June 2, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Cyber Command, the US military's hacking unit, has conducted offensive cyber operations in support of Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia's invasion, the head of the command has confirmed. 

The disclosure underscores how important projecting power in cyberspace — in support of Ukraine's defenses and to potentially deter Russia from conducting cyberattacks against US infrastructure — has been to the Biden administration as it continues to avoid directly engaging Russia in a shooting war. 

"We've conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum: offensive, defensive, [and] information operations," Gen. Paul Nakasone said in an interview with Sky News. A spokesperson for the command did not dispute the accuracy of the article but declined to elaborate on what the command's operations in Ukraine have entailed. 

It's a rare public acknowledgment from US military officials of hacking operations that are often shrouded in mystery. 

Read more here.

Oil prices moved solidly higher on Thursday as investors react to OPEC’s production hike with a collective shrug.

US crude jumped 1.9% to $117.45 a barrel in recent trading. That’s about $5 to $6 above where oil was trading at in the hours before the announcement by OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+. 

Brent crude, the world benchmark, gained 1.5% to $118 a barrel, up from around $113 a barrel earlier in the day.

This comes after OPEC+ announced it will increase supply by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August, about 200,000 barrels per day more than scheduled.

Yet the reaction in the market underscore a sense that the extra supply from OPEC+ won’t be enough to solve the supply crunch.

“It’s too small to move the needle,” said Robert McNally, president of consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group. 

McNally said the shift from OPEC+ — and Saudi Arabia in particular – is very important symbolically. But it won’t be enough to arrest the upward move in oil prices. 

More is needed given the scale of the problem. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and sanctions from the West – has distorted global energy markets. Russia is not just the world’s largest oil exporter, but the biggest natural gas exporter. 

New numbers released Thursday from the Energy Department show that US commercial oil inventories tumbled by 5 million barrels last week, nearly four times more than expected and another sign of the supply-demand imbalance. 

Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, described the OPEC decision as a “diplomatic triumph” for both Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration.

However, the former CIA analyst is skeptical that this OPEC production hike – or any OPEC production hike, for that matter – will significantly ease strained energy markets.  

“The problem is I’m not sure OPEC can solve for a war involving a global commodity superstore,” she said. “This is probably beyond OPEC’s ability to solve. The burden is too high.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday he had a “great meeting” with US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Stoltenberg commended the US for its leadership and support of Ukraine and leadership in support of the Transatlantic alliance. US support is “making a difference on the battlefield every day,” he said. 

They also discussed preparations for the late June NATO summit in Madrid, which he said “takes place at a pivotal time for security.” He said he looked forward to welcoming Biden to Spain. 

Asked by CNN’s MJ Lee about his assessment of the endgame of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, he said, “wars are, by nature, unpredictable and therefore we just have to be prepared for the long haul.” He added that it has become a “war of attrition,” where the Ukrainians are “paying a hard price for defending their country on the battlefield” but also “Russia is taking high casualties.” 

He said he believes the war will “end at the negotiation table,” and Ukraine continues to need NATO’s support. 

When asked about Turkey’s block on Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership applications, Stoltenberg expressed confidence it will get resolved.

Stoltenberg said he would be convening a meeting with senior officials from Stockholm, Helsinki and Ankara in the coming days. 

Turkey, he noted, is an “important ally.” 

The Ukrainian military said Thursday that fighting continues in multiple parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, with Russian forces trying to advance from several directions as they seek to take more of the area. 

Much of the fighting has been on the approaches to the city of Sloviansk. The nearby town of Sviatohirsk — which is home to a historic monastery on the banks of the Siverskiy Donets river — was shelled, and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine said three monks were killed. 

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that three other settlements in the area were under fire, and there was fighting underway in several more places. The locations named by the Ukrainians — Studenok, Sosnove and Yarova — suggest that Russian forces have made modest progress toward reaching the river. Observers said, however, that Ukrainian forces have prepared defenses around Sloviansk.

The military said that "in the Severodonetsk direction, the occupiers continue to fire on the Armed Forces positions in the districts of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk."

