Thanks for the info. It’s better than nothing, but here in Switzerland for instance, we are bracing ourselves for an eventual influx of around 300k Ukrainian refugees until the end of this year. Let that sink in… for a total population of currently 8 million people.
So, you’ll pardon me if I’m not very impressed with the effort consented by the US so far.
Meanwhile in Poland, close to the Belarus border…
Good post, just wanted to comment on this part.
I think most of the war I have seen in my lifetime has been unjust and has generally made a situation worse. But I still want to hold on to the possibility that there is a just war.
The original Gulf War, to liberate Kuwait after Saddam Hussein invaded, seemed like a just war to me. And even now, the war effort that Ukraine is putting in to try to defend itself from an invading aggressor, seems just.
Still, I have no qualms about saying that what America has been up to, by and large, since the original Gulf War, has been wrong, and has mostly served to make the world a worse place, while also emboldening the likes of Putin to be lawless themselves.
16:15
The UN General Assembly has adopted a new non-binding resolution that is demanding an “immediate” stop to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The resolution also calls for aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine, and criticises Russia for creating a “dire” humanitarian situation after Moscow invaded its neighbour one month ago.
In the vote at the UN’s headquarters in New York, 140 countries voted in favour and 38 abstained.
Five countries voted against the measure - Russia, Syria, North Korean, Eritrea and Belarus.
It follows a resolution on 2 March that similarly demanded Russia immediately cease its use of force.
Would you like us to charter 1k 777’s to bring people over? It’s a lot easier for the displaced Ukrainians to get to Switzerland than here.
I disagree on a hell of a lot of what the US has done in recent years, but I do feel like your expectations aren’t feasible.
I think this may have been posted further up but can someone tell me if this is smart from Russia? Probably looking at you @Arminius 
The EU, for example, has paid nearly €19billion to Russia since the invasion.
Mostly smart, some risks. The ruble has basically stopped trading outside Russia, and the value has collapsed both inside and outside Russia. By requiring payment in rubles, buyers of Russian energy must either accept the valuation dictated by the Kremlin, or buy rubles on the market - which shores up demand and therefore value, while also restoring trading.
On the other hand, changing the currency of payment as a contract term arbitrarily creates an exit option from the contract, should European buyers of Russian energy decide to do that.
Which everyone knows they can’t.
Yeh…I saw it mentioned that this would help support the ruble.
Lots of talk about contracts etc. So we have to see what they’ll do.
It’s not as if the refugees come all on a heap (apart from in Poland, they have more than 2m refugees already as we speak). We currently have 10k in the country, which is already taking a toll, but is ok currently. I don’t know how we’ll be able to host 300k people though, get their children to school, house them, give them work etc. If we ever come to these numbers, it will be a daunting task, and all European countries will experience the same plight, according to their respective population numbers.
So, yes, the US can do more, short and long term: economic and infrastructural help for the countries under most pressure first (ie. Poland, Moldavia), and then taking a fair part of refugees over time.
I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong but hasn’t Canada got one of the largest Ukrainian populations outside of Russia and Ukraine? They must have been able to get to Canada without too much bother so presumably the US wouldn’t be out of the question.
A lot more able to do so in four weeks than they were four weeks ago, however.
True. Are we thanking the Saudis for this?
Actually, Johnson got a lot of shit for cosying up to SA last week but where is the EU looking to plug the fossil fuel shortfall from? It can’t all be from Norway, can it?
Canada apparently has the largest. I did not realize how many people I knew with family ties to Ukraine, until this past month. But that community dates back to the 1870s, with multiple waves. This wave is only just beginning to arrive here, and historically we take far more refugees per capita than the US.
Europe can’t really plug the fossil fuel shortfall. Oil is not the issue, that is available. But natural gas just can’t be replaced - a matter of pipeline capacity. Europe buys more gas from Russia than is available in the entire global LNG market, it just isn’t there to be purchased, and even if it was, there is nowhere close to the scale of LNG infrastructure required. The ability to reduce usage right now is largely seasonal, but anything longer than that will probably require massive investment in electrical generation.
It would mean that those wanting to buy gas would have to buy roubles.
I remember with the Soviet block countries that the local currencies were worthless and largely incapable if being exchanged. We had a friend who played some folk concerts in East Germany and the only way he could get paid was to buy local products with some inherent value to sellonin Liverpool. Mainly this was photographic equipment.
If people had to buy roubles it would mean that there was some exchange value for it but whether that is preferable to simply having $US is another matter.
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