Al Arabiya: Russia acknowledges significant troop losses, hints at end of Ukraine ‘operation’
Al Arabiya: Russia acknowledges significant troop losses, hints at end of Ukraine ‘operation’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has acknowledged that Russia has suffered “significant losses of troops” during its military operation in Ukraine.
Peskov said: “Yes, we have significant losses of troops and it is a huge tragedy for us.”
?Speaking in an exclusive interview with British broadcaster Sky on Thursday, Peskov also hinted that the operation might be over “in the foreseeable future.” He said that Russian forces were “doing their best to bring an end to that operation.”
He said: “And we do hope that in coming days, in the foreseeable future, this operation will reach its goals, or we’ll finish it by the negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegation.”?
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Al Arabiya: Russia’s Putin has given up on capturing Kyiv: US Defense Secretary
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has given up on capturing Kyiv after the Ukrainian military forced his army to retreat from the capital.
?“I think Putin has given up on his efforts to capture the capital city and is now focused on the south and east of the country. And our goal is to give the Ukrainians everything they need, that we can possibly get to them, as fast as we can get it to them so that they can be successful in that fight as well.”
?Kyiv has called for immediate delivery of more weaponry as Moscow recently retreated from the Ukrainian capital focusing instead on launching an offensive on the east of the country.
?The fighting in that region will be more difficult for Ukrainians and hence they would need more military support from the US, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley said.?
“The fight down in the southeast – the terrain is different than it is in the north. It is much more open and lends itself to armor, mechanized offensive operations, on both sides. And so those are the systems that they're looking for," he said.?
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WSJ: The U.S. Can Win Over Russia’s Neighbors
Central Asia is also vital for America’s rivalry with China.
By Ariel Cohen - April 7, 2022 6:33 pm ET
Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine has provided the U.S. with a critical opportunity to diminish Russia’s influence over its neighbors by giving them technical assistance, economic development and security that neither Moscow or Beijing can.
The peoples of Central Asia and the Caucasus support Ukraine’s struggle. They remember the conquest by their former imperial masters, the czars and communists. They remember the forced Russification and collectivization of agriculture.
Today, many of these countries refuse to back Russia openly and support Ukraine’s territorial integrity, as Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared Monday. Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov has refused to recognize the independence of the Moscow-supported secessionist enclaves of Donetsk and Luhansk. Georgia vociferously declared its support of Ukraine, and together with Moldova applied to join the European Union.
Despite their sympathy for Ukraine, Russia’s neighbors still are intimidated by their nuclear-armed ex-master. Yet it’s telling that Moscow feels the need to continue threatening them. Last week, Russian Duma member Mikhail Deliyagin called for the destruction of Azerbaijan’s oil industry and asked followers on social media if nuclear weapons would be an appropriate means. (He later denied he was calling for their use.) Two weeks ago, Russia shut down the pipeline that brings Kazakh oil to the world market at the Russian port of Novorossiysk. The pipeline’s operators say it may be unusable for two months because of storm damage, something industry experts told me isn’t possible. It may be a message to Kazakhstan over Ukraine.
Kazakhstan is under sustained, low-intensity pressure from Russian politicians such as Gennady Zyuganov, who talks about the need to protect Russian-speakers in the north of Kazakhstan—similar to the Russian pretext for invading Ukraine.
The U.S. needs to be ready to step in and provide a geopolitical alternative to Moscow and Beijing. America should offer the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia security and intelligence cooperation, investment, educational opportunities, technical assistance to promote transparency, good governance, legal reforms, and training for private-sector executives and the state apparatus.
Washington and the European Union would also do well to increase their purchases of raw materials, other goods and services from non-Russian Eurasia. Remittances from Russia for migrant workers in Central Asia are economically vital and expected to fall as economic pressure on Russia worsens. In 2020, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan respectively received 31% and 27% of their annual gross domestic product in remittances. Uzbekistan received almost 12%. Sanctions aimed at Russia also should be tailored not to hurt U.S. regional partners.
