Category: Ukraine

The latest U.S. penalties against ’s inner circle may provoke the Russian president into escalating the Ukraine crisis without crippling key sectors of his nation’s economy. The sanctions imposed by the Obama administration yesterday on seven officials and 17 companies won’t go unanswered, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax. While markets showed relief as Russia ’s largest banks avoided U.S. measures, Putin may take this round personally, according to Konstantin Simonov, president of Russia’s National Energy Security Foundation. “Putin has been declared evil” and singled out personally by the U.S., Simonov said. “He won’t be able to respond economically, so he’ll retaliate politically. There will be escalation in the east of Ukraine and a new spiral of sanctions.” Warned by U.S. Secretary of State about making an “expensive mistake” in Ukraine, Putin has seen his approval rating at home soar to a six-year high after the seizure of […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

Exxon Mobil (XOM) Corp.’s dream of drilling in the Russian Arctic may risk running aground on the politics of Ukraine. The company plans to start drilling in August in the Arctic’s remote Kara Sea — the centerpiece of Exxon’s global alliance with Russian state-controlled OAO Rosneft. (ROSN) The partnership, which includes shale exploration in Siberia and joint venture fields in Texas , will come under greater scrutiny after the U.S. placed sanctions on Rosneft’s Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin . “With Sechin being sanctioned it may complicate relations for Rosneft with western companies,” said Mattias Westman, who oversees about $3.3 billion in Russia assets as CEO of Prosperity Capital . “Maybe some transactions will be threatened as a result and perhaps Russia will counter and they will be less keen for American companies to work on Arctic projects.” Patrick McGinn, a spokesman for Exxon’s exploration arm, said on April […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

The U.S. Monday added Igor Sechin, a Putin ally and head of state-controlled oil giant , to its sanctions list, complicating the delicate dance U.S. and European energy giants have had to engage in amid the standoff between the West and Moscow. The most exposed company is U.K. oil company PLC, which has a 19.75% stake in Rosneft. Last year, it sold its stake in its previous Russian joint venture for $11.8 billion in cash plus shares in the state-controlled oil giant. Mr. Sechin owns 0.13% of Rosneft, making him the company’s third-largest shareholder after the Russian state and BP. BP also gained a seat on Rosneft’s nine-member board, currently held by BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley. Under the terms of the U.S. sanctions, BP wouldn’t be barred from dealing with Rosneft, though Mr Dudley, an American citizen, would be unable to have direct business dealings with Mr. Sechin. […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

The U.S. Monday added Igor Sechin, a Putin ally and head of state-controlled oil giant , to its sanctions list, complicating the delicate dance U.S. and European energy giants have had to engage in amid the standoff between the West and Moscow. The most exposed company is U.K. oil company PLC, which has a 19.75% stake in Rosneft. Last year, it sold its stake in its previous Russian joint venture for $11.8 billion in cash plus shares in the state-controlled oil giant. Mr. Sechin owns 0.13% of Rosneft, making him the company’s third-largest shareholder after the Russian state and BP. BP also gained a seat on Rosneft’s nine-member board, currently held by BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley. Under the terms of the U.S. sanctions, BP wouldn’t be barred from dealing with Rosneft, though Mr Dudley, an American citizen, would be unable to have direct business dealings with Mr. Sechin. […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

President Obama, declaring that Russia was continuing to bully and threaten Ukraine, said here on Monday that the United States would impose additional sanctions on Russian individuals and entities, as well as freezing some exports of military technology. The announcement, during a visit by Mr. Obama to the Philippines, was widely expected. Last week, the president said that the sanctions were “teed up” and were being delayed only by technical issues and the need to coordinate with the European Union. The fact that the announcement was made on the last stop of Mr. Obama’s weeklong Asian trip underscored the sense of urgency about fears that Russia was destabilizing eastern Ukraine. The European Union is expected to announce similar measures within a day or so, as Mr. Obama and European leaders strive to keep a united front in their campaign of pressure on Moscow. “These sanctions represent the […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

The European Union and Ukraine have agreed on terms to boost the flow of natural gas from the 28-nation bloc to the former Soviet state, Slovak pipeline operator Eustream said late Saturday. "Representatives of Eustream and [Ukrainian pipeline operator] Ukrtransgaz will sign the document on Monday," Eustream said in a statement. The two sides agreed that the fastest and least legally cumbersome way to provide Ukraine with a third EU-based gas delivery route—it already has gas-flow agreements with Hungary and Poland—is to use the pipeline between Vojany and Uzhgorod, an underutilized secondary pipe on Slovakia’s eastern border. The deal would mark Ukraine’s third significant energy agreement with the West since a pro-European caretaker government . To reduce dependence on Russia, its major trade partner, Ukraine earlier this month with Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse Electric Co. until 2020 and AG . Write to Sean Carney at

