Russia suspends gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria
Poland’s state oil and gas company PGNiG said Russian gas giant Gazprom had informed it on Tuesday that it would cut off gas supplies via the Yamal pipeline on Wednesday morning.
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Russian gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria were suspended on Wednesday morning after the countries refused Moscow’s request to pay for gas supplies in rubles.
Russian state gas giant Gazprom contacted Poland and Bulgarian state-owned gas companies on Tuesday, telling them their supplies would be suspended on Wednesday. Poland said its supplies were cut off today, while the situation in Bulgaria is more precarious.
Poland’s state oil and gas company PGNiG said Russian gas giant Gazprom had informed it on Tuesday that it would cut off gas supplies via the Yamal pipeline on Wednesday morning.
PGNiG said in a statement Tuesday that the company is monitoring the situation “and is prepared for different scenarios” and receiving gas from other sources, but said there is currently enough gas in storage and meeting demand.
The suspension of gas supplies to Poland, which imports about 45% of its natural gas from Russia, according to the latest EU figures, is another sign of growing tensions between Russia and the West following the invasion of Ukraine. An official in Kyiv described Russia’s latest move to cut supplies as “gas blackmail”.
Bulgaria imported almost 73% of its natural gas from Russia in 2020, EU data show.
Russia has asked countries that import its gas (the EU as a bloc imports about 40% of its natural gas from Russia each year) to pay in rubles, prompting a backlash from importers, including Poland and Bulgaria, who declined and said that the search is a breach of contract.
“Holly Eliat.”
Global sanctions will repel 20 years in Russian profits, Blinken says
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken heard during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington, DC, April 26, 2022. Blinken and the Secretary of Defense on Monday committed a total of $ 713 million in foreign military funding to Ukraine and 15 Allied and 15 partner countries.
Al Drago | Reuters
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he believed the Russians were feeling the effects of the many coordinated global sanctions on the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
“I think what we are seeing is that more and more people in Russia are feeling the effects of Putin’s disastrous decision to attack Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
For example, more than 600 companies have left Russia, including many of the big consumer brands we all know and are familiar with, “he said, adding:” They can’t buy the things they’ve been used to buying for almost 30 years. . “
The nation’s top diplomat said profits from the past 20 years were fading and Moscow’s ability to modernize key sectors of its economy was slowing. Despite all this, Blinken said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin still had strong support from his citizens, largely due to disinformation campaigns.
“So far, I think what we are seeing is the Russian people, as far as they are aware that they continue to support President Putin for the most part,” Blinken added.
In the weeks since Russia’s invasion of its former Soviet neighbor, Washington and its allies have imposed rounds of coordinated sanctions, shifting Russia past Iran and North Korea as the world’s most sanctioned country.
“Amanda Macias.”
The United States will send diplomats back to Ukraine this week, Blinken said
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the 2023 fiscal budget at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 26, 2022.
Bonnie Cash Reuters
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told lawmakers that the United States is sending its diplomats back to Ukraine this week.
The nation’s top diplomat added that the State Department is also working on plans to reopen its embassy in Kyiv.
“We are sending diplomats back to Ukraine this week and they will begin to assess how we can most effectively and safely reopen the embassy in Kyiv. And without going into too much detail about this situation, I anticipate that we will be in Lviv and then head to Kyiv subject to the president’s final decision, “Blinken said in a statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“We want our embassy reopened and we are working on it,” he added.
On Monday, President Joe Biden announced his plan to nominate Bridget Brink as US ambassador to Ukraine. Brink, a career diplomat, is currently the US Ambassador to the Slovak Republic.
“Amanda Macias.”
US Secretary of Defense Austin calls Russian nuclear war rhetoric “very dangerous and useless”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke to the media after the meeting of the Security Advisory Group of Ukraine at the Rammstein Air Force Base on April 26, 2022 in Rammstein-Miesenbach, Germany. The meeting is the United States
Thomas Lones Getty Images
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called Russia’s recent rhetoric about the potential use of its nuclear weapons “very dangerous and useless.”
“No one wants to see a nuclear war in which no one can win. And as we do things, we are always careful to make sure we have the right balance and the right approach,” Austin told reporters at a press briefing at Ramstein Air Force Base. in Germany.
“There are always a number of things that can happen, but again, I think it’s useless and dangerous to wield swords and speculate on the use of nuclear weapons,” Austin said after a trip to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, with Secretary of State Anthony. Blinken.
Austin’s remarks came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that his country’s war with Ukraine could escalate into a nuclear one.
Lavrov said late Monday that the risks of nuclear war are now “very, very significant and should not be underestimated”.
“Amanda Macias.”
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