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Before the fear of war, fear of fracking in Ukraine

SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — A hot July day, and the neighbors and children of a half-ruined five-story building on Bulvarnaya Avenue gathered around a bench for a long discussion of their daily fears. Locals seemed to have consensus on who’s at war: the U.S. and Russia over control of Ukraine, they all agreed. But even now, three months past the day the first shell fell on Slovyansk, they still had trouble comprehending why their green, sleepy hometown still was trapped in this conflict. Residents of the bombed building remembered how in April, local and Russian-assigned rebel commanders chose to set up the capital for their forces in this town. shale, Donbass, Ukraine The people of the Donbass, the country’s gritty industrial region in the east, were not naive. They realized that gas pipelines crossing the border with Russia and the shale gas fields near Slovyansk — with a potential reserve […]

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Ukraine Threatens Oil and Gas Cut-Off in Russia Sanctions

Ukraine threatened to block Russian oil and gas supplies to Europe in new sanctions against Vladimir Putin ’s government, which it blames for a separatist uprising that has ravaged the country’s east. Ukraine, which no longer receives any gas from Russia but acts as a conduit for its neighbor’s European customers, is considering a “complete or partial ban on the transit of all resources” across its territory, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told reporters today in Kiev. It may also ban Russian planes from its airspace and cut defense-industry cooperation. “There’s no doubt that Russia will continue its course — started a decade ago — aimed at banning imports of Ukrainian goods, limiting cooperation with Ukraine, pressure and blackmail,” Yatsenyuk said. “In the most negative scenario for Ukraine, losses during the first year may reach $7 billion, not only because of sanctions but also because of the Kremlin’s aggressive policy.” […]

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Exxon Drilling Russian Arctic Shows Sanction Lack Bite

Sanctions, what sanctions? Exxon Mobil Corp. will start drilling a $700 million well in the Arctic Ocean tomorrow, Russia’s government said, showing that for all the talk of action against Vladimir Putin ’s oil industry, the largest U.S. energy company is undeterred. As Russia’s relations with Europe and the U.S. deteriorated to the lowest point since the Cold war over the conflict in Ukraine, the European Union imposed a third round of sanctions last week, restricting the export of equipment used for offshore oil production. That doesn’t affect Exxon’s plans because the contract to hire the rig was signed before the measures were announced. Developing the Arctic is vital for Russia, where energy provides half the state’s revenue, to maintain oil production near a post-Soviet high of more than 10 million barrels a day. For Exxon, where output fell to a five-year low in the second quarter, a discovery […]

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Canada tightens sanctions noose on Russia

Canadian Prime Minister said new economic pressure on Russia targets technology used for oil exploration and extraction. Harper said he had grave concerns over Russia’s provocative military action in eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists there are suspected of playing a role in the downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet last month, killing all 295 people on board. The prime minister said he was imposing a travel ban on 19 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and economic sanctions on close to two dozen Russian and Ukrainian groups. "We are also committed to imposing the necessary regulations to enact export restrictions on technologies used in Russia’s oil exploration and extraction sector," Harper said in a statement Wednesday. "Those will be implemented in parallel with our allies." Harper in July announced sanctions against 10 separate Russian entities, including Russian independent gas company Novatek and Gazprombank, the financial arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom. […]

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Japan hits Russia with more sanctions

The Japanese government said Tuesday it enacted sanctions on dozens of entities in response to Russia’s actions in eastern Ukraine. Tokyo said it was imposing additional sanctions on Russia for violating Ukraine’s sovereignty through the continued support of separatists in the east of the country. Rebels there are suspected in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 last month, which left all 295 people on board dead. The list of those sanctioned include dozens of high-ranking officials in Crimea as well as Crimean oil and gas company Chernomorneftegaz. Tokyo’s sanctions follow similar actions by the U.S. and European governments targeting Russia’s energy sector. When Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveiled his list of sanctions against Russia, he sad it was in response to Russia’s occupation of the Crimean region in Ukraine and its military action in eastern Ukraine. Japan receives Russian oil through the 2,900-mile Eastern […]

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Russia troops build up on Ukraine border