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

With the showdown over Ukraine escalating and President Obama warning Moscow of a tough new round of sanctions, Russia and its allies in the European private sector are conducting a separate campaign to ensure that they can maintain their deep and longstanding economic ties even if the Kremlin orders further military action. European banks and businesses are far more exposed to the Russian economy than are their American counterparts. Trade between the European Union and Russia amounted to almost $370 billion in 2012, while United States trade with Russia was about $26 billion that year. As a result, they have lobbied energetically to head off or at least dilute any sanctions, making it hard for American and European political leaders to come up with a package of measures with enough bite to influence Moscow’s behavior in Ukraine. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea , energy companies, exporters, big […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

Russian natural-gas giant OAO Gazprom won’t stop pumping gas to its European customers even if Ukraine doesn’t pay its arrears—-expected to reach $3.5 billion next month—but it can’t guarantee those supplies will reach its intended customers, the company’s Deputy Chief Executive Alexander Medvedev said Friday. Russian state-controlled Gazprom supplies about 30% of Europe’s gas needs, around half of which travels through pipes that cross Ukraine. Any disruption to those flows could have a significant impact on European customers, including utilities in Italy and Germany, and push up prices across the region. But Russia also depends on the revenues from its energy exports which account for around 50% of federal income. Russia has cut off supplies to Ukraine twice in recent years, in 2006 and 2009, in both cases citing pricing disputes. The 2009 shut-off sent prices rising across Europe and triggered some gas shortages in Eastern Europe. Mr. Medvedev, […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

Russian natural-gas giant OAO Gazprom won’t stop pumping gas to its European customers even if Ukraine doesn’t pay its arrears—-expected to reach $3.5 billion next month—but it can’t guarantee those supplies will reach its intended customers, the company’s Deputy Chief Executive Alexander Medvedev said Friday. Russian state-controlled Gazprom supplies about 30% of Europe’s gas needs, around half of which travels through pipes that cross Ukraine. Any disruption to those flows could have a significant impact on European customers, including utilities in Italy and Germany, and push up prices across the region. But Russia also depends on the revenues from its energy exports which account for around 50% of federal income. Russia has cut off supplies to Ukraine twice in recent years, in 2006 and 2009, in both cases citing pricing disputes. The 2009 shut-off sent prices rising across Europe and triggered some gas shortages in Eastern Europe. Mr. Medvedev, […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

U.S. and European leaders Friday struggled to overcome divisions over how to expand sanctions against Russia, a delay that Ukraine complained has emboldened Moscow to continue fanning separatist sentiment in the country’s east. President Barack Obama spoke Friday with leaders of the U.K., France, Germany and Italy to stress the need for concerted measures, and they agreed on the need for action. At the end of the day, the Group of Seven, which also includes Japan and Canada, issued a statement saying they would move swiftly to impose additional targeted sanctions. They didn’t say when or specify the targets. But U.S. and European officials said earlier they have identified areas of greater common ground and suggested the new sanctions are set to come on Monday. "Given the urgency of securing the opportunity for a successful and peaceful democratic vote next month in Ukraine’s presidential elections, we have committed to […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade said Friday it was reviewing options to build ships for liquefied natural gas transport at Crimean ports.The government said a number of shipbuilding companies in Crimea and Sevastopol are either idled or working at below capacity. "One of the options for filling the bag orders of the shipbuilding yards is being developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and it is the possibility of building LNG carriers for shipping liquefied natural gas from the Russian arctic oil fields," the ministry said . A former Soviet republic, Ukraine has tilted toward the European Union following a November uprising. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to annex Crimea, a peninsula of Ukraine, and geopolitical and military tensions continue to escalate . Crimean officials have said Russian energy company Gazprom aims to tap into the more […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade said Friday it was reviewing options to build ships for liquefied natural gas transport at Crimean ports.The government said a number of shipbuilding companies in Crimea and Sevastopol are either idled or working at below capacity. "One of the options for filling the bag orders of the shipbuilding yards is being developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and it is the possibility of building LNG carriers for shipping liquefied natural gas from the Russian arctic oil fields," the ministry said . A former Soviet republic, Ukraine has tilted toward the European Union following a November uprising. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to annex Crimea, a peninsula of Ukraine, and geopolitical and military tensions continue to escalate . Crimean officials have said Russian energy company Gazprom aims to tap into the more […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

