Category: crisis

Putin Says Russia Not Working ‘Against Anyone’ in Energy Markets

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was not working against anyone on energy markets and was seeking a balance between oil supply and demand, a week after Washington criticized a decision by OPEC+ to steeply cut oil production. Speaking with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, Putin said…


Gazprom: NATO Mine Destroyer Was Found at Nord Stream 1 in 2015

MOSCOW—A spokesperson for Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Monday that a mine destroyer discovered at the Nord Stream 1 offshore gas pipeline in 2015 belonged to NATO. Nord Stream reported on that date in 2015 that a “munitions object” had been cleared by the Swedish armed forces, without giving more detail on the object….


3 Economists, Including Former Fed Chair Bernanke, Win Nobel Prize

STOCKHOLM—Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, who put his academic expertise on the Great Depression to work reviving the American economy after the 2007–2008 financial crisis, won the Nobel Prize in economic sciences along with two other U.S.-based economists for their research into bank failures. The Nobel panel at the Royal Swedish Academy of…


Gazprombank to Discontinue Swiss Operations

ZURICH—Russia’s Gazprombank has decided to cease operating in Switzerland after “a strategic review of various options,” it said on Monday. The bank had been one of the last remaining channels for financing trade flows between Russia and Switzerland because other major Russian banks are subject to sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Zurich-based bank,…


Kremlin Praises OPEC+ for Countering US ‘Mayhem’

MOSCOW—The Kremlin on Sunday praised OPEC+ for agreeing on production cuts that had successfully countered the “mayhem” sown by the United States in global energy markets. The White House pushed hard to prevent the output cut. Biden hopes to keep U.S. gasoline prices from spiking again ahead of midterm elections in which his Democratic party…


German Companies Look at Offshore Production as Energy Prices Rocket

BERLIN—Germany’s 200 billion euro ($197 billion) energy aid package will provide limited relief for businesses and is unlikely to dissuade companies that are already looking to relocate to cheaper manufacturing bases overseas. The German government set out its energy relief package last month, including a gas price brake and a cut in sales tax for…


Kyiv, Other Ukraine Cities Hit as Putin Orders Revenge for Crimea Bridge

KYIV—Russia fired cruise missiles at cities across Ukraine during rush hour on Monday morning, knocking out power and heat, in what President Vladimir Putin declared to be revenge for Ukrainian attacks including on a bridge to Crimea. The missiles tore into busy intersections, parks and tourist sites in the centre of downtown Kyiv with an…


Gas Crisis Set to Worsen After Europe Burns Through Winter Stocks

HELSINKI/BRUSSELS—Europe may face an even more acute energy crunch next year after draining its natural gas tanks to get through the cold of this winter, the head of the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, as the EU looks for ways to ease the crisis. European countries have filled storage tanks to around 90 percent…


Putin Signs Annexation of Ukrainian Regions

KYIV, Ukraine—Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed laws formally absorbing four Ukrainian regions into Russia. The documents finalizing the annexation were published on a Russian government website on Wednesday morning. Earlier this week, both houses of the Russian parliament ratified treaties making the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions part of Russia. That followed Kremlin-orchestrated…


Putin Signs Annexation Laws, Formally Absorbing 4 Ukrainian Regions

KYIV, Ukraine—Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed laws formally absorbing four Ukrainian regions into Russia. The documents finalizing the annexation were published on a Russian government website on Wednesday morning. Earlier this week, both houses of the Russian parliament ratified treaties making the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions part of Russia. That followed Kremlin-orchestrated…