Vladimir Putin Russia-Ukraine war

2022 - 4 - 27

Five Signs War In Ukraine Is The Last Gasp Of The Putin Era (Forbes)

Putin's Russia is a mess. The Ukraine invasion is just the latest evidence of a decaying nation.

The same is true of Belarus, which Russia must periodically reinforce to keep President Alexander Lukashenko in power. Russia’s population is shrinking in part due to a fertility rate of 1.8 children per woman, well below the level of 2.1 required to stabilize the population. Even without the constant rumors about Putin’s deteriorating health, it is hard to believe the shaky edifice over which he presides will last much longer. Such ties have little resemblance to alliances such as NATO, where participation is voluntary and leaders are democratically elected. The German news agency DW reports that hundreds of thousands of Russians have emigrated since the war began, constituting “the largest exodus since the October Revolution.” The emigrants tend to be drawn from academic, tech and other knowledge fields, meaning the ongoing exodus is a significant brain drain. It sustains a menagerie of client states that fall into one of two categories: adjacent dictatorships once part of the Soviet Union, and more distant authoritarian regimes such as Cuba and Syria. All of these relations cost Russia money, particularly in terms of propping up their shaky leaders. Whatever the security benefits of these relations might be, they contribute little or nothing to Russia’s economy. Like the U.S., Russia had been benefiting from immigration to maintain its population levels, but that has fallen off due to a lack of economic opportunities. The country’s exports are heavily concentrated in fossil fuels at a time when the world is switching to renewables. Russia has some of the worst demographic trends in the industrialized world. The CIA’s World Factbook ranks it 156th out of 226 countries at an average of 72.4 years (just below Moldova). Most industrialized countries, including the U.S., average in the low-to-mid 80s in terms of longevity. Since Putin resumed his role as president in 2012, its annual growth rate has averaged only 1.35%, so the country remains firmly anchored among the ranks of middle-income nations.

US, allies hustling to save Ukraine; Rand Paul says US push to get ... (USA TODAY)

Countries around the world are stepping up to meet Ukraine's urgent needs, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. Ukraine updates.

Asked for his assessment of what’s happening in Russia, Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s propaganda system is hard to penetrate, but citizens are increasingly feeling the effects of sanctions. He said Ukrainians won the battle for Kyiv and the city is coming back to life. Heappey said the likelihood of nuclear war is "vanishingly small" since it would not be in the best interests of any country. “It's impossible not to be moved by what the Ukrainians have achieved.” Ukraine has the right to use Western-provided weapons to strike military targets on Russian soil, U.K. Defense Minister James Heappey said. That's what really worries a lot of people," said Olena Khorenjenko, 33, a Ukrainian refugee who fled to Moldova and is familiar with Transnistria. The level of support is the highest that Gallup has ever found in a survey about various refugee situations, dating back to 1939. "Ukraine’s defense of Mariupol has also exhausted many Russian units and reduced their combat effectiveness," the British assessment says. Russian forces control most of the city; holdouts are centered in and around the sprawling Azovstal steel plant. Before 2022, the highest level of support for refugees entering the U.S. was for allowing "several hundred ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo" in 1999, when 66% approved. Austin said Germany, which had balked at providing heavy weaponry to Ukraine, has agreed to send 50 anti-aircraft weapons to the embattled nation now in its third month of a grueling war against Russia's invading forces. He said meetings similar to the one Tuesday will be held once a month, either virtually or in person.

Russia-Ukraine war live updates: U.S. pushes NATO for military aid ... (NBC News)

The United States pressed NATO allies to ramp up military support for Ukraine after Russia warned the threat of World War III was "real."

“Our sincere apologies for making a mistake in the previous version of the video. Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces early in the war and its residents took to the streets in protest against the occupation. Lavrov said the weapons shipments “will be a legitimate target,” adding that Russian forces had already targeted weapons warehouses in western Ukraine. He accused Ukrainian leaders of provoking Russia by asking NATO to become involved in the conflict. It comes just a day after several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades were reported to hit the ministry of state security in the city of Tiraspol, the region’s capital. During the call, Erdogan mentioned the importance of a cease-fire, humanitarian corridors and safe evacuations, according to the statement. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said three people died after Russian shells hit a residential building in the city of Popasna, which Russian forces have been trying to capture. “We have to move at the speed of war,” he said. Putin last week declared victory in Mariupol and ordered Russian troops not to storm the steel plant. The embassy tweeted that Tuesday's trip was "a first step ahead of more regular travel in the immediate future." It caused almost $1 billion in damage to three U.S. companies, including a Pennsylvania hospital system, alone, according to the Justice Department. “It is visible that there is damage, and we are assessing that because our job is to give precise information,” Grossi said.

Russia-Ukraine war: What happened today (April 26) (NPR)

A roundup of key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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The Russia-Ukraine War: April 26, 2022 (The Wall Street Journal)

United Nations: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, called for the establishment of safe and ...

Transnistria, a narrow strip of land bordering Ukraine, was carved out of Moldova in the country’s 1992 civil war and is held by pro-Russian separatists. Poland and other European nations rejected the demand. Bulgaria gets more than 75% of its gas from Russia and has few immediate options to replace that supply. Mondelez earlier this month was still promoting “The Batman” Oreo cookies, with a chance for Russians to win thousands of U.S. dollars in a related contest online. Earlier this year, Congress approved $13.6 billion in military, humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine as part of a broader spending bill. The company estimates that will lower its earnings by three cents per share this year. In March, Mondelez’s two Ukrainian factories were significantly damaged, the company said, and the war has increased its costs related to making and selling its snacks. Mondelez said it would discontinue new capital investments and suspend advertising media spending. But exports hit a snag in recent days when Rosneft Oil Co. struggled to find buyers for enough oil to fill a fleet of tankers, traders familiar with the sale said. Mr. Abramovich has become the highest-profile member of the oligarch class in recent weeks. Many U.S. allies left oil and gas shipments out of their harshest sanctions on Russia. Importers in India and elsewhere swooped in to buy cheap Russian barrels at a time of rocketing energy prices. Mr. Guterres travels to Kyiv on Thursday.

Pentagon chief calls Russia nuclear rhetoric 'dangerous'; U.S. to ... (CNBC)

Russia has said that the threat of a nuclear war is very significant, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed the risks should not be underestimated. However ...

We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it cannot do the kinds of things it has done in invading Ukraine," Austin told the press. In terms of our — their ability to win, the first step in winning is believing that you can win. Heappey also appeared to emphasize that the West was not responsible for these attacks, despite providing Ukraine with weapons that have the range to reach Russian territory. "It is simply wrong to go first to Russia," Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy told press on Saturday. "There is no justice and no logic in this order. I don't think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation," James Heappey told the BBC Breakfast program on Tuesday. Kuleba said that the war would be over sooner if allies sent more weapons to Ukraine and imposed additional sanctions on Russian oil and gas. Simson did not specify exactly what the sanctions would target, though the EU has come under pressure for its continued buying of Russian energy resources, providing Moscow with billions in revenues every week. "The visit was a first step ahead of more regular travel in the immediate future," the embassy said. "The human impact and the suffering already caused by this war are staggering. Russia has said that the threat of a nuclear war is very significant, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed the risks should not be underestimated. "Nobody wants to see a nuclear war that nobody can win at. According to Turkey, Erdogan emphasized how important it was for Russia and Ukraine to continue high level talks like those that Erdogan hosted in Istanbul last month.