DTEK, the Ukrainian energy company led by the nation’s richest man, said customers in Crimea run the risk of power cuts after they didn’t fully pay for electricity they consumed in March. Companies and organizations owe Krymenergo, DTEK’s Crimean unit, 741 million Hryvnia ($64.4 million), the company with offices in Kiev and Donetsk said in a statement on its website today. DTEK is controlled by Rinat Akhmetov , who has a personal fortune of about $11.9 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The main condition of supplying power to the peninsula is 100 percent payment in Ukraine ’s currency,” according to the statement. The unit isn’t authorized to supply customers if it hasn’t received payment, Dmitriy Gontar, director for sales at DTEK Krymenergo, said in the statement. The escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s annexation of Crimea last month led to the worst standoff against the U.S. […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

Russian energy company Gazprom said Thursday it sent a bill to its Ukrainian partners for more than $11 billion for taking on less gas than contracted in 2013. Alexander Medvedev , deputy chief executive officer at Gazprom, said Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz took on 455 billion cubic feet of natural gas last year, but was contractually obligated to 1.4 trillion cubic feet. "Gazprom on Wednesday billed Naftogaz of Ukraine $11.38 billion for gas shortfall in 2013 under the take-or-pay contract," the Gazprom deputy said . Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said earlier this month the government may challenge a 2009 contract between Naftogaz and Ukraine to an international court of arbitration. Gazprom in 2009 cut gas supplies to Ukraine because of contractual disputes. The deal that ended the dispute saddled Ukraine with some of the highest gas bills in the region. European consumers get […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

Ukrainian and Slovak officials Thursday said issues remain with a plan to give Ukraine a new delivery channel for natural gas from the European Union as the country seeks cheaper gas than that being offered by Russia. The officials said they would continue three-way talks Friday and into the weekend in the hope of signing on Monday a memorandum of understanding on the deal. Slovakia is offering Ukraine use of a secondary pipeline with annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters. But reversing flows in the main Slovak pipeline to allow gas shipments to Ukraine creates legal issues between Slovakia and Russia’s OAO Gazprom , said European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger. Ukraine’s Minister of Energy Yuriy Prodan said legal hurdles can be overcome by negotiations and he reiterated that Ukraine is seeking reverse flows in the main pipeline rather than in the smaller secondary pipeline. New Slovak […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

Defying warnings from Moscow not to confront pro-Russian militants entrenched in towns across eastern Ukraine, the interim government on Friday threatened to maintain efforts to regain control by force that have so far produced little beyond Russian military drills on Ukraine’s border and heightened alarm about Moscow’s next move. In a posting on Facebook, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov of Ukraine declared on Friday that his country’s military operations in the east — known as “ATO,” meaning Anti-Terrorist Operation — had not been suspended. “There has been no suspension of the ATO in connection to the threat of invasion by Russia’s armed forces,” Mr. Avakov said. “The ATO goes on. The terrorists should be on their guard around the clock. Civilians have nothing to fear.” Despite the minister’s warning, there have been no reports of renewed conflict since Ukrainian forces moved briefly against pro-Russian positions on Thursday […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

U.S. President Barack Obama said Russia hasn’t abided by either the spirit or the letter of an agreement to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine, and he warned that the U.S. is prepared to impose additional costs. "There will be further consequences, and we will ramp up further sanctions," he said during a news conference in Tokyo Thursday. The White House warned earlier this week that it would act if evidence of Russia’s compliance with an agreement reached in Geneva isn’t evident "in the coming days." Mr. Obama didn’t offer a more specific timeline Thursday, saying only that the timing was a matter of days, not weeks. The president said that the sanctions involve technical work that must be completed before the U.S. can move forward. "The fact that I haven’t announced them yet doesn’t mean that they haven’t been prepared and teed up," Mr. Obama said. The president also said […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

