By Richard Bravo, Bloomberg News

BRUSSELS
EnergiesNet.com 04 15 2022

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy marked 50 days of Ukrainian resistance in his nightly video address. Russia lost the flagship vessel of its Black Sea Fleet, delivering a blow to its pride and military capabilities as it repositions its forces for renewed attacks in eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.  

U.S. President Joe Biden said he’s considering sending a senior official to visit Ukraine. European Union leaders plan to discuss common gas purchases at a summit next month, as they seek to avoid competing against each other for alternative energy supplies while reducing imports from Russia. 

U.S. prosecutors charged three Russian government officials with conspiring to shape American policy toward Russia with staged events and propaganda — including efforts to influence members of Congress.

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Key Developments

• Russian Troops Risk Repeating Blunders If They Try for May 9 Win
• Russia’s Sunken Warship Dents Both Its Pride and Capabilities
• Citi Began Deepening its Russia Retreat Before Ukraine Invasion
• Russia Wages Social Media Campaign to Label Bucha Massacre a Hoax
• Russia’s War in Ukraine: Key Events and How It’s Unfolding
• Ukrainians Come Home to Wreckage, Booby Traps and Fresh Laundry

All times CET: 

Zelenskiy Hails Ukrainian Resolve After 50 Days of War (8:41 a.m.) 

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed Ukrainian resolve Thursday night as Russia’s war reached its 50th day. Moscow “gave us a maximum of five” when it invaded on Feb. 24, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. “They didn’t know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom and the possibility to live the way we want.”

Zelenskiy made an indirect reference to the Russian cruiser Moskva, which sank Thursday night while being towed to port. He praised “those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it’s to the bottom.”  

Russia May Review Its Maritime Posture After Moskva Sinking (8:07 a.m.)

The sinking of the Moskva, Russia’s flagship Black Sea vessel, on top of that of an Alligator-class landing ship on March 24 “will likely lead Russia to review its maritime posture in the Black Sea,” the U.K. Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update. 

The Moskva “served a key role as both a command vessel and air defense node,” and only returned to operational status in 2021 after a lengthy refit, the U.K. said. 

U.S. Has ‘Long Playbook’ on Sanctions, Official Tells FT (7:00 a.m.)

Besides a long list of potential additional sanctions against Moscow, the U.S. sees little scope for lifting existing ones, a senior State Department official told the Financial Times. 

“Everything is on the table,” said Jose Fernandez, US under-secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment. “And in that playbook, several pages have not been read out.” 

Fernandez said it would be up to Ukraine to decide whether an easing of Western sanctions should be part of any peace deal negotiated with Moscow.  

Russia Mulls Limiting Coking Coal Exports (6:15 a.m.)

Russia’s Energy Ministry and Industry Ministry are working on introducing restrictions on the exports of coking coal, RBC reported, citing an unidentified government official and the Energy Ministry’s press service. The measure may help decrease coal prices on the domestic market.

Oil Posts Gains as EU Considers Russia Ban (1:22 a.m.)

Oil notched a weekly gain as traders weighed a global supply deficit, a potential ban on Russian oil from the European Union and China’s latest virus lockdowns. West Texas Intermediate settled near $107, rising 8.8% for the week.

Oil rallied Thursday afternoon after a report that the European Union is moving toward adopting a phased-in ban on Russian oil.

Russian Warship Sinks on Way Back to Port, Moscow Says (10:19 p.m.)

Russia’s Moskva cruiser, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet, sank during a storm while it was being towed back to port, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said, according to Tass news agency. 

Ukraine’s military says the ship was hit by “Neptune” anti-ship cruise missiles, resulting in significant damage and a fire. Russia had reported localized fires aboard that caused ammunition to detonate. The Moskva typically has a crew approaching 500. Russian news agencies reported they had been evacuated.

France Restaffs Kyiv Embassy (7:45 p.m)

France is relocating diplomatic staff to its embassy in Kyiv after personnel were evacuated to Lviv in early March. Russian troops have largely left the Ukrainian capital as they press their campaign in the country’s east and south. 

The move will allow France to further deepen its support for the country, including humanitarian aid and efforts to investigate allegations of war crimes by Russian forces, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Russian Officials Charged With U.S. Disinformation Plot (7:25 p.m.)

A U.S. indictment against Aleksandr Babakov, deputy chairman of the state Duma in Russia; Aleksandr Vorobev, Babakov’s chief of staff; and Mikhail Plisyuk, a member of Babakov’s staff, was unsealed in federal court in Manhattan. They were accused of seeking meetings with members of Congress, offering one a free trip to Crimea in 2017. 

They were charged with conspiring to affect U.S. policy toward Russia with staged events and propaganda. The Russian government has denied that it engaged in disinformation efforts.

U.S. Lawmaker Sees Ukraine Low on List of Voter Concerns (6:53 p.m.)

U.S. Senator Chris Coons said Americans will “struggle with maintaining focus and attention” on the war in Ukraine ahead of the November midterm elections. The Democrat from Delaware, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was “very troubled” by recent polling in which Ukraine “doesn’t make the top five” of most pressing concerns for Americans, who are more worried about inflation, the economy, the pandemic, crime, and the border with Mexico.

Biden got a polling bump in the initial weeks of Russia’s invasion of its neighboring country, but that has faded as voters have faced sharp price increases in groceries and gasoline and the coronavirus persists. Democrats aren’t favored to keep control of Congress in the November contests.

U.S. Weighing Sending an Official to Ukraine (6:20 p.m.)

Biden said his administration is deciding whether to send a senior U.S. official to visit Ukraine. “We’re making that decision now,” he told reporters before departing Washington for a trip to North Carolina.

He didn’t say which official might make such a visit. Politico reported earlier Wednesday, citing unnamed officials, that the administration is considering sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken or Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Pentagon Says Training on New Weapons Won’t Take Long (6:19 p.m.)

It won’t take much time to train Ukrainian troops on using 15mm towed howitzers and radar for locating enemy artillery, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Thursday. The equipment is part of the $800 million in new weapons being sent to Ukraine.

The official said Ukrainian officers had previously been trained in the U.S. on the use of Switchblade attack drones and unmanned coastal defense vessels that are also in the package announced Wednesday by Biden.

The official also said that Russian ships near its damaged Moskva cruiser have moved farther south in the Black Sea. 

Ukraine Energy Industry Lobbies for Gas Funds (6:05 p.m.)

Ukraine needs international financial aid, including from the U.S., to fill its energy reserves ahead of next winter, according to two representatives of the country’s energy industry who were in Washington to lobby the Biden administration and lawmakers. 

With domestic production down because of the war, Ukraine will need to import about 11 billion cubic meters of natural gas for heating and agriculture if the conflict lasts into the fall, according to Svitlana Zalischuk, adviser to the chief executive of Naftogaz, the country’s largest state-owned oil and gas company. 

bloomberg.com 04 15 2022