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Ukraine Accuses Russia of ‘Preparing for a Decisive Energy Attack on All Europeans’ This Winter

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of using energy as a weapon by keeping a critical pipeline to Germany shut down in recent days, exacerbating electricity and natural gas shortfalls ahead of the winter months.

“Russia wants to destroy the normal life of every European — in all countries of our continent,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Saturday.

“Where Russia cannot do it by force of conventional weapons, it does so by force of energy weapons. It is trying to attack with poverty and political chaos where it cannot yet attack with missiles. This winter, Russia is preparing for a decisive energy attack on all Europeans.”

Russian energy company Gazprom has blamed technical problems for this week’s shutdown of Nord Stream 1, saying that oil leaks in turbines must be fixed before natural gas flows resume. (Read more from “Ukraine Accuses Russia of ‘Preparing for a Decisive Energy Attack on All Europeans’ This Winter” HERE)

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Russian Businessmen Keep Dying in Mysterious Ways

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At least eight prominent Russian businessmen have died under unusual circumstances this year, including by apparent suicide or unexplained accidents.

Six of the men were connected to Russia’s two largest energy companies, Gazprom and Lukoil. The most recent death occurred Thursday when Lukoil’s chairman, Ravil Maganov, fell out of a hospital window. Lukoil released a statement afterward claiming that Maganov’s death followed a serious illness.

“Lukoil’s many thousands of employees mourn deeply for this grievous loss and express their sincere condolences to Ravil Maganov’s family,” the company said, according to Reuters.

In May, another manager from Lukoil, Alexander Subbotin, was found dead near Moscow, according to the Russian news agency TASS. . .

Leonid Shulman, the former head of transport at Gazprom, was the first businessman to die this year. Police near Leningrad, where Shulman was found, are investigating the death as a suicide after a note was discovered on the scene, CNN reported. (Read more from “Russian Businessmen Keep Dying in Mysterious Ways” HERE)

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Russian Forces ‘Under-Manned’ as Ukraine Begins Counteroffensive: U.K.

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Russian forces are likely “under-manned” in Kherson, the U.K. Ministry of Defense has said, as Ukraine on Monday said it had started its counteroffensive in the southern region of the country that was taken by Moscow in the early days of the war.

Ukraine has been carrying out strikes on bridges in the region, key supply lines for the Russian army from the occupied Crimean Peninsula to southern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said Monday that they have been using the U.S.-supplied HIMARS weapons to carry out successful strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also vowed to take back Russian-held Crimea and Kherson. The Black Sea peninsula has been occupied by Russia since it illegally annexed the region in 2014.

Kyiv on Monday said its forces had “broken through” Russian defenses, while the latter’s military said it had successfully repelled an offensive by Ukrainian troops, who suffered “heavy losses.” Newsweek has not been able to independently verify these claims. (Read more from “Russian Forces ‘Under-Manned’ as Ukraine Begins Counteroffensive: U.K.” HERE)

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Biden, World Leaders Discuss Need for Ukraine Nuclear Plant Inspection

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President Joe Biden spoke to the leaders of close allies about the tense situation surrounding the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine, according to the White House.

With international concerns about the nuclear power plant being the epicenter of a major disaster escalating in recent weeks as both Russian and Ukrainian forces accuse each other of shelling the plant, Biden spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, affirming “their continued support for Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russian aggression,” said a readout from the White House press office on Sunday.

“They also discussed the situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, including the need to avoid military operations near the plant and the importance of an IAEA visit as soon as feasible to ascertain the state of safety systems,” the readout added. Iran’s nuclear program and stability in the Middle East were also discussed, per the readout.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned earlier this month that shelling the plant is “suicidal” and expressed hope that the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, will be able to access the plant. (Read more from “Biden, World Leaders Discuss Need for Ukraine Nuclear Plant Inspection” HERE)

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To Avoid Sanctions, Countries Are Ditching the US Dollar

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Russia, China and other countries have escalated efforts to ditch transactions made with U.S. dollars in 2022, helping them bypass Western sanctions and keep their economies afloat.

Since Western countries levied heavy sanctions on Russia in punishment for its invasion of Ukraine, India has increased its imports of Russian coal and natural gas, paying in Chinese yuan, United Arab Emirates dirham, Hong Kong dollar, and euro, Reuters reported Wednesday. Turkey and Iran have also forged agreements with Russia to base bilateral commerce on the Russian ruble, an effort to divest from dependence on the “toxic” U.S. dollar while easing the effect of sanctions on the Russian economy.

“The current round of turbulence is likely to increase … momentum in the creation of a rival reserve currency or currencies to help supplant the oversized role of the dollar,” Anthony Kim, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation specializing in international economic issues, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The dollar comprised 60% of countries’ foreign exchange reserves, used to trade with one another, in 2021, and dominates international transactions, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. U.S. sanctions cut off countries from accessing dollars for international trade. (Read more from “To Avoid Sanctions, Countries Are Ditching the US Dollar” HERE)

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Elon Musk Gives Scalding Take On Biden’s Push to Free Brittney Griner (VIDEO)

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Elon Musk questioned President Joe Biden’s ongoing effort to release WNBA star Brittney Griner from a Russian prison while thousands are locked up in the US for the same offense.

Griner was sentenced to nine years in Russia for cannabis possession and Musk noted others locked up on American soil aren’t getting the same attention from the White House.