President Barack Obama said the U.S. and its allies have additional sanctions against Russia ready to go as the crisis in Ukraine escalated, with security forces moving against pro-Russian separatists. Russia has yet to act in the spirit or the letter of an agreement reached in Geneva last week to defuse the confrontation, and if there’s no progress in the coming days, “we will follow through,” Obama said in Tokyo today. “We have been preparing for the prospect that we’re going to have to engage in further sanctions,” he told a news conference after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. All that’s required is some “technical work” and coordination with allies, he said. Ukraine continued an offensive against separatists in eastern cities today, Russia warned yesterday it would protect its citizens in Ukrainian territory, raising the prospect of a military move. An accord to disarm rebels signed last week […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

Ukraine considered resuming operations to oust militants from eastern cities as an agreement with Russia to reduce tensions in the region lay in tatters. Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov yesterday called on security forces to move against the separatists after the discovery of two bodies in the country’s eastern region, saying that “terrorists” backed by Russia had “crossed the line.” He spoke hours after meeting in Kiev with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden , who pledged American support including $50 million in aid. With the April 17 accord faltering, Ukraine is inching closer to a renewed push to dislodge militants in defiance of Russia’s warnings that such a move risks sparking civil war. The “active phase” of the offensive was suspended five days ago as Ukraine’s government pledged to abide by the deal negotiated in Geneva by Ukraine, the European Union, the U.S. and Russia. In a call yesterday […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

A pro-Russian leader in the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine said the region was receiving less than its fair share of natural gas.De facto Prime Minister of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said about 30 percent of the area residents were getting supplied with natural gas. "And this is despite the fact that gas is produced on the peninsula on a scale sufficient to supply the whole population of the peninsula," he said Monday. Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula after political upheaval in Kiev moved the former Soviet republic closer to the European Union. Last month, Russian energy company Gazprom said it wanted to tap into the more than 50 billion cubic feet of gas available in Crimea. Gazprom says it’s owed billions of dollars from Kiev for unsettled natural gas bills. With Ukraine hosting the bulk of the Russian gas bound for Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the region’s energy […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

The US has warned Russia to tone down its aggressive rhetoric on Ukraine, or face further sanctions. US Secretary of State John Kerry told his Russian counterpart over the phone that Moscow must call for pro-Russian gunmen to lay down their weapons. Kiev and the West say Moscow commands the gunmen – claims denied by Russia. The Ukrainian authorities have re-launched an anti-terror operation to take back several towns in the east overrun by pro-Russian militants. Acting President Olexander Turchynov said he had ordered the operation to restart after two men – including local politician Vladimir Rybak – were found dead after being "brutally tortured". "The terrorists who effectively took the whole Donetsk region hostage have now gone too far," Mr Turchynov said. Kiev’s military operation to push gunmen out of public buildings began on 16 April but was suspended over the Easter period. In other developments: Some 150 […]

Click here to view full article at www.bbc.com

De-escalation agreed to in Geneva has not materialized in eastern parts of the country, which faces a separatist crisis A deadly shootout in eastern Ukraine on Sunday is proof the country’s interim leaders are “crudely violating” a deal struck in Geneva last week , Russia’s foreign minister said Monday — the latest volley in a war of rhetoric over Ukraine’s separatist crisis, which has continued despite the tentative deal. The Geneva agreement, which called for all armed groups to abandon their occupation of government buildings and public spaces — including pro-Russian separatists in the east and pro-Western demonstrators in Kyiv’s central square — has largely been ignored. Sunday’s attack, which killed at least two and which Russian separatists have blamed on armed far-right nationalists, also broke a truce that was supposed to be honored over the Easter weekend. “The Geneva accord is not only not being fulfilled, but steps […]

Click here to view full article at america.aljazeera.com

An international agreement to avert wider conflict in Ukraine was faltering on Monday, with pro-Moscow separatist gunmen showing no sign of surrendering government buildings they have seized. U.S. and European officials say they will hold Moscow responsible and impose new economic sanctions if the separatists do not clear out of government buildings they have occupied across swathes of eastern Ukraine over the past two weeks. Washington, which signed last week’s accord in Geneva along with Moscow, Kiev and the European Union, said it would decide "in days" on additional sanctions if Russia does not take steps to implement the agreement. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Monday to help carry out the deal, including by "publicly calling on separatists to vacate illegal buildings and checkpoints", spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "If they don’t take steps in the coming days, […]

