SNC Health Buzz

  As large-scale war in Ukraine enters its fortieth week, America and Western governments must support Kyiv as it resists a Russian invasion that is destroying much of the country and raise the costs of aggression to Moscow. On the other hand, they have to minimize risks of the war spiraling into a wider confrontation between Russia and NATO. In the face of Ukraine’s resistance, Russia has turned to ever more brutal tactics. Zelenskyy has asked the U.S. to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine to diminish the Russian bombardment continuing to devastate the country. A no-fly zone would require American forces to police the airspace over Ukraine, which would almost certainly lead to a direct conflict between the U.S. and Russia. President Biden has drawn a red line that no U.S. forces will fight in Ukraine. Western leaders should, as they have done so far, avoid tactics, like a no-fly zone that would be tantamount to war with Russia. Read more:  7 reasons why sanctions won’t hurt Russia

  Russia earned over US$110 billion in 2021 from oil exports, twice as much as its earnings from natural gas sales abroad. Russia produces close to 11 million barrels per day of crude oil. It uses roughly half of this output for its own internal demand, which presumably has increased due to higher military fuel requirements, and exports 5 million to 6 million barrels per day. Today Russia is the second-largest crude oil producer in the world. About half of Russia’s exported oil roughly 2.5 million barrels per day is shipped to European countries, including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria. Nearly one-third of it arrives in Europe via the Druzhba Pipeline through Belarus. China is another large buyer: It imports 1.6 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil. Half comes via a special direct pipeline, the Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean pipeline, which also services other customers via a port at its end point, including Japan