Oil industry says Granholm meeting sends “positive signal”
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm asks questions during a media conference at the White House in Washington, USA, on November 23, 2021.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
A meeting of the oil industry with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to lower gas prices and increase domestic oil supply was constructive, but did not make much progress, administration and industry officials said.
The closed-door meeting came when President Joe Biden called on Congress to suspend federal taxes on gasoline and diesel as a way to alleviate high gasoline prices that have frustrated drivers and boosted inflation. .
The Democratic president also called on states to suspend their own gas taxes or provide similar relief, and made a public critique of the energy industry for prioritizing profits over production.
“It doesn’t reduce all the pain, but it will be a big help,” Biden said Wednesday, referring to the national average of $ 5 per gallon of gasoline. Biden said he was doing his part and now he wants Congress, states and industry to do their part as well.
– Associated press
Biden approves a $ 450 million security assistance package for Ukraine
John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the U.S. National Security Council, speaks to reporters during a press conference at the White House in Washington, USA, on June 23, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
The Biden administration announced a 13th security assistance package for Ukraine worth $ 450 million.
“This package contains weapons and equipment that include new high-mobility artillery rocket systems, tens of thousands of additional ammunition for artillery systems that have already been provided, as well as patrol vessels to help Ukraine defend the its coastline and its waterways, ”he said. Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby at a daily press conference at the White House.
The assistance package includes the following, according to a Pentagon statement:
- 4 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HMARS
- 36,000 105 mm ammunition cartridges
- 18 tactical vehicles to tow 155 mm artillery
- 1,200 grenade launchers
- 2,000 machine guns
- 18 coastal and river patrols
- Spare parts and other equipment
The latest security package raises the U.S. commitment to $ 6.1 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine.
– Amanda Macias
Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova are closer to EU membership
National flags of Ukraine and EU flags in front of Lille City Hall, France, on Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images
European Union leaders granted the countries of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia candidate status to join the bloc, an important step on the long road to EU membership. All three countries applied to join the European Union in early March.
“Your countries are part of our European family. And today’s historic decision by the leaders confirms this,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet.
Ukrainian President Voldomyry Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter that he was grateful for the support of European Union leaders.
Meanwhile, Kosovo and Northern Macedonia, among others, expect their membership applications to progress.
– Amanda Macias
Xi of China criticizes sanctions at BRICS meeting
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote address in virtual format at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum on June 22, 2022.
Yin Bogu | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping opened a meeting of leaders of major developing countries saying the world should oppose unilateral sanctions and the efforts of some countries to maintain their political and military power.
Xi’s statements at the virtual meeting of the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, collectively known as “BRICS”, reflect China’s tacit support for Russia in the Ukrainian war. and its desire to form an international alliance opposed to the US-led Liberal Democratic Order.
The BRICS meeting comes amid growing concerns about the global economic outlook and a growing political divide between China and India.
Nations must “reject the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, oppose unilateral sanctions and the abuse of sanctions, and reject small circles built around hegemony by forming a great family belonging to a community with a shared future for humanity, ”Xi said. says the official Xinhua news agency.
– Associated press
Biden will propose additional measures aimed at Russia to G-7 and NATO leaders
President Joe Biden talks about gas prices at the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus on June 22, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer | Getty
The Biden administration plans to present a set of proposals to increase pressure on Russia at the next G-7 and NATO summit. The proposals “will demonstrate our collective support in Ukraine,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters at a conference call.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details of the administration’s plans, said Biden would also address with world leaders “the impact of Putin’s war on prices,” including the increase in food costs and shortages due to the Russian blockade of Ukraine. ports.
The official declined to delve further into the types of measures the Biden administration plans to propose to the leaders of both summits.
– Amanda Macias
The Ukrainian Defense Minister thanks the United States for heavy artillery systems
U.S. soldiers assigned to the 65th Field Artillery Brigade fire a high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) during a joint actual fire exercise with Kuwait ground forces on January 8, 2019 , near Camp Buehring, Kuwait.
Courtesy: US Department of Defense
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov thanked U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for delivering additional artillery systems.
High-mobility artillery rocket systems, or HMARS, are manufactured by defense giant Lockheed Martin. HMARSs are designed to fire a variety of missiles from a 5-ton mobile truck.
The HMARS were included in the latest US security package, which is the 12th aid tranche for Ukraine, valued at $ 1 billion.
– Amanda Macias
According to the expert, Russia earns about 1 billion dollars a day in revenue from oil and gas exports
Zoom in on the Arrows icon pointing out
Despite a large number of coordinated global sanctions, Russia still contributes about $ 1 billion a day in revenue from oil and gas exports.
In the weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, Washington and its allies have imposed rounds of coordinated sanctions that have pushed Russia above Iran and North Korea as the most sanctioned country in the world. Despite the reaction, Russia still receives significant revenue from energy exports, according to research compiled by economics expert Gerard DiPippo.
DiPippo, a senior member of the Economics Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, found that oil and gas accounted for 47% of Russia’s revenue from January to May this year.
While Russian oil production fell in April, revenues rose 80 percent, according to data collected by DiPippo.
“For comparison, Russian tax data suggest that Moscow spent $ 325 million a day on military spending in April, the latest data available,” DiPippo writes.
– Amanda Macias
The UN says at least 4,662 deaths in Ukraine since the start of the war
Editor’s Note: This article contains a photograph that may annoy some readers.
The United Nations has confirmed 4,662 civilian deaths and 5,803 wounded in Ukraine since Russia invaded its former Soviet neighbor on February 24th.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely to be higher because the armed conflict could delay reports of fatalities.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Graphic Content / A woman cries over the body of her relative who was reportedly killed by a rocket in the city of Lysychansk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on 18 June 2022 amid the Russian invasion of the country.
Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images
The international organization said most of the recorded civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide area of impact, including heavy artillery bombardment and multiple rocket launch systems, as well as missiles. and air strikes.
– Amanda Macias
Germany faces the “crisis” of natural gas, raises the alert level
An Uniper Energy Storage employee inspects the on-site facilities of a natural gas storage facility at the Uniper Energy Storage facility in Bierwang, southern Germany, on June 10 of 2022.
Lennart Preiss | AFP | Getty Images
Germany activated the second phase of its three-stage emergency plan for natural gas supply, warning that Europe’s largest economy is facing a “crisis” and storage targets for winter are at risk after Russia reduced energy deliveries to several countries.
The government said the decision comes after Russia made cuts to natural gas flows from last week and rising war-fueled energy prices in Ukraine. Industrial customers are being asked to reduce the amount of natural gas they use, and Germany and other countries are turning to coal as a substitute, threatening climate targets in Europe as energy tensions rise between Russia and the West.
“Although we still don’t feel it, we are in a gas crisis,” Economy and Energy Minister Robert Habeck said.
Russia last week cut natural gas in Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, just as European Union countries are struggling to fill the storage of fuel used to generate electricity, electricity and heat homes. in the winter. Russia’s energy giant Gazprom blamed a missing part sent to Canada for repairs, as it reduced flows by 60% via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, the main natural gas pipeline from Europe.
– Associated press
Russia and Belarus must take urgent action to improve preparedness for combat, the minister said
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attend the laying of wreaths …