Photo : UK's worker strike BBC/ PA Media
22 August 2022, Monday | NIAS Europe Daily Brief #286
War in Ukraine: Day 178 & 179
By Rishma Banerjee
War on the Ground
On 21 August, Ukraine’s military reported on the continued strikes in the ammunition depots in Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions. While Russia attempted to improve its positions in Tavriysk and Oleksandrivka, Ukraine was successful in preventing Russia's advance. They also said that, in Bakhmut direction Russia could not make any progress despite using tube and rocket artillery seven times.
In an interview with Ukrinform, Ukraine’s vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov reported on the total funds collected through UNITED24 platform for Ukraine. He said that more than USD 175 million had been raised from 110 countries in three months. Fedorov also mentioned that 60 per cent of the funds collected will go to the armed forces, medical assistance and the remaining for the reconstruction of the state.
On 20 August, President Zelenskyy warned Ukraine’s citizens to be vigilant due to upcoming independence day on 24 August. He said, “We must all be aware that this week Russia could try to do something particularly ugly, something particularly vicious.” As the Russian offensive is most intense in Kharkiv, curfew is expected to be till 24 August.
On 20 August, a drone strike was reported on Russia’s Black Sea fleet headquarters in Sevastopol, Crimea. It was identified as SkyEye 5000 millimetre pro UAV. Ukraine refused to take responsibility for the attack. Russia-appointed Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev addressed the attack and said that security services in Sevastopol was ordered to operate on “high alert” mode.
The Moscow View
Claims by Russia
The head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov announced that the village of Sands, in Peski near Donetsk was freed from Ukraine’s armed forces. He said that following the occupation, Ukraine’s forces had abandoned their ammunition and left the post.
On 20 August, the defence ministry said that several soldiers who were on duty in Ukraine have been hospitalized with severe chemical poisoning. The troops were stationed near the Vasilyevka village in the Zaporizhzhya region. In the samples taken from the troops, traces of Botulinum toxin Type B were found. The toxin is an “organic poison of artificial origin.” The ministry said that the official confirmation about the incident will be sent to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The West View
Responses from the US and Europe
The US deputy treasury secretary, Wally Adeyemo spoke to Turkey's deputy finance minister, Yunus Elitas. Adeyemo informed Elitas about how Russian individuals and organizations were using Turkey to bypass the sanctions imposed on them by the West. Elitas assured that while Turkey is interested in maintaining good political and economic relations with both Russia and Ukraine, it will not allow violations of the sanctions.
On 19 August, UK's foreign ministry spokesperson said that Russia does not have the "moral right " to take part in the G20 summit while it continues its aggression in Ukraine. The statement comes after Indonesia's president Joko Widodo mentioned that Russia's Vladimir Putin has confirmed his presence at the summit to be held in November, at Bali.
The Global Fallouts
Implications of the Ukraine war
On 20 August, AP News reported on the pressure faced by IMF on the re-evaluation procedure to impose fees on the countries availing loans. Ukraine being one of IMF's biggest borrowers, there is the possibility of more countries applying for loans, given the rising food and energy prices and inflation. As the largest IMF shareholder, US can influence IMF's policy decisions and also unilaterally veto decisions.
The World Food Program (WFP) chief, David Beasley told AP News that the US will buy 150,000 metric tons of grain from Ukraine for an upcoming shipment of food aid. The shipment is six-times the amount of grain that the first WFP commissioned ship is carrying to the Horn of Africa. Beasley, mentioned that the destination of the grain was not confirmed yet.
On 20 August, China’s general administration of customs announced that in July, China which has purchased 7.42 million tons of coal from Russia. The number is higher than the 6.12 tons imported in June. The sanctions by the West has created more opportunities for Asian countries, especially China and India to buy more coal from Russia at highly discounted price. For example, Russian thermal coal traded at USD 150 per ton in July, while the same quality coal from Australia’s Newcastle port was priced at USD 210 per ton.
On the same day, TOLO News reported that according to the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), the annual trade turnover with Russia has increased to USD 170 million. The ACCI mentioned that Russia’s market was attractive for Afghanistan and was good for exports. Afghanistan’s ministry of foreign affairs said that an afghan delegation will travel to Moscow to discuss the import of products from Russia.