Click here to view full article at www.reuters.com

SLAVIANSK/YENAKIEVO, Ukraine (Reuters) – At least three people were killed in a gunfight in the early hours of Sunday near a Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russian separatists, shaking an already fragile international accord that was designed to avert a wider conflict. The incident triggered a war of words between Moscow and Ukraine’s Western-backed government, with each questioning the other’s compliance with the agreement, brokered last week in Geneva, to end a crisis that has made Russia’s ties with the West more fraught than at any time since the Cold War. The separatists said armed men from Ukraine’s Right Sector nationalist group had attacked them. The Right Sector denied any role, saying Russian special forces were behind the clash. Failure of the Geneva agreement could bring more bloodshed in eastern Ukraine, but may also prompt the United States to impose tougher sanctions on the Kremlin – with far-reaching consequences for […]

Click here to view full article at www.reuters.com

KIEV, Ukraine — An American-backed deal to settle the crisis in eastern Ukraine fell flat on Friday as pro-Russian militants vowed to stay in occupied government buildings, dashing hopes of a swift end to an insurgency that the authorities in Kiev portray as a Kremlin-orchestrated effort to put Ukraine’s industrial heartland under Russian control. But the agreement, reached in Geneva on Thursday by diplomats from the European Union, Russia, Ukraine and the United States, appeared to arrest, at least temporarily, the momentum of separatist unrest in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east. Armed pro-Russian militants, who have seized buildings in at least 10 towns and cities since Feb. 6, paused their efforts to purge all central government authority from the populous Donetsk region. It was clear all along that for the pact to have a chance of success, the Kremlin would have to pressure the militants to leave the buildings they had […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

Pro-Russia activists refused to retreat from occupied public buildings in eastern Ukraine on Friday despite an unexpected diplomatic breakthrough on Thursday night that laid out steps to disarm the protesters and ease tensions in the country. After seven hours of negotiations, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, and John Kerry and Andriy Deshchytsia, his US and Ukrainian counterparts, said a statement had been agreed calling for the disbanding of armed groups, the vacation of occupied streets and buildings, and an amnesty for people detained during the unrest. In addition, Ukraine will embark on a process of constitutional reform designed to foster regional autonomy, local self-government and the protection of minority rights, a process which both Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov stressed must be “inclusive, transparent, and accountable”. But anti-Kiev protesters were determined to stand their ground on Friday, reinforcing doubts already emerging over the ability to implement the […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

The high-level talks on Ukraine that are set to begin here on Thursday have emerged as a pivotal test of Russia ’s intentions in the region before the United States and European nations decide whether to impose additional economic sanctions on Moscow, American officials said on Wednesday.  “The idea here is that they would stop aiding and abetting and supporting these separatists and that they would pull their troops back from the border,” said a senior State Department official, referring to Western charges that Russia is behind the separatist protests in eastern Ukraine.  “If Russia does not take this opportunity to de-escalate, the costs are going to go up,” the official said. Secretary of State John Kerry will participate in the four-way meeting, which is to be held in a luxury hotel here, along with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov; Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, Andrii […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

The Facebook post on Tuesday morning by Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia was bleak and full of dread. “Blood has been spilled in Ukraine again,” wrote Mr. Medvedev, once favored in the West for playing good cop to the hard-boiled president, Vladimir V. Putin. “The threat of civil war looms.” He pleaded with Ukrainians to decide their own future “without usurpers, nationalists and bandits, without tanks or armored vehicles — and without secret visits by the C.I.A. director.” And so began another day of bluster and hyperbole, of the misinformation, exaggerations, conspiracy theories, overheated rhetoric and, occasionally, outright lies about the political crisis in Ukraine that have emanated from the highest echelons of the Kremlin and reverberated on state-controlled Russian television, hour after hour, day after […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

The U.S. stepped up efforts to dissuade Russia from intervening in Ukraine’s increasingly unstable east, with President telling President Monday that a diplomatic solution to the crisis is still possible even as he warned against further escalation. Russia requested the call, the first between the presidents since March 28, after Mr. Putin annexed Crimea. The White House also confirmed that Central Intelligence Agency Director was in Kiev over the weekend, at the same time that pro-Russian . The moves come ahead of a high-stakes meeting this week between U.S. Secretary of State and officials from Russia, Ukraine and the European Union, as well as a visit to Kiev next week by Vice President . On Tuesday, U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, the military commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, will issue recommendations on Western military support for Ukraine. The general has privately advocated increased strategic intelligence sharing, […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