There has also been Russian airstrikes in adjacent communities. Ukrainian troops continue to hold the western edges of Severodonetsk, but the rest of the city is now in Russian hands.

The military said Russians were also continuing efforts to close in on the town of Bakhmut, a supply hub for Ukrainian forces, and fighting continued around settlements to the east and south of the town.

Oleksandr Zaika, head of Lysychansk City Military-Civil Administration, said that Thursday was "very difficult" in the city, which is across the Siverskiy Donets river from Severodonetsk. 

"The shelling has become more powerful. They are firing all over the city. They are firing continuously. Almost every minute, something arrives, so the situation is very difficult," Zaika told Ukrainian television.

He said that the highway linking Lysychansk with Bakhmut is under Ukrainian control, but said "they fire there all time, so it is very difficult to drive there, but it is possible. There is an alternative road on which you can move, but it is also dangerous."

He said 80,000 people — out of a population of about 100,000 — had left Lysychansk, and that 60% of the infrastructure and housing had been destroyed.

The world is grappling with gravity-defying energy price spikes on everything from gasoline and natural gas to coal. Some fear this may just be the beginning.

Current and former energy officials tell CNN they worry that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the wake of years of underinvestment in the energy sector have sent the world careening into a crisis that will rival or even exceed the oil crises of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Unlike those infamous episodes, this one is not contained to oil.

The global economy has largely been able to withstand surging energy prices so far. But prices could continue to rise to unsustainable levels as Europe attempts to wean itself off Russian oil and, potentially, gas. Supply shortages could lead to some difficult choices in Europe, including rationing.

Joe McMonigle, secretary general of the International Energy Forum, said he agrees with this depressing forecast from the IEA.

“We have a serious problem around the world that I think policymakers are just waking up to. It’s kind of a perfect storm,” McMonigle, whose group serves as a go-between for energy producing and consuming nations, told CNN in a phone interview.

The extent of that perfect storm — underinvestment, strong demand and supply disruptions from the war — will have wide-reaching consequences, potentially threatening the economic recovery from Covid-19, exacerbating inflation, fueling social unrest and undermining efforts to save the planet from global warming.

Birol warned of supply bottlenecks of gasoline and diesel, especially in Europe, as well as rationing of natural gas next winter in Europe.

“It is a crisis for which the world is woefully unprepared,” said Robert McNally, who served as a top energy adviser to former US President George W. Bush.

Continue reading the full story here:

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The world may be careening toward a 1970s-style energy crisis -- or worse

Senegalese President Macky Sall, who is also the head of the African Union, is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Friday to discuss the "liberation of the stocks of grain and fertilizers," Sall's office said Thursday. 

Sall is traveling to Russia as "the blockage of [grain and fertilizer exports] particularly affects African countries," his office added. The talks were also set to center on the African Union's efforts "to contribute to the lull of the war in Ukraine." 

The Kremlin said that Sall and Putin would discuss Russia's interaction with the African Union, "including the expansion of political dialogue and economic and humanitarian cooperation." 

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 22 million tons of grain, accounting for nearly half of Ukraine's grain export supply, was being held up by Russia's blockade of the main export routes through the Black Sea and Azov Sea.   

The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected the accusations that it has blocked grain supplies from Ukraine and has accused the West of actions that have led to this crisis.   

A senior officer in the Ukrainian military said that fierce fighting continues in the city of Severodonetsk in Luhansk region. 

Speaking at a briefing in Kyiv, Oleksii Hromov, deputy head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff, said, "Regarding the withdrawal of our troops. At the moment, our troops, which are engaged in the defense of Severodonetsk, do not face such a task. The units will carry out tasks with all the available forces and means, with the available resources."

Hromov acknowledged that the danger of Severodonetsk falling to the enemy exists. "In case of the taking of Severodonetsk, we will be forced to defend along the river bank and will also fight from urban areas." The river Siverskiy Donets runs close to Severodonetsk, dividing it from the nearby city of Lysychansk. 