The war in Ukraine may be the opening salvo of a much broader conflict that will engulf the world. Central Asia is a critical theater as it is surrounded by the four nuclear powers—Russia, China, Pakistan and India—and the aspirant Iran. Controlling this area will be critical to combating the hegemonic aspirations of Moscow and Beijing.
Mr. Cohen is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
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Natural Gas Weekly Update Report – April 7, 2022
?China became the world’s largest LNG importer in 2021
?China’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2021 were the world’s largest, according to our analysis based on data from Global Trade Tracker and China’s Administration of Customs. Prior to 2021, Japan had been the world’s largest LNG importer for 51 years, according to data from?Cedigaz. In 2021, China’s LNG imports averaged 10.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), a 1.7 Bcf/d (19%) increase over 2020 and 0.8 Bcf/d more than Japan’s LNG imports. LNG imports in Japan were flat year-on-year, averaging 9.7 Bcf/d in 2020 and 2021, according to data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance.
You can read the full report on EIA’s website.??
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U.S. gas storage emptied by exports to Europe and Asia: Kemp - Reuters News
08-Apr-2022 18:32:56
Chartbook: https://tmsnrt.rs/3KnO0Ub
?LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - U.S. gas prices have climbed to their highest level in more than a decade as strong demand from overseas has emptied storage and left inventories well below average for the time of year despite a mild winter.?
Front-month futures for gas delivered at Henry Hub in Louisiana have risen to $6.40 per million British thermal units, the highest in real terms since 2010.
? Wholesale prices in the United States are still far below those prevailing in Northeast Asia ($33 per million British thermal units) and Northwest Europe ($34).?
Full price convergence is prevented by the limited liquefaction capacity for exports from the United States and regasification capacity for imports into Asia and Europe.?
But shortages in other regions and fears of an interruption of supplies from Russia are pulling U.S. prices higher via increased demand and prices for LNG.?
U.S. LNG exports rose 13% in the three months from November to January compared with the same period a year earlier, while gas production was up by less than 5%.?As a result, LNG exports accounted for 12% of domestic dry gas production in January 2022, up from 8% in January 2020 and 3% in January 2018.?
Exports are likely to have accelerated even further in February and March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent gas prices surging in Europe.?
U.S. prices are still largely isolated from the rest of the world, but growing LNG exports are gradually forging closer links with Europe and Asia.?
DEPLETED STOCKS?
US gas inventories ended the winter at just 1,382 billion cubic feet on April 1, the lowest for the time of year since 2019 and before that 2014.?
Working stocks in underground storage were 316 billion cubic feet (19%) below the pre-pandemic five-year seasonal average for 2015-2019.?
Because of strong exports, inventories depleted more than usual despite high prices and winter heating demand that was 8% below the long-term average.?
Reflecting the low level of stocks, futures prices have moved into a strong backwardation, with nearby prices rising to reduce consumption and exports and encourage more production.
The one-year calendar spread for Henry Hub futures has steepened into backwardation of more than $2 per million British thermal units, putting it in the 99th percentile for all trading days since 2007.
Higher prices have already begun to encourage more drilling, with the number of gas-focused rigs climbing to 138 last week, up from 106 at the end of last year.
The number of gas-focused rigs is rising at the fastest rate in five years, according to an analysis of rig counts published by oilfield services company Baker Hughes.?
Increased drilling should keep output growing through the end of the year and into 2023, which will be needed as demand for LNG remains high as buyers in Europe and Asia scramble to replace gas from Russia.?
Related columns:
- Europe’s gas stocks finish winter at comfortable level (Reuters, April 5)
- U.S. gas stocks need big rebuild ahead of next winter (Reuters, Feb. 18)
- U.S. gas stocks normalise, warm winter accommodates exports to Europe (Reuters, Jan. 10)
- Global gas shortage helps lift prices in United States (Reuters, Oct. 19)
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