Ukraine’s acting president said Tuesday that a military operation to wrest control of has begun. Oleksandr Turchynov said that the "antiterrorist" operation began in the early morning hours in the northern Donetsk region, where the majority of the cities commandeered by pro-Russian forces are located. "Overnight, an antiterrorist operation began in the north of Donetsk. But it will be phased, responsible and balanced. The purpose of the actions, I stress once again, is to protect the citizens of Ukraine," he told Ukraine’s parliament, according to Interfax. Also on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that any use of force by Ukraine’s government to quell unrest in the east could derail upcoming talks in Geneva on Thursday between the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and the European Union. […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

The U.S. readiness to impose new economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine is offset by the European Union’s reluctance to introduce stronger measures that could threaten its already fragile economic recovery. While the Obama administration said yesterday that it’s prepared to ramp up sanctions, possibly to target specific sectors of the Russian economy such as financial services and energy, the EU limited its decision to expanding an existing list of individuals under asset freezes and travel bans. U.S. officials concede that squeezing Russia’s economy is the only realistic weapon the U.S. and its European allies have to respond to the clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian authorities. Without European support, though, U.S. sanctions will have little effect on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine, said Simon Mandel , vice president for emerging Europe equity sales at Auerbach Grayson & Co. “The level of trade between the U.S. and […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

Russia and the U.S. traded barbs at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council as a deadline passed for pro-Russian separatists to leave buildings they occupied amid escalating violence in eastern Ukraine . Russia called the meeting after protests escalated near Slovyansk, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the Russian frontier. Camouflaged gunmen fired on Kiev government troops in an anti-terror operation, killing one serviceman and wounding five, the Ukrainian government said. At the UN, Russia demanded the U.S. press Ukraine to drop acting President Oleksandr Turchynov’s 9 a.m. deadline to vacate the buildings. As of 9:44 a.m. local time, there were no reports of Ukrainian forces moving on the buildings. The U.S. said Russia was destabilizing Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin ’s government was telling “fairy tales” in accusing America and its allies of fomenting the unrest. The meeting comes as officials from NATO, the European […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Towns in eastern Ukraine on Monday braced for military action from government forces as a deadline passed for pro-Russian separatists to disarm and end their occupation of state buildings or face a major "anti-terrorist" operation. As the 9 a.m. (2 a.m. EDT)) deadline issued by authorities in Kiev expired, a Reuters reporter in the flashpoint city of Slaviansk, where armed men had seized two government buildings, said there was no outward sign the rebels were complying with the ultimatum. Angered by the death of a state security officer and the wounding of two comrades near Slaviansk, acting president Oleksander Turchinov warned rebels on Sunday that a full-scale security operation, including the army, would be unleashed unless they met the deadline. Turchinov and other leaders blame Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region when Moscow-backed former president Viktor Yanukovich fled after months of pro-Western protests, for inspiring […]

Click here to view full article at www.reuters.com

SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Towns in eastern Ukraine on Monday braced for military action from government forces as a deadline passed for pro-Russian separatists to disarm and end their occupation of state buildings or face a major "anti-terrorist" operation. As the 9 a.m. (2 a.m. EDT)) deadline issued by authorities in Kiev expired, a Reuters reporter in the flashpoint city of Slaviansk, where armed men had seized two government buildings, said there was no outward sign the rebels were complying with the ultimatum. Angered by the death of a state security officer and the wounding of two comrades near Slaviansk, acting president Oleksander Turchinov warned rebels on Sunday that a full-scale security operation, including the army, would be unleashed unless they met the deadline. Turchinov and other leaders blame Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region when Moscow-backed former president Viktor Yanukovich fled after months of pro-Western protests, for inspiring […]

Click here to view full article at www.reuters.com

Pro-Russia separatists occupying government buildings in eastern Ukraine defied a deadline from Kiev to surrender as Moscow promised to “protect” people in the region from violence. A Russian flag continued to fly over the police headquarters in the city of Slavyansk at 9am (7am BST), the time Oleksandr Turchynov, Ukraine president, had given gunmen to lay down their weapons. Masked gunmen continued to man barricades in front of the building, agencies reported. On Sunday, Mr Turchynov said in a televised address that Kiev was “not going to allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in Ukraine’s east”, referring to Moscow’s annexation of the peninsula last month. He said a “large-scale antiterrorist operation” would be launched to re-establish control of the contested cities. But Moscow, which has massed tens […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

