Russia Delivers Last U.S.-Bought Helicopters To Afghan Military As Ukraine Conflict Differences
Russia Delivers Last U.S.-Bought Helicopters To Afghan Military As Ukraine Conflict Differences Set Aside.
By: BN7fdj121
The rest is here:
Russia Delivers Last U.S.-Bought Helicopters To Afghan Military As Ukraine Conflict Differences - Video
Kiev/Donetsk, Ukraine Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called an emergency meeting of his security chiefs for Tuesday to discuss new ways of dealing with the separatist challenge in the east after rebel elections that were denounced by Kiev and the West.
The rogue votes, which Kiev says Russia encouraged, could create a new "frozen conflict" in post-Soviet Europe and further threaten the territorial unity of Ukraine, which lost control of its Crimean peninsula in March when it was annexed by Russia.
Organizers of the twin ballots said insurgent leaders had emerged victorious in both Donetsk and Luhansk -- two Russian speaking areas of eastern Ukraine -- throwing down the gauntlet to Poroshenko, who vehemently opposed the election.
In a statement, the Ukrainian president denounced the vote as an "electoral farce," repeating that it violated a bedrock deal struck in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Sept. 5 intended to pave the way for a settlement of the separatist problem.
His sentiments were echoed by the White House, which condemned what it called "illegitimate, so-called 'elections'" and warned economic penalties on Russia "will rise" if Moscow continues to violate the Minsk deal.
"We are concerned by a Russian Foreign Ministry statement today that seeks to legitimize these sham 'elections,'" Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement on Monday.
Calling for "adjustments" to be made in the way he handled the east, Poroshenko said he intended to scrap a law that would have offered "special status" to areas in the east including those controlled by the rebels.
This would be among points to be discussed on Tuesday in a meeting of Ukraine's security and defense council, he said.
The "special status" law envisaged allowing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to run their own affairs and also offered separatist fighters freedom from prosecution.
Kiev says the Minsk agreement provided only for election of local officials under Ukrainian law, and not for separatist ballots aimed at bringing in leaders of breakaway entities who seek close association or even union with Russia.
Follow this link:
Ukraine president denounces 'electoral farce' after rebels win Eastern vote (+video)
The timing of the elections, when elections could be held in December under the terms of the ceasefire, could be seen as "a further and direct challenge to the authority of Kyiv," Timothy Ash, head of emerging markets research at Standard Bank, wrote in a research note.
Poroshenko has called those elected "bandits who crown themselves" and will meet with his security chiefs Tuesday, sparking fears that the ceasefire could break. Reports of military convoys from Russia crossing the border into the region comprising Donetsk and Luhansk add to nervousness in Kiev.
"Unless Ukraine can militarily retake the regions controlled by rebels, the impact will be limited in terms of events on the ground," according to Ash.
And with military spending in Ukraine under pressure, as the rest of the economy continues in deep recession, that seems unlikely.
- By CNBC's Catherine Boyle.
Read more:
Ukraine: The pain is far from over
The risk of disruptions to Russian natural gas flows through Ukraine this winter is protecting European prices from the rout that sent oil to a four-year low.
U.K. gas for next quarter fell 13 percent since mid-June, less than half the 28 percent plunge in Brent crude over that time. While Brent is typically the benchmark used to set the price on almost half the gas supply in Europe, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, along with supply-and-demand fundamentals in the market, is having a bigger impact on gas prices than the decline in oil.
First-quarter supply interruptions are still possible as Ukraine may struggle to pay Russia $3.1 billion by year-end under an agreement brokered by the European Union last week for gas already consumed, according to Societe Generale SA. The 28-nation EU, which gets 15 percent of its fuel from Russia through Ukraine, sought to avoid repeats of 2006 and 2009, when disputes between the former Soviet republics over gas debts and prices led to shortages across the region amid freezing weather.
Right now, gas prices in Europe are really linked to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, so I dont think the impact from oil is as big as it could be, Edouard Neviaski, chief executive officer of GDF Suez Trading, a unit of Frances biggest utility, said in an interview in London. Gas prices have gone down a little bit, but nothing of the same magnitude.
First-quarter gas in the U.K., Europes biggest market, dropped 1.1 percent yesterday to 55.33 pence a therm ($8.85 a million British thermal units) on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange in London, as Brent fell 2.4 percent to $82.73 a barrel. The European gas benchmark is at its lowest for the time of year since 2010 after the regions mildest year in half a century left storage sites at record levels.
Russia halted gas supplies to Ukraine on June 16, with OAO Gazprom saying Ukraines debt stands at $5.3 billion. The cut came after Russia annexed Ukraines Crimea peninsula in March and as a conflict between Kiev and pro-Russian rebels in the eastern part of the country killed more than 4,000 people. Brent crude started to slump in June as growth in U.S. production added to slowing demand in Europe and China.
The oil slump, caused by a global oversupply as the U.S. produces the most crude since at least 1983, has the most downside potential on summer gas, Neviaski said. The contract for the six months from April has lost 7.4 percent since June 19, when Brent reached its highest this year.
Russia will resume gas flows to Ukraine after it receives $1.45 billion, the first tranche of debt repayment, and cash for November supplies under the accord signed Oct. 30 in Brussels. Supplies would halt if state gas company NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy doesnt pay by Jan. 1, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Oct. 31.
Ukraine has funds to pay for 4 billion cubic meters (141 billion cubic feet) of gas in November and December, said Energy Minister Yuri Prodan. The price will be about $378 a thousand cubic meters, according to the accord.
While the additional volume would help Ukraine, the nation would still face shortages in the event of a cold winter, according to Chris Main, a London-based analyst at Citigroup Inc. Ukraine average demand in the winter of 2012-13 was about 6 billion cubic meters a month, he said.
Follow this link:
Russia-Ukraine Crisis Shields EU Gas From Oil Price Rout
LPR | Long queues to vote in Luhansk Republic | English Subtitles
http://www.youtube.com/user/2014AntiMaidan Ukraine Crisis: Latest News Today, on November 2nd, elections of heads of Republics as well as local authorities (independent from Kiev) took place...
By: Anti-Maidan
View post:
LPR | Long queues to vote in Luhansk Republic | English Subtitles - Video