RT News - December 2nd 2022 Late

Targeting civilians - again. Three people have been killed and the injured numbers are mounting up after Kiev forces shell residential-only areas of Donetsk. Local officials say NATO-supplied shells were used in the attack. MLRs are fired off in a dozen or more at a time. This was, once again, deliberate. (Disturbing images)

Congolese people protest against the presence of a UN mission in the country, saying it's only worsened the security situation there, as a ceasefire between the military and rebel forces breaks down. Please catch up for history on this channel (search DRC / Congo) or on the RT website.

Nigeria's president raises the alarm that weapons sent to Ukraine are ending up in the hands of African militants. RT speaks to concerned citizens in Nigeria.

India/Kashmir - Canada poking it's nose in. The situation in this region has been going on too long and although all wish this regular conflict to be over, Canada's commentary is hypocritical and unhelpful.

Paris, France - Doctors and laboratory based medical workers have been protesting this week over fees, consultation fees and budget cuts.

Britain: The right to protest could soon be gone. In depth report. "the rapport of force"

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via RT website 2 Dec, 2022 13:45

---- Putin tells Scholz why Russia is targeting Ukrainian infrastructure --

Strikes a response to Kiev's attacks on Russian soil, president tells German counterpart Scholz

Russian precision attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure are a necessary response to Ukrainian sabotage on Russian soil, including the bombing of the Crimean Bridge, President Vladimir Putin has told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The two leaders spoke by phone on Friday at Berlin’s request, according to a statement released by the Kremlin. Putin explained the logic behind Russia’s military operation against Ukraine and stated that the Western policy of arming and training Ukrainian troops was “destructive,” according to the readout.

“It was noted that the Russian Armed Forces had been refraining from conducting precision missile strikes on certain targets in the Ukrainian territory for a long time, but now such measures have become necessary and unavoidable as a reaction to Kiev’s provocative attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure, including the Crimean Bridge and energy facilities,” the Kremlin said.

The “terrorist attack” against the Nord Stream undersea pipelines “stands in the same category” and requires a transparent investigation that would include Russia, Putin told the German leader.

Scholz’s office said the conversation lasted for about an hour and that the “chancellor condemned the Russian airstrikes against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and stressed Germany’s determination to support” Kiev.

Russia changed its military tactics in Ukraine days after a powerful bomb damaged the Crimean Bridge in early October. Russian investigators accused Ukrainian military intelligence of masterminding the attack, which killed three people, including the driver of the truck that carried the disguised bomb.

In retaliation, Russian forces began targeting Ukrainian energy facilities, which the Defense Ministry believes to be instrumental for Kiev’s military logistics. The damage forced Ukrainian authorities to introduce rolling blackouts. The Ukrainian government and its Western backers accused Moscow of using terrorist tactics.

The blasts that damaged the two undersea Nord Stream pipelines happened in late September, severing links that would have enabled Germany to receive natural gas directly from Russia.

Moscow said the obvious beneficiary of the sabotage was the US, which had long sought to force Berlin to reduce its energy trade with Russia and replace Russian fuel with more expensive liquified natural gas produced by American companies.
https://www.rt.com/russia/567551-putin-shcolz-ukraine-infrastructure/
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via RT website 2 Dec, 2022 15:01

---- Russian troops get upgrade against HIMARS – RIA--

Moscow's forces have obtained software to easily tackle US-made missiles, a military commander has claimed

Russian air defense systems will now have no problem detecting and destroying missiles fired from US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) due to new software, RIA Novosti reported on Friday, citing an unnamed Russian military commander.

According to the officer, who is serving in Russia’s Zaporozhye Region, Ukrainian forces initially used Soviet-era weapons, but have now switched to arms provided by NATO countries, including HIMARS missiles.

However, he said Russian troops can now easily repel such strikes due to “a new program update.”

“Now we have no problems in detecting, tracking, and destroying them,” he noted, adding that his unit had taken down about 10 HIMARS missiles, four of them in the past month.

Following the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the US has been providing Ukraine with large amounts of weaponry to the tune of around $19 billion. According to the US Department of Defense, as of November 23, Washington has committed to supporting Kiev with 38 HIMARS and relevant ammunition.

On Thursday, the Pentagon awarded a $431 million contract for the production of HIMARS launchers to Lockheed Martin in order to “satisfy an urgent need to support” the US Army and Washington's foreign partners. The deal is estimated to be completed by the end of 2025.

Russian officials have repeatedly warned against pumping Ukraine with weapons, arguing that this would only prolong the conflict. Moscow has also said that Kiev uses HIMARS missiles to conduct strikes on residential blocks and other civilian infrastructure, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries in the Donbass and other recently incorporated into Russia former Ukrainian territories.
https://www.rt.com/russia/567542-russia-upgrade-himars-air-defense/
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via RT website 2 Dec, 2022 14:23

---- Italy to seize Russian oil refinery – media ----

Rome has imposed state supervision on a Lukoil-owned processing plant ahead of an EU embargo, according to AFP news agency

The Italian government has placed a refinery in Sicily owned by Russia’s largest private oil company Lukoil under state trusteeship, days ahead of an EU embargo on Russian crude oil imports, AFP reported on Thursday, citing government sources.

