US officials are losing patience as Kiev fails to heed American demands to stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure. The White House fears the attacks will lead to an increase in oil prices and trigger reprisals by Moscow.
According to the Financial Times, “The White House had grown increasingly frustrated by brazen Ukrainian drone attacks that have struck oil refineries, terminals, depots, and storage facilities across western Russia, hurting its oil production capacity,” adding that US officials are concerned with “driving up global oil prices and provoking retaliation.”
The demands to halt attacks on Russian oil facilities may appear confounding to Kiev after NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg green-lit Ukrainian attacks inside Russia last month. Additionally, President Joe Biden has vowed to cripple the Russian economy, and the West has used sanctions and price caps in an effort to curb Moscow’s energy exports.
The White House may see increasing gas prices at home as a primary concern with the 2024 election on the horizon. Bob McNally, a former White House energy adviser, said, “Nothing terrifies a sitting American president more than a surge in pump prices during an election year,” as cited by FT.
As Ukrainian losses on the battlefield have continued in recent weeks, Kiev has conducted more attacks on Russian soil. This has led the Kremlin to evacuate thousands of children from a border region. Ukrainian forces also successfully attacked seven energy targets in Russia last week.
Washington’s fear that attacks on Moscow’s energy infrastructure will prompt retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian energy seems to have materialized. On Friday, the BBC reported, “A million people are without power across Ukraine after Russian missiles targeted energy infrastructure,” with Kiev’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko saying Moscow aimed to cause “a large-scale failure of the country’s energy system.”
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
The reprisals are on. Putin said, flat out, that Russia was at war with NATO and the U.S.. Peace could happened two years ago. But no, Lloyd Austin (whatever his title is…Raytheon Man?), said we were going to “bleed Russia”. Two shot at peace. Two. Even before February, 2022, during December, 2021. I read that Russia had fired off 150 missiles. Biden will not use his powers to 1) shut down the genocide in Gaza, 2) bring peace to Ukraine. The reason Russia stepped in was to protect the Russian speaking Ukraine citizens in the Donbas. I believe the term is “Responsibility to Protect”, RTP. Since the Clinton administration things have been on the railroad to h*ll. Just to be king of the hill. F*ck the hill! I want peace. I want my kids and grandkids to see peace and not a burned out cinder of earth.
Russia didn’t have to step in, it had to just repatriate those separatists.
But your dumbass imperialistic dictator decided to invade and take land.
Now it is paying a high price and it will only get worse.
Stop supporting that idiot and start asking to bring his troops home.
What the F is he still doing in a sovereign country he vowed to respect and protect in exchange for its nukes?
Fearing Spike in Oil Prices, US Tells Ukraine To Halt Attacks on Russian Energy
really. maybe if uncle sam actually feared a spike in oil prices, then they shouldn’t have sold the largest oil refinery in the US to the Saudis. that facility refines 600,000 barrels of oil every single day and if it was shut down for any reason we would truly see what a spike in oil prices really entails
Yep. I did not like them selling Port Arthur to Armaco. That seems like a dumb idea.
Wink, wink, nod, nod.
The demands to halt attacks on Russian oil facilities may appear confounding to Kiev
There they go thinking anything was about them.
Attack outside of Moscow is a major develoment. Major concert venue was hit, and whi knows what else. Russian restraint was taken as a weakness. This is no good.
There are some vipers in deep state desiring conflict expansion. Have they so messed up our finances that a war — any war — seems preferrable to them paying consequences? Are we sleepwalking into a disaster? Tired of good life?
They supposedly caught one of the guys.
They got all four. ISIS story is absurd — seemingly good brand name to use for the occassion. Especially Afghani Khorasan — pure invention.
While CNN is doubling down on ISIS, the car of interest spotted by cameras next to the venue has already made nearly 800 kilometers, when finally stopped.
It does not matter what nationality, it matters whse fingers are behind the terrorist act.
