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The Russia-Ukraine Crisis And The Global Energy Transition

The Russia-Ukraine crisis has not only changed the geopolitical landscape, but also profoundly altered the global energy balance.

Since the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, geopolitical risks have stimulated a sharp rise in international oil prices. Since February 21, 2022, when Russia recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities until March 2, the price of Brent crude oil rose 17.6%., from $97.38 to $114.5; the price of Crude Oil WTI rose 20%, from $92.8 to $111.38. On March 2, the gas price at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark gas price for Europe, soared to a record high to over 194 euro per megawatt-hour, equivalent to more than 2,000 euro per 1,000 cubic meters of gas.

The Significance Of The Turkish Straits To The Russian Navy

Four days into the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine on February 27, 2022, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu declared that the operation in question was a “war.” He explained to CNN Türk, “Under these conditions, we will apply the Montreux agreement. Article 19 is pretty clear. In the beginning, it was a Russian attack and we evaluated it with experts, soldiers, and lawyers. Now it has turned into a war. This is not a military operation; it is officially a state of war.” The Turkish government has also sought to use the convention to de-escalate tensions in the Black Sea and, more broadly, has cautioned all countries not to send any warships into the Black Sea—perhaps to limit the possibility of Western maritime escalation.

Ukraine soldiers to leave UN mission in eastern DRC

A contingent of 250 Ukrainian peacekeepers are to leave eastern DRC and return to Ukraine.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by the UN.

A date is yet to be announced for the departure. The withdrawal will also include equiment and helicopters.

Russian mercenaries have landed in West Africa, pushing Putin’s goals as Kremlin is increasingly isolated

They wear army fatigues with no flag and carry Kalashnikov assault rifles. They guard the presidential palace and track extremists in the scrubland. Hundreds of Russian mercenaries have landed here over the last three months, according to regional and Western officials, providing a shadowy source of protection as this nation’s alliances with the West unravel.

Strategic Implications for Africa from Russia’s Invasion in Ukraine

The invasion of Ukraine is a wake-up call to the implications of Russia’s attempts to export its governance model to Africa—with sobering consequences for African sovereignty and stability.

It’s commonly held that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s objective for invading Ukraine is to install a puppet regime that is pliable to Moscow’s interests. If so, this would be consistent with the approach Russia has taken with its forays into Africa in recent years.

Russia Reveals Details on US-Funded Biological Labs in Ukraine

“The U.S. planned to conduct work on pathogens of birds, bats, and reptiles in Ukraine in 2022,” Konashenkov said.

On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Igor Konashenkov denounced that the U.S. financed Ukranian biolabs to carry out experiments with bat coronavirus samples.

The Ukrainian War In The Economic Arena – Analysis

War, as well as causing death and destruction, is harmful to economies: it destroys physical and human capital, increases uncertainty and stifles investment and consumption. But in addition to the direct economic impact of the war in Ukraine –which will bring both the Ukrainian and, owing to Western sanctions, the Russian economies to a shuddering halt– one must also mention the unclear effect of turbulence in the fuel and raw materials markets, with fallout that is still very uncertain for Europe, as well as the impact of other economic measures that may be adopted in the future if the conflict persists. All this will steer the world economy, in the best-case scenarios, towards lower growth and greater inflation; and, in the worst case scenario, to an acute stalling of growth that could turn into a recession in many European countries (and elsewhere) owing to shocks in the financial and commodity markets.

Bellingcat’s Grozev on Investigating Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

  1. Strong Focus on Data

“Information is often valuable, but you need to net it out of the agenda, of the noise, and find the valuable information,” Grozev said. He explained that this is why Bellingcat’s work is data-focused rather than based on sources, as sources often have agendas. Before the war, Grozev’s team received tip-offs about what was going to happen. As these were unverified claims from sources, they didn’t publish them, but they gave them some hints about the situation in the Kremlin.

Investigating Russia Around the World: A GIJN Instant Toolkit

Russia’s war against Ukraine has sparked an explosion of interest in what Moscow is up to around the world. With that in mind, GIJN has assembled a kind of starter-toolkit to help journalists track Russian assets, political interference, and disinformation in their countries. From oligarch planes to sanctions trackers, you’ll find over 30 useful sites here. We’ve also included some of the best tools we’ve seen for following Russia’s war on Ukraine. This is a work-in-progress, so be sure to send us your comments and additions.