The Ukrainian government on Sunday for the first time sent its security services to confront armed pro-Russian militants in the country’s east, defying warnings from Russia. Commandos engaged in gunfights with men who had set up roadblocks and stormed a Ukrainian police station in Slovyansk, and at least one officer was killed, Ukrainian officials said. Several officers were injured in the operation, as were four locals, the officials said. Russian news media and residents here disputed that account, saying the Ukrainian forces had only briefly engaged one checkpoint. In either case, the central government in Kiev has turned to force to try to restore its authority in the east, a course of action that the Russian government has repeatedly warned against. With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed along Ukraine’s eastern border near Donetsk, Western leaders have worried that Moscow might use unrest in Ukraine’s […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

The political pressure is rising as the pipeline pressure falls Russia has threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine because of the dispute over prices. That could also affect EU countries, as much Russian gas is delivered to the West through Ukraine. We examine what’s behind the row, and its potential impact on Europe and its gas supplies. What is the row about? The immediate dispute is about Ukraine’s very large unpaid gas bill: $2.2bn (£1.2bn; 1.4bn euros), according to the Russian state-controlled utility Gazprom. If Ukraine does not settle its bill, Gazprom will in effect install the world’s largest pre-pay meter, and Ukraine will be obliged to pay for its gas in advance. If it fails to pay, Gazprom says it will restrict or suspend delivery. But lurking behind this is the power struggle between the interim Ukrainian government, which leans towards the EU, and Russia, which wants […]

Click here to view full article at www.bbc.com

The US government has imposed sanctions against the Crimean subsidiary of Ukraine’s national gas company, which was seized by the region’s parliament in the run-up to its annexation by Russia. The Department of Commerce said on Friday afternoon that Chernomorneftegaz – also known as Chornomornaftogaz – had been added to the list of entities facing trade restrictions, saying the company’s assets were “now being overseen by Russian government interests”. The sanctions are likely to make it impossible for US companies to enter joint ventures with Chernomorneftegaz to explore areas in the Black Sea that are believed to hold significant oil and gas reserves. However, it had already been clear since Russia’s move into Crimea that the disputed status of those areas would make operating there very difficult for western companies. ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell had been pursuing an offshore joint venture in the Black Sea with companies other […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

NATO released satellite photographs on Thursday showing Russian military equipment, including fighter jets and tanks, that it described as part of a deployment of as many as 40,000 troops near the border with Ukraine . The release came the same day that President Vladimir V. Putin reiterated a threat to curtail gas sales to Ukraine. The photographs , taken by a commercial satellite imaging company called DigitalGlobe, offered some of the first documentary evidence of a military buildup that the West says Russia could use to invade Ukraine at any moment. They were released at a news conference in Belgium by Brig. Gary Deakin, the director of NATO’s Comprehensive Crisis and Operations Management Center. The Kremlin has accused the West of exaggerating Russia’s military presence along the Ukrainian border and has insisted that it has no plans for a second military incursion after its lightning-quick occupation […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

Vladimir Putin warned that Russia was poised to halt gas supplies to Ukraine – placing European customers in jeopardy – unless immediate action was taken to resolve Kiev’s unpaid bills. In a letter to European leaders , the Russian president said state-controlled had a contractual right to force Ukraine to pay in advance for gas supplies, and would “completely or partially cease gas deliveries” if further payment violations occurred. The letter is the first time Moscow has so clearly threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine , a key transit route for 15 per cent of European gas. Kiev on Friday announced it had signed a contract with Westinghouse Electric Company, based in the US, to extend the supply of nuclear fuel to Ukraine’s 15 atomic power plants until 2020, thereby reducing the country’s dependence on Russian sources. It came as Kiev was still locked in a stand-off […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned leaders in Europe on Thursday that Russia could cut supplies of natural gas to Ukraine if its unpaid bill isn’t addressed, potentially disrupting deliveries to the rest of the continent. In a letter sent to leaders in countries reliant on Russian gas, Mr. Putin ramped up pressure on the fledgling government in Kiev, repeating his threat that Russia may have to take the "extreme measure" of making Ukraine pays in advance for the gas it uses. He called for emergency talks with Europe to resolve the matter. "In the event of further violation of the conditions of payment, [state-run gas company Gazprom] will completely or partially cease gas deliveries," the letter stated. "We fully realize that this increases the risk of siphoning off natural gas passing through Ukraine’s territory and heading to European consumers. We […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

