Avoiding Russian Energy
Leaders are trying to figure out ways to maintain pressure on Russia.

Maintaining pressure. Leaders of the U.S., U.K., Germany, France and Italy held a telephone call on Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine, during which they agreed in principle to maintain pressure on Russia through sanctions. They also discussed effects the sanctions are having on the global energy landscape.
Avoiding Russian energy. Relatedly, on Wednesday German Economy Minister Robert Habeck urged businesses and individuals to reduce energy consumption as German gas storage levels fell to about 25 percent. Habeck triggered the first part of a three-stage emergency plan that will also create a task force to help manage energy issues. Meanwhile, the Polish government on Tuesday adopted legislation that will block the import of Russian coal. Today, it announced plans to end Russian oil imports by 2022.
Blinken in North Africa. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with the Algerian president and foreign minister in Algiers today. They are expected to discuss the reopening of a natural gas pipeline to Spain via Morocco. On Tuesday, Blinken was in Morocco, where he expressed his support for a Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara. He also met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan to discuss the fallout of the Ukraine crisis, global energy supplies and Iran’s nuclear negotiations.
The war in Ukraine isn’t just a Ukrainian affair. It has the potential
to fundamentally reshape the global landscape. In some ways it already
has: Germany is rearming,
NATO has awakened, commodities prices are
through the roof, and Russia is increasingly isolated. The extent to
which the global order changes will depend largely on how long the
conflict drags out.




3月27日,德国联邦总统府举办了一场支持乌克兰的团结音乐会,受邀的乌克兰驻德大使却拒绝参加,反而在推特上抨击德国总统邀请了太多俄罗斯音乐家,并且强调在祖国遭受俄军入侵时,对一切俄罗斯文化都毫无兴趣。
德国三家公共广播的一份研究报告指出,TikTok(海外版抖音)在德国运行着一套值得质疑的词语过滤系统。
另外,“奥斯威辛”、“国家社会主义”(纳粹主义)等词也被屏蔽了。在德国文化中,对于大屠杀的了解和反思是非常重要的内容。
但过去几周,一位日本政治家提出异议。他就是日本战后任期最长的首相,安倍晋三。安倍公开表示,日本确实应该认真地、急迫地考虑核武器问题。
对于那些像安倍一样,长期渴望日本重新军事化的人来说,俄罗斯对乌克兰的入侵是一个强有力的例证——面对更大、武器更精良、更具侵略性的邻国时,那些没有能力保护自己的国家会发生什么。
不仅如此,如果发生核战争,这些无核武器国家可以用自己的飞机代表美国向目标发射这些武器。


有指出该战舰被击沉意义所在的:好啊,这个地方离马里乌波尔很近,可以帮马里乌波尔乌军解围… (武汉网友Rita)
法国世界报专栏作家科夫曼惊异的是,俄罗斯入侵乌克兰,采用的是多年前入侵格鲁吉亚时同样的手段,同样的计谋,同样的理由,这一切都是在一个前提下完成的,预设西方是被动的。上一次,俄罗斯得逞至今,这一次,俄罗斯再次用同样的手段入侵近邻。而且,普京集团甚至断定,他们会制裁我们,但我们更知道如何应对,最后,他们会重新回过头来与我们讨论战略安全与稳定。
欧美从不宣告自身的红线在哪里,假如普京对乌克兰某座城市进行了化武攻击,西方人如何反应?假如普京如同轰炸马里乌波尔一样狂轰基辅,西方人将如何反应?假如普京疯狂地向邻国投掷战术核武器,欧洲该如何反应?如果普京要测验北约究竟有多大决心,向波兰边境或者向波罗的海投掷导弹,欧洲如何反应?欧盟领导人没有作出过任何公开的回答。
刚刚结束的北约峰会及欧盟峰会,大西洋两岸空前团结,
根据法新社报道,列赞采夫中将是俄罗斯南部战区第49军司令,乌克兰总统泽连斯基高级顾问阿雷斯托维奇3月25日在视频信息中说:"我们的部队(......)在轰炸赫尔松地区南部的乔尔诺巴耶夫卡机场时杀死了俄罗斯南部地区第49军的指挥官雅科夫-雷赞采夫将军。”这将是继安德烈-莫迪切夫中将之后,乌克兰击毙的第二位俄军中将。


俄罗斯开发了世界上最先进的T-14“阿玛塔”(Armata)主战坦克。虽然曾在莫斯科红场胜利日阅兵式上亮相,但在乌克兰战场上却不见踪影。目前俄军部署的大部分是老式T-72坦克、装甲运兵车、火炮和火箭炮。
一位西方高级情报官员告诉BBC,俄罗斯认为它只需要部署像特种部队(Spetsnatz)和空降兵(VDV)这样的轻装备尖刀部队,“就可以消灭少数乌克兰防守部队,仅此而已”。
“俄军已经被困住了,他们正在缓慢但肯定会遭受重大伤亡。”他说。
Looking back, Xi's
remarks resonate with Russian President Vladimir Putin's philosophy,
which is fueling his invasion of Ukraine: a desire to restore Soviet-era
glory combined with a strong distrust of the West.