We are still paying all sorts of terrorists in Syria. We imported ISIS into Afghanistan, to undermine local resistance. We still have a stash of militants in Al-Tanf base in Syria, as well as Idlib. Better not talk too boldly about ISIS.
This is 9/11 for Russia. Hope we do not follow CNN lead and justify terrorism .
CNN coverage did not have a decency to give respect to innocents — before unleashing “Putin” hysteria.
It is hard to believe headlines. Russia’s brutal past is supposedly catching up with it! That would be like saying that 9/11 victims were somehow responsible for US brutal behaviour all around the globe.
Whatever one thinks of politics — there are times when human beings are more important. There is something very demonic in our mainstream media and their politics- obsessed behavior.
This lack of compassion for young concert-goers in Russia, as well our indifference to Gaza genocide — both illustrate the disturbing lack of leadership in US. At the time it is most needed.
I don’t know how accurate, but the terrorist captures said they were paid by shadowy figures on telegram.
Yes, that is true. One Shamsuddin or someting said when asked “why did you do this” (after having admitted he was there in Crocus to shoot people) that he was paid. When asked “How much?” He replied “Half a million rubles” That’s equal to about 5400,- dollars (or some 5000 euros) approximately.
Monetary gains is not exactly your typical motive for a dedicated martyr for IS. And they were not terribly well prepared fleeing in the same car as they came and neither does trying to flee to Ukraine fit comfortably well in the preferred narrative. At their capture and subsequent first questioning they seem a rather clueless lot, not at all your typically ideologically hardened and decidedly dedicated jihadi warrior type.
The capture of these four miserable and immeasurably dumb asshats to my estimation is mostly important in sofar as they are useful to lead the Russians to the actual perpetrators. These fools couldn’t plan their way out of paper bag, but they might have some useful information. I trust the Russians would know how to persuade them to volunteer this.
“neither does trying to flee to Ukraine fit comfortably well in the preferred narrative”
Fleeing to a non-extradition country after committing a crime fits into pretty much every narrative ever.
Putin is the only idiot sleepwalking into chaos.
He started this. He attacked and annexed Ukraine. No one else did.
There are consequences for your actions.
Stop blaming the West.
There was a terror attack in Moscow, gruesome video, now gone.
The US warned of a terror attack March 8th. Who was behind it? CIA?
Less/not gruesome, but you hear the gunshots:
https://t.me/rian_ru/237140
More:
https://t.me/DDGeopolitics/105294
https://t.me/Middle_East_Spectator/5497
Would the CIA issue a warning first? It’s not like they care if Americans are killed. In fact, a few Americans getting killed is a plausible deniability bonus because they’d never, ever, ever do anything like that, right?
I remember Bill Maher begging someone to destroy the U.S. economy so Trump would lose. So anything is possible.
Like maybe releasing the Covid virus to get rid of President Trump?
I would surmise, if true, it would need to have multi-prong impact and not just make it about him. You could argue, Covid delayed the Russian invasion as well.
If only he could’ve figured out a way for everyone to inject disinfectant.
Nuland’s parting gift maybe. Evil likes to announce “surprises”, not out of concern.
Plus they can claim they warned about “outside operators”. These people are psychopaths and you have to get inside their heads of how they think. Not how you think.
How Ukraine became the unlikely home for Isis leaders escaping the caliphate
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isis-leaders-ukraine-tukey-syria-caliphate-al-bara-shishani-a9211676.html
Foreign Fighters Are Heading to Ukraine. That’s A Moment for Worry
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/03/10/foreign-fighters-are-heading-to-ukraine-thats-a-moment-for-worry-00016084
https://twitter.com/DanielDumbrill/status/1626131277438132225
Now that the ISIS patches showing up in Armed Forces of Ukraine photos/videos are trending, it’s a good time for me to retweet this thread from last year. The writing was on the wall.
Craig Murray
@CraigMurrayOrg
I have been explaining for years that the US and Israel are behind ISIS.