“If the president is working so hard to free someone who is in jail in Russia for some weed, shouldn’t we free people in America?” the Tesla CEO asked on an episode of the “Full Send” podcast this week.

“There are people in jail in America for the same stuff. Shouldn’t we free them too? My opinion is that people should not be in jail for non-violent drug crimes.”

(Read more from “Elon Musk Gives Scalding Take On Biden’s Push to Free Brittney Griner (VIDEO)” HERE)

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Senate Approves NATO Membership for Sweden and Finland

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The Senate voted to ratify requests from Finland and Sweden to join NATO in an effort to combat Russian aggression following the invasion of Ukraine.

The measure, needing 67 votes in the 100-member Senate, passed 95-1, with one voting present. The proposal drew broad bipartisan support and the backing of both party leaders.

“Our NATO alliance is the bedrock that has guaranteed democracy in the Western world since the end of World War II,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “This strengthens NATO even further and is particularly needed in light of recent Russian aggression.”

Some Republicans who voted no argued that the United States would be called on to defend the two new vulnerable NATO members at a time when it should scale back its presence in Europe to prepare for escalating tension with China. (Read more from “Senate Approves NATO Membership for Sweden and Finland” HERE)

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Who Is the ‘Merchant of Death’ Arms Dealer Biden Offered Russia in Prisoner Swap?

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Stashed away in a federal penitentiary deep in the bowels of Illinois sits a notorious Russian arms dealer named Viktor Bout, a man the Biden administration is rumored to be eyeing as a bargaining chip to procure the release of two American prisoners.

Bout has gone by many names over the years, such as the “Merchant of Death” and “Sanctions Buster” — titles he earned for his alleged ruthless and savvy arms dealing from Eastern Europe into Africa and the Middle East following the collapse of the Soviet Union. His black market exploits inspired the Nicolas Cage flick Lord of War and ultimately led to his arrest in 2008 for conspiring to kill Americans.

“All that remains is for the U.S. government to have the courage to admit the obvious — get what we can for Viktor Bout,” Bout’s lawyer Steve Zissou said, per the Washington Post. “The alternative should be obvious — no Americans will be exchanged unless Viktor Bout is sent home along with them.”

The Kremlin has long called for Bout’s release since he was first detained by authorities in Thailand back in 2008 upon the request of the United States. And now, there are two U.S. nationals being held in Russia, Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, whom the Biden administration has been keen to set free.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. offered a “significant proposal” for their release — a proposition CNN reported to be Bout’s release in a prisoner swap, as had long been rumored. (Read more from “Who Is the ‘Merchant of Death’ Arms Dealer Biden Offered Russia in Prisoner Swap?” HERE)

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McDonald’s Revenue Takes Hit After Russia Exit

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McDonald’s exit from Russia in April sparked a revenue drop at the fast-food giant despite US sales that were goosed by higher prices amid surging inflation.

The company’s overall revenue dipped 3% to $5.8 billion in the second quarter largely because McDonald’s closed its company-owned eateries in Russia and Ukraine after the war broke out. Profits fell by nearly half due to a $1.2 billion charge related to the sale of the Russian business, the company said Tuesday.

Russia was one of the company’s largest international markets, with McDonald’s reporting that it owned 84% of its 847 restaurants in the country.

At the same time, menu price increases fueled a 9.7% increase in global comparable sales including a 3.7% increase in the US but excluding stores that were exited in Russia. (Read more from “McDonald’s Revenue Takes Hit After Russia Exit” HERE)

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Another Catastrophic Biden Failure: Russia Rolling in Cash Due to Ukraine War, Sanctions

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Despite repeated assurances from President Biden and other Western leaders that “the toughest economic sanctions in history” would cripple Russia’s economy and starve its war machine, that hasn’t happened. Russia’s current account, which measures global trade in goods and services, was strong in the second quarter of this year when its trade surplus rose to a record $70.1 billion. The ruble, too, has exhibited remarkable resiliency, ranking as the strongest performing currency so far this year, rising to its highest level against the euro since 2015 and making major gains against the dollar.

What accounts for Putin’s bulging coffers? The simple answer: high commodity prices and Russia’s continued ability to export oil, gas, grain, and even gold to non-Western countries.

The economic picture isn’t as rosy for the countries sanctioning Russia. Europe is struggling to meet its energy needs, driving up inflation and forcing countries at the vanguard of the green movement to backpedal. Germany, for example, whose minister of economic affairs and climate action comes from the Green Party, was forced to reactivate seventeen coal-fired power plants it previously had shut down. President Biden, with inflation sitting at a forty-year high, recently begged Saudi Arabia’s leaders—a regime it had been shunning—to come to the rescue by pumping more crude to help bring down gas prices and ease the inflationary pressure high fuel prices are placing on other goods.

. . . The combination of sanctions and war disrupted energy and grain supplies, creating an economic opportunity that Russia has exploited. Indeed, according to the Helsinki-based Center for Energy and Clean Air, Moscow earned $100 billion in revenue from oil, gas, and coal sales in the first three months of the war alone.

While the Biden administration was drawing down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increase available supplies and lower gasoline prices—plunging America’s emergency reserve to its lowest level since the mid-1980s—Russia’s oil exports had bounced back to pre-war levels by May. (Read more from “Another Catastrophic Biden Failure: Russia Rolling in Cash Due to Ukraine War, Sanctions” HERE)

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