A Ukrainian serviceman checks cars driving away from Donetsk near the village of Maryinka, a suburb of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, on August 5, 2014. Terrified residents on August 5 fled the besieged rebel bastion of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine along a perilous humanitarian corridor, as government forces pushed their offensive to the outskirts of the city. AFP PHOTO / ANDREY KRASNOSCHEKOVAndrey Krasnoschekov/AFP/Getty Images Russia has sharply increased the number of troops and vehicles positioned on the eastern border of Ukraine in the past few days, raising fears of an invasion to stop the Ukrainian army’s recent advances against pro-Russian separatists. Moscow has around 20,000 troops deployed in battle-ready formations on the border, according to senior Nato military officers – significantly more than the 15,000 US officials said were deployed there last week. More On this story On this topic IN Europe While the number is still well below […]

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Defiant Putin Readies Retaliation Against Western Sanctions Over Ukraine

Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers who had crossed the border into Russia on Monday returned to Ukraine, after both Ukrainian and Russian officials gave conflicting explanations of why the Ukrainian soldiers had entered Russia. WSJ’s Niki Blasina reports. (Photo: AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin said he has ordered his government to prepare retaliatory measures against U.S. and European sanctions imposed on Russia last week, as the Kremlin stepped up pressure on Ukraine. Mr. Putin has shown no outward sign of buckling under the weight of sanctions—the harshest yet imposed by Brussels and Washington—aimed at getting him to stop supporting pro-Russia rebels across the border in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign MInistry described eastern Ukraine as on the verge of a "humanitarian catastrophe" and said Tuesday it would push for an international mission to help masses of civilians fleeing the fighting. At Russia’s request, the United Nations Security Council met for a […]

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Ukraine’s army positioning to move on rebels in Donetsk

A pro-Russian separatist guards a checkpoint near the Ukrainian village of Rozsypne in the Donetsk region Monday. The Ukrainian government appeared to be readying an assault on Donetsk, which is held by separatists. (Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters) KIEV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian military on Monday appeared to be readying a long-awaited major assault on the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, warning civilians to leave as troops tightened their ring around the city amid heavy fighting. Extra evacuation corridors were set up for cars bearing white flags, said Andriy Lysenko, a military spokesman. The Donetsk city government posted the corridor routes on its Web page and noted: “As practice shows, such messages are distributed before the start of active combat operations.” Lysenko also announced that troops had taken the town of Yasynuvata, home to a key railway control center between Donetsk and Luhansk. The military has almost encircled the two large cities, where […]

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Buildup Makes Russia Battle-Ready for Ukraine

WASHINGTON — Russia has roughly doubled the number of its battalions near the Ukrainian border, Western officials said Monday, and could respond to the Kiev government’s gains there by launching a cross-border incursion with little or no warning. Over the past several weeks, Russia has built up 17 battalions — totaling 19,000 to 21,000 troops, according to one Western estimate — into a battle-ready force of infantry, armor, artillery and air defense within a few miles of the border. In addition, it has vastly expanded its firepower, increasing the number of advanced surface-to-air missile units to 14 from eight, and deploying more than 30 artillery batteries, according to the officials. The Kremlin’s intentions in increasing its military abilities remain unclear. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could be seeking to pressure Ukraine and the United States to agree to a political settlement that would grant the eastern provinces of […]

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Germany cancels defence contract with Russia

The Vladivostok warship, a Mistral class…The Vladivostok warship, a Mistral class LHD amphibious vessel ordered by Russia to the STX France shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, western France, leaves for her first trial on March 5, 2014. The Vladivostok warship is one of two navy ships ordered from France by the Russian army and it will take part in a sea trial. AFP PHOTO / FRANK PERRYFRANK PERRY/AFP/Getty Images France is coming under further pressure to cancel its contract with Russia for three Mistral war ships Germany on Monday cancelled a contract to supply Russia with a €120m combat simulation centre, amid an escalating row among European partners about arms sales to Moscow, including France’s €1.2bn warship contract. In Russia the decision by Germany to withdraw authorisation for the three-year contract is expected to accelerate moves to cut dependence on imported military technology, which have already been boosted by last week’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple