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How Much Oil Does US Import From Russia? Here’s What Biden’s Ban Actually Means; West Hits Russia With Oil Bans

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By New York Post. The US has banned imports of Russian oil and natural gas in retaliation for the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine – a move that will further complicate the Biden administration’s effort to tamp down energy costs for American households.

President Biden announced the ban following days of bipartisan pressure to take action against Russia’s energy sector, which went largely untouched in previous rounds of sanctions. Europe remains heavily reliant on Russian oil, even as it attempts to isolate the Kremlin in response to the invasion.

Biden and other proponents say the ban is necessary to limit Russia’s sources of income – though the president acknowledged US motorists will be paying even more at the pump. . .

While far less reliant on Russian oil and gas than its European counterparts, the US did import some supply prior to the ban. The US imported about 672,000 barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia in 2021, according to data from the Energy Information Agency. That total accounted for roughly 8% of all US imports.

Most of the oil and related products the US imports come from Canada, which supplies more than 51%. Mexico and Saudi Arabia are also key suppliers. (Read more from “How Much Oil Does US Import From Russia? Here’s What Biden’s Ban Actually Means” HERE)

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War in Ukraine: West Hits Russia With Oil Bans and Gas Curbs

By BBC. The US and UK are banning Russian oil and the EU is ending its reliance on Russian gas, stepping up the economic response to the invasion of Ukraine.

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.

Major brands have meanwhile continued to pull out of Russia, with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola the latest to leave.

Russia’s economy is heavily dependent on energy. It is the world’s third-biggest oil producer, behind Saudi Arabia and the US. (Read more from “War in Ukraine: West Hits Russia With Oil Bans and Gas Curbs” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Biden Sells Alaska Back to Russia So We Can Start Drilling for Oil There Again

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Editor’s note: Satire.

The deliberate and premeditated invasion of Ukraine by brutal dictator Vladimir Putin has forced the US to reassess the importance of energy independence. With this new resolve, the Biden Administration has taken its first step toward increasing oil production for Americans by selling Alaska back to Russia so we can start drilling for oil there again.

“Folks, nobody wants to ruin America’s beautiful Alaskan wilderness with oil trucks and drilling rigs, come on!” said President Biden in response to questions he thought were coming from a house plant in the West Wing. “But I’ve never had a problem getting oil from Russia, so there you go, go get him.” (Read more from “Biden Sells Alaska Back to Russia So We Can Start Drilling for Oil There Again” HERE)

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Putin Plots His Next Move After Russian Oil Ban

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Russian President Vladimir Putin will ban certain commodity and raw material exports, according to a decree from Moscow on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Russian cabinet will determine what specific commodities will be included in the ban, with Putin giving it two days to formulate a list, the WSJ reported. The ban will be in effect until Dec. 31, according to the decree.

The goal of the ban is to ensure “the security of the Russian Federation and the uninterrupted functioning of industry,” according to the decree, the WSJ reported. The Biden administration announced earlier on Tuesday it would ban U.S. imports of Russian energy in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. (Read more from “Putin Plots His Next Move After Russian Oil Ban” HERE)

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Kremlin Insiders Call War in Ukraine a ‘Clusterf–k’ as Top Officers Die: Report

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Another Russian general has died, and other senior army officers have either been killed or wounded in fighting in Ukraine this week — only adding to what Kremlin officials are reportedly calling a complete “clusterf–k.’’

Russian Maj. Gen. Vitaly Gerasimov and some senior officers were struck down in fighting in Kharkiv on Monday, days after Gen. Andrei Sukhovetsky was killed by a sniper, Ukrainian officials said.

The blows to the Russian army’s top echelon occurred even before Russian government officials were already calling Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “a clusterf–k,” a report said.

