Comrade Ceasefire
Simmer slowly
Not the best of news from today's articles in Politico and the BBC.
Russia is bombing Ukraine into darkness — and leaving Europe short of power
The EU planned to lean on Kyiv for energy help, but has failed to answer Ukraine’s pleas for air defense systems to protect its infrastructure.
...
The results are distressing — and not just for Ukraine. Officials there are worried about how they’ll get through the winter with the lights and heating on. Ukraine’s air defenses are running low, they say, making it increasingly difficult to parry the missiles raining down on energy infrastructure. Nor are there many easy-to-access repair parts for those degraded power plants.
Then there’s the spillover to Europe. Last winter Ukraine offered its gas storage network to European traders as they frantically built up reserves in case Russia axed supplies when the temperature dropped. Now Russia is targeting that network, raising questions about whether the EU is prepared with alternatives.
Ukraine warns of WW3 ahead of long-stalled Congress aid vote
Ukraine's prime minister has told the BBC there will be a "Third World War" if Ukraine loses its conflict with Russia, as he urged the US Congress to pass a long-stalled foreign aid bill.
Denys Shmyhal expressed "careful optimism" that US lawmakers would pass the hotly contested measure, which has $61bn (£49bn) earmarked for Kyiv.
The House of Representatives is set to vote on the package this Saturday.
The proposal includes funding for Israel as well as the Indo-Pacific.
Speaking to the BBC in Washington DC on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shmyhal said of the US security assistance: "We need this money yesterday, not tomorrow, not today."
"If we will not protect... Ukraine will fall," he added. "So the global, the global system of security will be destroyed... and all the world will need to find... a new system of security.
"Or, there will be many conflicts, many such kinds of wars, and in the end of the day, it could lead to the Third World War."
Russia is bombing Ukraine into darkness — and leaving Europe short of power
The EU planned to lean on Kyiv for energy help, but has failed to answer Ukraine’s pleas for air defense systems to protect its infrastructure.
...
The results are distressing — and not just for Ukraine. Officials there are worried about how they’ll get through the winter with the lights and heating on. Ukraine’s air defenses are running low, they say, making it increasingly difficult to parry the missiles raining down on energy infrastructure. Nor are there many easy-to-access repair parts for those degraded power plants.
Then there’s the spillover to Europe. Last winter Ukraine offered its gas storage network to European traders as they frantically built up reserves in case Russia axed supplies when the temperature dropped. Now Russia is targeting that network, raising questions about whether the EU is prepared with alternatives.
Putin is bombing Ukraine into darkness — and leaving Europe short of power
The EU relies on Kyiv for energy. So Russia is attacking the critical storage sites that hold Europe’s gas.
www.politico.eu
Ukraine warns of WW3 ahead of long-stalled Congress aid vote
Ukraine's prime minister has told the BBC there will be a "Third World War" if Ukraine loses its conflict with Russia, as he urged the US Congress to pass a long-stalled foreign aid bill.
Denys Shmyhal expressed "careful optimism" that US lawmakers would pass the hotly contested measure, which has $61bn (£49bn) earmarked for Kyiv.
The House of Representatives is set to vote on the package this Saturday.
The proposal includes funding for Israel as well as the Indo-Pacific.
Speaking to the BBC in Washington DC on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shmyhal said of the US security assistance: "We need this money yesterday, not tomorrow, not today."
"If we will not protect... Ukraine will fall," he added. "So the global, the global system of security will be destroyed... and all the world will need to find... a new system of security.
"Or, there will be many conflicts, many such kinds of wars, and in the end of the day, it could lead to the Third World War."
Ukraine warns of WW3 ahead of long-stalled Congress aid vote
Denys Shmyhal tells the BBC his country desperately needs the US to approve long-stalled security assistance.
www.bbc.com