References
“AFU eliminate 75 invaders, destroy ammo depots in south,” Ukrinform, 21 August 2022
“Ukrainian troops repulse 13 Russian attacks in area between Luhansk and Donetsk regions,” Ukrinform, 21 August 2022
“Over UAH $175M already raised through UNITED24 platform – Fedorov,” Ukrinform, 21 August 2022
“Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners down two Russians Kalibr missiles over Black Sea,” Ukrinform, 21 August 2022
“We still need to fight for victory, but Ukrainians can feel proud of themselves, their country and their heroes – address of President of Ukraine,” president.gov.ua, 20 August 2022
“Russian offensive campaign assessment, August 20,” ISW, 20 August 2022
“Senior Ukrainian Intelligence Official Found Dead,” Kyiv Post, 21 August 2022
“An acquaintance of the daughter of the philosopher Dugin confirmed her death,” LENTA.RU, 21 August 2022
“Kadyrov announced the liberation of the village near Donetsk from the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” LENTA.RU, 21 August 2022
“U.S. Treasury official warns Russia trying to bypass Western sanctions via Turkey,” Reuters, 21 August, 2022
“Russia has no moral right to sit at G20, says Britain,” Reuters, 20 August 2022
“Foreign influence efforts on the rise to make Singaporeans ‘take sides’, PM Lee Hsien Loong warns,” scmp, 21 August 2022
“Russian coal exports to China smash five-year high,” RT, 20 August 2022
Amina Hakimi, “Afghan Delegation in Moscow for Trade Talks,” TOLO News, 20 August 2022
Fatima Hussein, “IMF fees on war-torn countries closer to elimination,” AP News, 20 August 2022
Cara Anna, “UN: US buying big Ukraine grain shipment for hungry regions,” AP News, 20 August 2022
IN BRIEF
By Rishma Banerjee
GERMANY
Economy minister dismisses running nuclear power plants to save gas
On 21 August, during the government’s open-door day, Germany’s economy minister, Robert Habeck said that the nuclear power plants will not be used beyond their lifespans. Running the three remaining plants would save a maximum of two per cent of gas use. As a result, Habeck said it would not be worth reopening the debate about Germany’s exit from nuclear energy. Former chancellor Angela Merkel had initiated the legislation halting the use of nuclear power by the end of 2022 after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, but due to the rising energy crisis, the ruling coalition is divided on the matter. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that a decision would be taken by the end of August or the beginning of September, once the results of the stress test on the same are available. (“German economy minister rules out keeping nuclear plants running to save gas,” Reuters, 21 August 2022)
MONTENEGRO
Dritan Abazovic’s government falls after no-confidence vote
On 20 August, Montenegro’s parliament passed a no-confidence motion against prime minister Dritan Abazovic’s government. The motion which was passed by 50 of the parliament’s 81 deputies was to protest against the government signing a disputed deal that regulates the country’s ties with Serbia’s orthodox church. This marks the second no-confidence motion in 2022 in Montenegro, following the collapse of former prime minister Zdravko Krivokapic’s cabinet in February. After the motion, Abazovic said, "I am very proud of everything we have done in 100 days… We will be remembered as the government that lasted the shortest but which made the most difficult decisions." President Milo Djukanovic will now have to appoint a new prime minister-designate to form the government. (“Montenegro's parliament passes no-confidence motion on cabinet,” Reuters, 20 August 2022)
SERBIA
President Vucic asks NATO to “do their job” of protecting Kosovo Serbs
On 21 August, Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic called on NATO’s peacekeeping forces to “do their job” of protecting the interests of the Kosovo Serbs. Otherwise, Vucic warned that Serbia will be forced to take its own steps to protect the minority Serbian population in Kosovo. The comments came after the failure of EU-mediated negotiation between the two countries. Vucic also criticized NATO for increasing their presence in the northern part of Kosovo. Additionally, he said that he was not optimistic about finding a solution to the crisis as, Kosovo has rejected all "compromise solutions" that Serbia proposed. (“Serbia warns NATO over safety of Kosovo Serbs,” Deutsche Welle, 21 August 2022)
THE UK
Workers at Felixstowe port start their eight-day strike
On 21 August, almost 2000 workers started their planned strike at UK’s biggest container port at the Port of Felixstowe. The port handles close to four million containers from around 2000 ships per year, which marks 48 per cent of the country’s incoming shipping freight. The workers taking part in the strike are demanding a pay rise and will continue the strike for eight days. The union organizing the strike, Unite said that the members had rejected a seven per cent pay offer from Felizstowe Dock and Railway Company, reasoning that it was below the rate of inflation. However, Port spokesman Paul Davey said: “We've got a shrinking economy, we're going into recession... I think that's a very fair offer indeed.” (Helen Burchell & Andre Rhoden-Paul, “Felixstowe: Dock workers strike for first time in 30 years,” BBC, 21 August 2022)
CLIMATE
UN agency initiates action to reduce risk of tiny plastic ‘nurdles’ polluting the oceans
On 20 August, The Guardian reported that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which is a UN agency, has asked experts to look into the ways of reducing the environmental risks of transporting ‘nurdles”. The move comes after a series of spills have threatened ocean heath. Nurdles are tiny plastic pellets which are the most common micro-plastic pollutants in the seas, produced by petrochemical companies. These are used as building blocks for plastic products but in the ocean these lead to huge environmental damage and threaten the biodiversity of coastal areas. The IMO said that a panel of experts working on this issues would submit their findings for a meeting in April, 2023. Sri Lanka which has called for labelling the nurdles as harmful substance from its earlier maritime disaster experience. The decision now has been back by Norway, where it had a similar incident of nurdle spill in 2020 affecting the coast line of Denmark, and Sweden. (Jon Ungoed-Thomas, “UN seeks plan to beat plastic nurdles, the tiny scourges of the oceans,” The Guardian, 20 August 2022)