a missile strike on Babyn Yar, a Holocaust memorial in Kyiv, saying: 'It is beyond humanity'

Russia-Ukraine crisis: live news

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Kharkiv administrative buildings on fire after Russian missile strike – video

Russian missiles continued to hit administrative and residential buildings in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv. A video released by Ukraine's ministry of emergency situations shows firefighters attempting to put out a fire burning in the regional headquarters of the ministry of internal affairs in Kharkiv

Russia-Ukraine crisis: live news

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Researchers gather evidence of possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine

‘Open-source intelligence community’ is already collecting and studying video and photo evidence

Six days after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, there is mounting evidence that its military is committing war crimes with deadly attacks on civilians and the use of cluster munitions.

Eliot Higgins, the founder of the investigative journalism site Bellingcat, said there was evidence of Russia causing “civilian harm”, including through the use of “cluster bombs in civilian areas”, from credible video and stills of the conflict.

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Russia-Ukraine war latest: UN general assembly votes overwhelmingly to deplore invasion – live

Russia intensifies bombardment of cities as Ukraine’s president insists Moscow will not be able to take his country with bombs and air strikes

Researchers are gathering evidence of possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

My colleague, Dan Sabbagh, reports that an ‘open-source intelligence community’ is already collecting and studying video and photo evidence that Russia’s military is committing war crimes with deadly attacks on civilians and the use of cluster munitions.

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Bombardment of Ukraine’s cities intensifies as Russia counters resistance with air strikes

Heavy fighting in Kharkiv after Russian paratroopers land, as Biden warns Putin ‘will pay’ for invasion

Ukraine’s besieged cities have come under more heavy bombardment after Russian commanders facing fierce resistance intensified their shelling of urban areas.

As US president Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin that he would “pay a price” for his aggression, the Russia leader’s forces have shown no sign of stopping an assault that has included strikes on the capital Kyiv and rocket attacks in the second city of Kharkiv, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people.

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Ukraine: what we know on day seven of Russia’s invasion

Several cities are under heavy bombardment again and several are encircled, according to the UK, as Joe Biden attacks Putin in his State of the Union address

Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine are coming under more bombardment in the early hours of Wednesday morning as the Russian military steps up its offensive and moves forces closer towards the capital.

Four people have been killed after homes in the city of Zhytomyr west of Kyiv were hit by a cruise missile apparently aimed at a nearby airbase, Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the interior minister, said on his Telegram channel.

Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv has also been under more heavy bombardment after at least 11 people were killed on Tuesday. A video taken in the city shows wrecked residential buildings with no windows, and fallen trees and power lines, in the aftermath of bombing.

Kharkiv and the southern cities of Kherson and Mariupol, are likely now encircled by the Russians, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

Thousands of Ukrainians are trying to leave Kyiv, our correspondent in Kyiv reported, as Russia’s defence ministry warned residents to leave as it plans to strike targets in the Ukrainian capital. The UN says more than 680,000 people have already fled the city.

Russia’s military move on Kyiv has stalled as its forces struggle with basic logistics challenges, including shortages of food and fuel, with some units appearing to be gripped by low morale. US official also claim that some Russian troops are sabotaging their equipment and surrendering rather than fighting.

Joe Biden’s will use his State of the Union address on Tuesday night to warn Vladimir Putin that he cannot divide the west and that dictators should “pay a price for their aggression”, according to a pre-release of parts of his speech.

The IMF and the World Bank have condemned the Russian action in Ukraine and the “horrifying” suffering of people there. The organisations pledged a $3bn package of support for the country.

Apple has said it will pause all product sales in Russia, heeding requests from Ukrainian officials to take action against the country in response to its invasion.

Boeing is suspending “major operations” in Moscow, as well as “parts, maintenance, and technical support services for Russian airlines”. Ford and the British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover have also suspended operations, along with Nike.

The US and 30 countries have agreed to release 60m barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to stabilise global energy markets, the US department of energy said on Tuesday, as oil prices surged to a seven-year high. It came after Brent crude oil rose 7% on Tuesday to $104.97 a barrel.

The Russian rouble has fallen again in early trading on Wednesday to hit 109.2 to the dollar. Stocks on Wall Street suffered another day of losses amid the jitters over Ukraine.



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‘Our fates are united’: Syrians rally behind Ukraine after years of Russian torment

Bombed and menaced by an unchecked Putin since 2015, Syrians hope the tide might be finally turning

When a Russian air raid in north-western Syria killed 34 Turkish troops, Ankara’s revenge quickly followed. But, instead of targeting the forces of Vladimir Putin, whose jets had caused the carnage, Turkey sent armed drones towards the Syrian army, pulverising hundreds of pieces of weaponry and killing scores of troops – all as Russia watched on blithely.

In the years since Putin intervened in Syria in 2015 to save the regime of Bashar al-Assad there had been countless examples of Russian attacks on civilian sites – schools, bakeries and hospitals – all of which had met meek responses from global leaders and drawn scant attention from war crimes prosecutors.

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Ukrainian homes and streets wrecked in Kharkiv after shelling – video

Mobile-phone video shows wrecked residential buildings with no windows, and fallen trees and power lines, in the aftermath of strikes that killed at least 11 people in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city on Monday.

Kharkivs regional administration chief said artillery had pounded residential districts. The city has been the target of some of the worst aerial attacks since Ukraine was invaded by Russian forces

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