A week ago, Russian journalist Farida Rustamova wrote on Substack that a high-level source told her Kremlin insiders believed the war on Ukraine has been a complete disaster. (Read more from “Kremlin Insiders Call War in Ukraine a ‘Clusterf–k’ as Top Officers Die: Report” HERE)

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DC Elites Have Opened Americans to Nuclear Attack, so Americans Must Protect Themselves; Congress Introduces Bill Banning Russian Oil Imports (VIDEO)

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By The Federalist. . .The current narrative is that the national security of the United States requires the defense of Ukraine against Russian aggression. Much as we abhor the suffering of Ukrainians, most especially children, however, a free Ukraine is not necessary for the defense of the United States. . .

To be clear, Russia today does not have armed forces that are sufficient to invade and wage a successful war in the United States. Witness their current progress in Ukraine.

What Russia does possess is a nuclear arsenal that is capable of destroying the land-based nuclear forces of the United States, American cities and their populations, and American military bases abroad that do play a strategic role in the defense of the United States. They also possess advanced ballistic missile defense systems to protect Moscow and strategic positions throughout Russia. . .

For all of our tough talk about America’s military might, the United States does not possess a missile defense capable of stopping Russian or Chinese ballistic missiles. We are also not able to stop a ship-launched ballistic missile should the Iranians or any other nation choose to serve as a surrogate for such an attack. . .

America’s Democratic elites, especially those in the White House today, have intentionally left us vulnerable to nuclear attack in the belief that war, especially nuclear war, was not possible. This was underscored by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announcing to the world that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” (Read more from “DC Elites Have Opened Americans to Nuclear Attack, so Americans Must Protect Themselves” HERE)

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Congress Introduces Bill Banning Russian Oil Imports, Suspending Normal Trade Relations With Russia, Belarus

By Daily Wire. The leaders of the top House and Senate Committees overseeing trade policy have announced bipartisan legislation suspending normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

CSPAN Capitol Hill Producer Craig Caplan reported that House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX), along with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) had announced the deal Monday.

“As Russia continues its unprovoked attack on the Ukrainian people, we have agreed on a legislative path forward to ban the import of energy products from Russia and to suspend normal trade relations with both Russia and Belarus,” the four Congressional leaders said in a statement Monday, via Caplan. “While Congress needs to do more, as congressional [leaders with] jurisdiction over our nation’s trade policy, we are committed to using the tools at our disposal to stop Russia’s unconscionable & unjust war on Ukraine & hold Belarus accountable for its involvement.”

(Read more from “Congress Introduces Bill Banning Russian Oil Imports, Suspending Normal Trade Relations With Russia, Belarus” HERE)

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Billionaire: Russian Invasion Means World War III ‘Likely Already Started’

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine means that World War III has “likely already started,” according to billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.

“In January 2020, I had nightmares about the potential for a pandemic, but everyone seemed to think I was crazy. I am having similar nightmares now,” Ackman tweeted on Saturday.

He added: “WWIII has likely started already, but we have been slow to recognize it.”

Ackman, who last week called on US troops to be ready to enter combat, said there’s “much more we can do before we enter a hot war with Russia.”

He said the US “could stop the absurdity of buying oil from Russia and funding the war, [and] Europe could follow suit once demand for gas declines in the spring.” (Read more from “Billionaire: Russian Invasion Means World War III ‘Likely Already Started’” HERE)

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Russians Plant Landmines Along ‘Human Corridor’ Designed for Civilian Evacuations (VIDEO)

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Russia continued to bomb Ukrainian civilians and even reportedly planted landmines along a “human corridor” that was supposed to be designated for safe evacuation Monday – all while the Kremlin claimed it would begin several cease-fires to allow refugees to flee.

Russian officials assured Ukraine that they would clear paths in its besieged cities of Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sum to allow civilians to pass safely. But a senior Red Cross official told the BBC on Monday that agency workers trying to use a safe corridor out of Mariupol said the route had been booby-trapped with landmines.