Ukraine’s top police official gave a 48-hour deadline to separatists who have occupied the regional government building  in Donetsk Wednesday, as activists in the eastern city continued to dig in and expand their makeshift defenses and arsenals. Donetsk’s regional governor, meanwhile, sounded a more conciliatory note after meeting for talks with leaders of the separatists for more than two hours. As crowds of at least 1,000 massed throughout the day outside the administration building in the center of the city, the comments by acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov appeared to deepen the resolve of the scores of masked, camouflaged men roaming the building and its exterior — many wearing orange construction helmets, carrying makeshift clubs and hospital surgical masks. Speaking at a government meeting in Kyiv, Avakov said “antiterrorist operations" were underway in Donetsk and two other regions that have seen pro-Russian activists seize government buildings. […]

Click here to view full article at america.aljazeera.com

The Ukrainian government won’t bow to pressure from the Kremlin by accepting a rise in natural gas prices, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said. Russian energy company Gazprom said Ukraine has accumulated around $1.7 billion in gas debt and a discounted price for natural gas, secured in December, no longer applied. Yatsenyuk said his government was ready to make "all payments" for previous gas supplies from Russia, adding increased prices were unacceptable. "Ukraine is ready to continue buying natural gas at the price that was in effect since the beginning of the year — $268 [per 1,000 cubic meters]," he said Saturday. "This is an acceptable and balanced price." Gazprom in 2009 cut gas supplies to Ukraine in response to contractual disputes. The deal that ended the impasse left Ukraine with some of the highest gas bills in Europe and sparked concerns about energy security in the region. European consumers […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

The Ukrainian government won’t bow to pressure from the Kremlin by accepting a rise in natural gas prices, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said. Russian energy company Gazprom said Ukraine has accumulated around $1.7 billion in gas debt and a discounted price for natural gas, secured in December, no longer applied. Yatsenyuk said his government was ready to make "all payments" for previous gas supplies from Russia, adding increased prices were unacceptable. "Ukraine is ready to continue buying natural gas at the price that was in effect since the beginning of the year — $268 [per 1,000 cubic meters]," he said Saturday. "This is an acceptable and balanced price." Gazprom in 2009 cut gas supplies to Ukraine in response to contractual disputes. The deal that ended the impasse left Ukraine with some of the highest gas bills in Europe and sparked concerns about energy security in the region. European consumers […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

The European Union’s energy chief, Günther Oettinger, has hastily convened two meetings for Tuesday to discuss growing concerns in Brussels about potential disruption of gas supplies to Ukraine. Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan will attend a roundtable on energy security on Tuesday, alongside representatives from the gas industry and Eurogas, a body representing European gas companies. Mr. Oettinger, who will chair the talks, called the meeting to look at ways to help Ukraine meet its gas needs, a European Commission official said. On the same day, Mr. Oettinger is also convening a meeting of the Gas Coordination Group, composed of officials from the bloc’s member states, gas network operators and other industry representatives. The Gas Coordination Group usually meets a few times a year, though the next scheduled meeting hadn’t been due to take place before the end of May. "We’re all under a lot of time pressure," the […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

A U.S.-based energy company and Ukraine are on the verge of signing a deal that would lessen Russia’s influence and give the West greater leverage on the former Soviet republic. Westinghouse Electric Co. of Pennsylvania said on Thursday it is in negotiations to extend its contract with Ukraine energy operator Energoatom to supply nuclear fuel for reactors, a deal that would bolster the country’s commitment to long-term cooperation with the West. The talks come after the administration has extended the welcome mat to the interim Ukraine government as Kiev looks to strike deals with Western partners. In March, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk met with President Barack Obama before meeting with Westinghouse officials in Pennsylvania. "Westinghouse is currently in discussions with Energoatom to agree on an amended fuel supply contract," Westinghouse spokesman Hans Korteweg said. Ilona Zayets, a spokeswoman for state-owned Energoatom, said the two sides are in final […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

Russian energy company Gazprom said Tuesday it would raise by $100 per 1,000 cubic meters the amount it would charge Ukraine for natural gas. Ukraine in December secured a 30 percent discount for the amount of gas delivered by Gazprom. The company’s chief executive officer, Alexei Miller , said Tuesday the discount no longer applied and Ukraine could be charged another $100 per 1,000 cubic meters, the standard purchase volume. "In line with the current contract on delivering gas, the price for Ukraine in the second quarter [of 2014] will be $385.50," he said . Gazprom in 2009 cut gas supplies to Ukraine because of contractual disputes. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the economy is in ruins, though Gazprom said Kiev still has around $1.7 billion in unpaid gas debts. European consumers get about a quarter of their gas needs met by Gazprom, though […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com