Russian Gas Giant Halts Supplies to Bulgaria, Poland |
Russian state-controlled natural gas company Gazprom shut off flows (WaPo) to Bulgaria and Poland in the first supply cutoff since Russian President Vladimir Putin said “unfriendly countries” need to pay for gas in rubles. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Russia of “gas blackmail.”
Bulgarian and Polish officials said the cuts will not limit domestic gas consumption, and von der Leyen said the European Union has been working to ensure alternative sources (FT) of gas. Separately, Russian officials reported blasts (Reuters) in three Russian provinces that border Ukraine. Ukraine did not claim responsibility, but an official referred to the reports as “karma.”
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“The cutoff could presage other more damaging fuel cutoffs if the war continues and if customers like Germany, the largest importer of gas from Russia, don’t negotiate a solution to the Kremlin’s demands for ruble payments,” the New York Times’ Stanley Reed writes.
“There are limits to how much compensation can be provided to those economies badly hurt by the sanctions campaign [against Moscow], and the diversity of Russia’s trading partners and business interests means that there will be times when one sanctioning partner will feel unduly burdened,” Columbia University’s Richard Nephew writes for Foreign Affairs. CFR provides comprehensive coverage of the war in Ukraine. |
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Chinese Drone Maker Suspends Sales to Russia, Ukraine |
DJI became a rare Chinese technology company to suspend sales (SCMP) to Russia and Ukraine since the start of the war. While Beijing opposes sanctions against Moscow, DJI said it is meeting “compliance requirements in various jurisdictions.”
New Zealand: A court ruled (New Zealand Herald) that the inflexibility of COVID-19 quarantine rules enforced last year violated citizens’ right to enter the country. |
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Myanmar Military Court Sentences Ousted Leader |
Myanmar’s former de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was sentenced (AFP) to five years in jail for corruption charges. She faces additional charges that could together lead to a prison sentence of more than one hundred years.
Pakistan: The militant group Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility (Dawn) for a suicide attack outside the University of Karachi that killed four people, including three Chinese citizens. |
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Middle East and North Africa |
France, Saudi Arabia Pledge $32 Million in Aid to Lebanon |
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DRC Begins Vaccinations in Campaign Against Ebola |
Two people have died (Reuters) in an outbreak in the city of Mbandaka, home to over one million people. It is the fourteenth-ever Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
France/Mali: Mali’s military government accused France of spying (RFI) after the French military published a photo that allegedly showed Russian mercenaries burying bodies at a mass grave in northern Mali. |
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UN Nuclear Watchdog Warns Situation at Chernobyl Not Yet Stable |
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said the nuclear power plant is still “not stable” (AP) after Russian troops returned it to Ukrainian hands last month, but that radiation levels are normal.
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Venezuela Appoints Top Court Full of Government-Aligned Judges |
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Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in ‘Remain in Mexico’ Case |
The hearings arose from a suit (Texas Tribune) by Texas and Missouri that claims the Joe Biden administration can’t terminate a law that requires asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases are resolved. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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