Ukraine officials also scoffed that the Russian safe-corridor proposal was a “completely immoral’’ trick anyway — because the Kremlin’s proposed escape routes would funnel refugees into Russia or its ally Belarus, trapping Ukrainians once again.

A rep for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia’s plan “completely immoral.”

(Read more from “Russians Plant Landmines Along ‘Human Corridor’ Designed for Civilian Evacuations” HERE)

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Rubio Slams Biden Admin’s ‘Secret’ Oil Meeting With Putin’s BFF

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Monday slammed the Biden administration’s secret oil meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as a “huge PR boost” for the socialist regime.

“Biden Admin secret meeting with #Maduro was a huge PR boost for #MaduroRegime,” Rubio tweeted after Biden reportedly sought an oil deal with the socialist nation.

“And a demoralizing betrayal of those who have risked everything to oppose Maduro & weren’t even told this was happening,” Rubio continued. “And for what?”

“The amount of oil #Venezuela can produce right now is insignificant,” Rubio said about the estimated 300,000 barrels a day the country’s state oil company produced in 2020.

Biden’s meeting with Maduro is likely a response to American dependence on Russian oil exports, which have been nixed by oil traders, impacting oil prices. Biden has refrained from sanctioning many relevant Russian energy companies in response to the Ukraine invasion:

(Read more from “Rubio Slams Biden Admin’s ‘Secret’ Oil Meeting With Putin’s BFF” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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Alleged Russian Spy Worked for US Government News Agency

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A Spanish journalist arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia recently worked for Voice of America, the United States government’s international media organization.

Pablo Gonzalez was arrested at the Poland-Ukraine border earlier this week on charges that he was secretly working for Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU. Gonzalez, a Spanish national born in Russia, was identified as a freelance reporter for the Spanish outlets El Sixto and Publico. He has also worked as a freelance reporter for Voice of America (VOA) since at least 2020. Gonzalez helped produce a VOA segment from inside Ukraine last month, according to a Washington Free Beacon investigation.

Gonzalez’s previously unreported work could raise concerns that he used his VOA position to collect intelligence for Russia. If Gonzalez is indeed a Russian spy, it would lend credence to concerns raised by Michael Pack, who oversaw VOA during the Trump administration. Pack came under fire from Democrats when he said VOA was “a great place to put a foreign spy” given the agency’s lax security standards. VOA staffers and others in the media accused Pack of undermining the agency and putting its journalists at risk.

Poland’s internal security agency said Friday that Gonzalez was “conducting his business for Russia while taking advantage of his journalist status.” The counterintelligence agency said Gonzalez collected information for Russia’s spy service during his recent stay in Poland and that he planned to continue his activities in war torn Ukraine. (Read more from “Alleged Russian Spy Worked for US Government News Agency” HERE)

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Durham: Lies About Trump Directed ‘Russiagate’ Probe

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What if the powers that be in the FBI and other agencies had known and recognized at the outset that the “Russiagate” conspiracy theory about President Trump was a political scheme, that it was funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and it essentially was made up?

There likely would have been a different course for the United States, according to a new court filing from special counsel John Durham, who was tasked with uncovering the origins – and crimes – connected to the now-debunked rumors circulated during the administration of Barack Obama, and after, about Trump.

According to a new court filing obtained by Just the News, Durham assessed the situation in the filing.

“Had the defendant truthfully informed the FBI General Counsel that he was providing the information on behalf of one or more clients, as opposed to merely acting as a ‘good citizen,’ the FBI General Counsel and other FBI personnel might have asked a multitude of additional questions material to the case initiation process,” Durham wrote in the filing.

“Given the temporal proximity to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the FBI also might have taken any number of different steps in initiating, delaying, or declining the initiation of this matter had it known at the time that the defendant was providing information on behalf of the Clinton campaign and a technology executive at a private company,” he added. (Read more from “Durham: Lies About Trump Directed ‘Russiagate’ Probe” HERE)

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