Nepali Times

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Winners and losers of the fossil fuel war

Gasoline prices this year exceeded $1.10 per litre in the United States, and in an attempt to curb prices the government is releasing part of its strategic crude reserves so that the refineries have sufficient supplies. Photo: FIDEL MÁRQUEZ/IPS he oil and gas supply crisis unleashed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine represents new business opportunities for […]

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Ukraine war: North Korea supplying Russia with weapons, say US reports

SEPT 6: According to declassified intelligence obtained by the New York Times, Russia has bought millions of artillery shells and rockets from Pyongyang. A US official said Russia would be forced to buy additional North Korean weaponry as the war dragged on. Last week, Moscow reportedly received its first order of new Iranian drones. Iran and North Korea, both the targets of significant Western sanctions, have sought to deepen ties with Russia since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February. Kim Jong-un's regime has blamed the US for the conflict and accused the West of pursuing a "hegemonic policy" that justified Russia's use of force. Last month, North Korea recognised the independence of Russia's two proxy statelets in eastern Ukraine - the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics - and vowed to deepen its "comradely friendship" with Moscow. Russia's Vladimir Putin said the two countries would expand their "comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations", according to Pyongyang state media. The exact size and scale of the new weapons deliveries revealed by the report remain unclear. But a US official told the Associated Press that turning to North Korea for support demonstrated that "the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions". Broad economic sanctions have done little to damage Russia's income from energy exports, according to Finnish think tank the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. It estimates Russia has made €158bn (£136bn) from surging fossil fuel prices during the six-month invasion, with EU imports accounting for more than half of that. However, US and EU believes that Moscow's ability to resupply its military has been impaired. Last week, officials in the Biden administration told US media that the first shipments of Iranian-made drones had also been delivered to Russia. US intelligence officers believe that Russian operators have travelled to Iran to receive training on the Mohajer-6 and Shahed series weapons. But they told reporters recently that many of the drones had been beset by mechanical and technical problems since delivery. Iran has officially denied delivering weapons to either side of the conflict, but in July US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tehran was planning to supply Moscow with potentially hundreds of drones for its war in Ukraine, some with combat capabilities. On Tuesday, UK defence officials said in a daily update that Russia was struggling to maintain its supply of battlefield drones in the face of significant "combat losses". "It is likely that Russia is struggling to maintain stocks of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles], exacerbated by component shortages resulting from international sanctions," the update said. "The limited availability of reconnaissance UAVs is likely degrading commanders' tactical situational awareness and increasingly hampering Russian operations," officials added.

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Impact Of Ukraine War In Nepal

Commencing on 22nd February, Russia launched a multipronged invasion of Ukraine. It has been dubbed the war for fossil fuel as it has heavily exposed the dependency of Europe on fuel imports from Russia and Ukraine. The conflict, now on its 6th month, has led to worldwide economic and geopolitical impacts.

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Ukraine war: Russia becomes China's biggest oil supplier

JUNE 20: Imports of Russian oil rose by 55% from a year earlier to a record level in May, displacing Saudi Arabia as China's biggest provider. China has ramped up purchases of Russian oil despite demand dampened by Covid curbs and a slowing economy. In February, China and Russia declared their friendship had "no limits". And Chinese companies, including state refining giant Sinopec and state-run Zhenhua Oil, have increased their purchases of Russian crude in recent months after being offered heavy discounts as buyers in Europe and the US shunned Russian energy in line with sanctions over its war on Ukraine. The imports into China, which include supplies pumped through the East Siberia Pacific Ocean pipeline and shipments by sea, totalled nearly 8.42m tonnes last month, according to data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs. That pushed Saudi Arabia - formerly China's biggest source of crude oil - into second place with 7.82m tonnes. In March, the US and UK said they would ban Russian oil, while the European Union has been working towards ending its reliance on Russian gas, as the West steps up the economic response to the invasion of Ukraine. At the time, US President Joe Biden said the move targeted "the main artery of Russia's economy". Energy exports are a vital source of revenue for Russia but the move is also likely to impact Western consumers. Last week, a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air think tank said Russia earned almost $100bn (£82bn) in revenue from fossil fuel exports in the first 100 days of the country's invasion of Ukraine, despite a fall in exports in May. The European Union made up 61% of these imports, worth approximately $59bn. Overall, exports of Russian oil and gas are falling and Moscow's revenue from energy sales has also declined from a peak of well over $1bn a day in March. But revenues still exceeded the cost of the Ukraine war during the first 100 days - with the CREA estimating that Russia is spending around $876m per day on the invasion. Monday's figures also showed that China imported 260,000 tonnes of Iranian crude oil last month, its third shipment of Iran oil since last December. China has continued to buy Iranian oil despite US sanctions on Tehran.

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Ukraine, Climate, and Nepal

Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI he Russian invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago has been called ‘a war over fossil fuel’ because it has exposed Europe’s dependence on fossil fuel imports. But it has also underlined the urgency of switching to renewable energy to mitigate global climate breakdown. The war has driven global inflation, food prices have […]

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