See it now?
https://twitter.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/1771317279260590255
There was olenty of money to be made in Unraine. They need cannon fodder.
When I heard Kiev and Western media scoffing derisively at the idea that the suspects might have been headed to a “window” prepared to let them into Ukraine, I thought how convenient it is for them that stories like the ones you cite have been memory-holed. Only a relative few of us have been paying careful attention for the past decade or so — and we, obviously, are a bunch of Russian agents. 😏
“Nasty surprise”, she said. And with a demonic look of pleasure while issuing the threat. Could not resist!
The actual quote was “nice surprises”, which makes sense through the prism of a psychopath’s thought process.
It appears Ukraine wants Trump back to give them more arms faster whenever they ask…!
They’ll have to “do us a favor, though”…
Ukraine says it will hit Russia’s oil refineries even if the US tells it not to
https://ukrainetoday.org/ukraine-says-it-will-hit-russias-precious-oil-refineries-even-if-the-us-tells-it-not-to/
Ukraine’s Deputy PM, Olha Stefanishyna, comments on US calls not to hit Russian refineries with Ukrainian-made drones: We are acting in line with NATO best practices
https://i0.wp.com/ukrainetoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/cd4a8d3-c6bf22c-2ccadc4-stefanishyna-fb_690x387.jpg?w=690&ssl=1
https://ukrainetoday.org/we-are-acting-in-line-with-nato-best-practices-deputy-pm-on-us-calls-not-to-strike-russian-refineries/
Good for Ukraine. What’s the US going to do about it? Cut off their ammo?
Hey, this sounds familiar. I wonder if Zelenskyy and Bibi had espresso at a local Starbucks.
They actually did and talked about it and at Starbucks.
Good for Ukraine? It would be if they weren’t in the situation they are in. But they should have thought about that before they hopped in bed with the US.
The Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine in 1990 stated that Ukraine would not accept, acquire, or produce nuclear weapons, and its government declared on 24 October 1991 that Ukraine would be a non-nuclear-weapon state.
Butthead does not do history. Putin didn’t have the reins when this was agreed to. We might have to dig up Gorbachev or Yeltsin.
Keep on hitting Putin and his oligarchs where it hurts.
It’s working.
Waiting on Putin Lovers here to link the Moscow attacks on Ukraine or West.
The Kremlin will have a hard time shifting blame.
War has come to imperial Putin.
The SMO that was going to take Kyiv in 3 days is slowly destroying Russia.
Must be all part of the plan. 🤣👍
Putin will end up fighting the entire world. Lol
That’s what happens when you make too many enemies without thinking about the consequences.
I’m sure everything is still going according to plans. Lol
https://youtu.be/PrgqtAuQ0ds?si=kme2RpX5HriFLtzb&t=119
“Washington’s fear that attacks on Moscow’s energy infrastructure will prompt retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian energy seems to have materialized.”
Moscow is retaliating against Ukraine???!!! LOL You are hillarious.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians die because of Trump and Johnson’s refusal to give them ammo:
https://ukrainetoday.org/it-is-hell-on-earth/
No Ukrainians died (in the hundreds of thousands) because their regime insisted on becoming a NATO bulwark on Russia’s borders and sacrifice the entirety of Ukraine youth on becoming Nuland’s proxy army. And a series of calamitous decisions on the part of the (meanwhile materialized) Ukrainian dictatorship has doomed the fate of the country to become an unwanted appendix of an increasingly weakened Europe in what increasinlgy looks like an overly optimistic scenario. Or it will just cease to exist altogether and whatever is left of it carved up between Russia, Poland and Hungary.
They were given ample opportunities to opt out, work on a prosperous, peaceful and neutral Ukraine, though perhaps such an act of selfishness, would not go without severe repercussions from a spiteful West.
DRINK!
I won’t stop you, this is your life after all, to ruin. But to attempt some moderation to your alcohol consumption could eventually improve your judgment. This on the assumption of course that you meant your nick not to be taken ironically.