"The enemy is trying to encircle our troops," Hromov said. "All activities, all actions carried out by both military personnel and units as a whole, consist in the implementation of a single plan. At this time, in the plans of the command, the General Staff, there is no need for our military units to withdraw from the [Severodonetsk] area."

Underground resistance in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine is growing, Mayor Ivan Fedorov said, adding that a number of Russian soldiers have been killed.

Fedorov is no longer in the city himself but said that according to intelligence data, more than 100 Russians had been "eliminated by the Melitopol guerrilla movement and special services cooperation. But I’m sure that this number is higher."

There is no way to verify the figure, and there has been no visual confirmation of Russians being killed in Melitopol.

Fedorov claimed on Ukrainian television that, according to information he received, the Russians "abduct people and hold them captive, and very few people know how people are being treated while held captive."

Since the beginning of the occupation, around 500 people had been detained by Russian forces — some for weeks — Fedorov said.

He noted that people held by the Russians were forced to sign documents saying that they would no longer attend rallies against the occupation or make statements in support of Russian forces.

Some had been tortured, he claimed. "It’s not just dangerous to go out for the pro-Ukrainian rallies — it’s dangerous to simply stay in the city. So as of today, over 50% of residents have left Melitopol. That’s over 70,000 people."

The latest theft by occupying forces was of Melitopol's cherry harvest, Fedorov said.

"They are taking it from our farmers, promising that one day they will give them some money in exchange. They also tell our farmers, that according to Russian legislation, one cannot have more than four hectares of fruit trees; anything in excess, they will confiscate," he said.

The White House on Thursday announced the latest round of sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, targeting Russian government officials and elites with a slew of new financial and diplomatic sanctions. 

The latest sanctions, issued by the Treasury and State departments, take aim at the luxury assets of several prominent Russian elites – including several yachts and aircraft belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s associates – and “luxury asset management and service companies” working to evade US sanctions, according to a White House statement. The Commerce Department also issued new sanctions restricting Russia’s ability to secure military technologies. 

The sanctions target several prominent Russian elites and government officials, including Russian businessman God Nisanov, whom US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls “one of the richest men in Europe and a close associate of several Russian officials” and Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova. 

The White House said in a statement that the latest sanctions are designed “to crack down on evasion and tighten our sanctions to enhance enforcement and increase pressure on Putin and his enablers.” 

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control identified two yachts, the “Russia-flagged Graceful and the Cayman Islands-flagged Olympia,” as “blocked property in which President Vladimir Putin has an interest.”  

Putin, according to Treasury, has “taken numerous trips” on the yachts as recently as last year. It also designated several management companies and other owners associated with the yachts, as well as other yacht brokerage companies associated with Putin. 

The sanctions also target two other yachts, the Shellest and the Nega, both owned by Russian companies. 

“Shellest periodically travels to the coast where President Putin’s infamous Black Sea Palace is located, and President Putin uses Nega for travel in Russia’s North,” the Department of Treasury said. 

Thursday’s sanctions also take aim at a “close friend” of Putin, Sergei Pavlovich Roldugin, who, according to the Treasury Department, is “the godfather to one of Putin’s daughters,” as well as Roldugin’s wife, Elena Yuryevna Mirtova. Roldugin is the artistic director of the St. Petersburg Music House and Mirtova is a soprano opera singer. 

The administration also sanctioned a series of other yachts and aircraft belonging to Putin associates. 

Five additional Russian government officials were placed on the Department of Treasury’s sanctions list, including Yury Slyusar, the president of a Russian state-owned aircraft company; Vitaly Savelyev, the minister of transport; Maxim Reshentnikov, the minister of economic development; Irek Envarovich Faizullin, the minister of construction, housing, and utilities; and Dmitriy Yuryevich Grigorenko, the deputy prime minister. 

Severgroup, a “multi-billion-dollar Russia’s investment company with holdings and subsidiaries in metallurgy, engineering, mining, tourism, banking, technology, media, and finance, among other sectors” is also being sanctioned, along with its leader Alexey Mordashov and three members of his family.