The ISAB facility near Syracuse is one of the biggest in Europe and refines a fifth of Italy’s crude. The plant has relied solely on Russian Urals oil and now risks stopping production and being closed once the ban comes into force on December 5.

The Italian government is working on a “temporary solution” to keep the refinery operational in order to save jobs and secure energy supplies, and does not rule out nationalization, La Republica reported, citing the president of the Sicily region, Renato Schifani.

With the state taking over management, the plant will be able to continue production by purchasing oil from other suppliers, with state-owned credit agency SACE providing guarantees to the creditor banks, the paper added.

According to the Italian Ministry of Economic Develoment, the “provisional administration” of the ISAB refinery will last up to one year, with a possible extension for another 12 months “in the event of serious and imminent danger” to the security of energy supplies.

“The emergency intervention is aimed at protecting both a strategic national energy center and the employment levels so important for Sicily and the whole country,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a brief statement.

Although Lukoil is not under EU sanctions, Western banks are unwilling to deal with the Russian company for fear of being targeted by future penalties in the United States, where the firm has been subject to sanctions since 2014.

By taking management over a Russian company, Italy is following the example of Germany. In September, Berlin took control of the assets of Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft, which ran a number of refineries in the country.
https://www.rt.com/business/567555-italy-seizes-russian-refinery/
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via RT website 2 Dec, 2022 16:21

---- EU member state working to kick out Russian opposition TV – minister ----

Earlier, the liberal Dozhd outlet had fired a journalist for comments seen as supporting Russian military

Latvia has run out of patience with TV Dozhd, the Baltic country’s defense minister said on Friday, just hours after the Riga-based Russian opposition outlet tried to appease its hosts by firing a journalist they say misspoke on air.

“I believe that Dozhd should go to work in Russia and its residence permit should be revoked,” Deputy PM Artis Pabriks said on Twitter, adding, “I am informed that the process has started.”

Earlier on Friday, Latvia’s media regulator NEPLP announced that it had fined TV Dozhd €10,000 ($10,538) for showing a map with Crimea marked as part of Russia – contrary to the claims of Kiev and Riga – and for calling Russian troops “our army,” he said.

NEPLP head Ivars Abolins did not specify when the violations happened, but noted that they amounted to a second “serious breach” by the channel, and that a third strike may result in Dozhd losing their license.

TV Dozhd (Rain) had halted operations in Moscow at the beginning of March and set up shop in Riga in mid-June. The outlet has been highly critical of the Russian government and the conflict in Ukraine in particular. When one of their journalists urged the audience to share stories about the problems of Russians called to arms, the Latvians and Ukrainians took it as support for “aggressors.”

“We hope that we have helped many service members, including, for example, with equipment and basic comforts on the frontline,” Aleksey Korostelyov said on air on Thursday.

Dozhd Editor-in-Chief Tikhon Dzyadko first said the journalist really meant to solicit “personal accounts about crimes of the Russian army in Ukraine and violations during the criminal and senseless mobilization in the Russian Federation.” News editor Ekaterina Kotrikadze later announced Korostelyov had been fired, apologized to the audience and said this was “the only right and possible option.”

None of that appears to have helped calm the outraged Latvian – or Ukrainian – public, which continued to insist the channel was supporting Russia.

Pabriks himself agreed with one anime-avatar Twitter critic, saying there was “nothing Liberal” about Dozhd, “just blank imperialism.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/567561-dozhd-latvia-liberal-imperialism/
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2 Dec, 2022 10:38

EU tentatively agrees Russian oil price cap – Reuters

The proposed $60 a barrel ceiling on seaborne crude from Moscow is lower than initially intended

The European Union has tentatively agreed on a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources. The provisional deal reportedly includes an adjustment mechanism to keep the cap at 5% below the market price.

The agreement still needs approval from all EU governments in a written procedure by Friday, the report said.

According to a draft document seen by Reuters, the bloc is set to create a mechanism that would allow for revisions of the maximum price at which Russian oil can be bought every two months. It would provide for assessments of how the scheme is functioning, allowing the bloc to respond to possible “turbulences” in the oil market that could occur as a result.

The document said a 45-day “transitional period” would apply to vessels carrying Russian-origin crude oil that was loaded before December 5 and unloaded at its final destination by January 19, 2023.

EU nations have been deadlocked since last week as Poland and the Baltic nations demanded measures that put more pressure on the Kremlin’s revenues. Warsaw, which had pushed for a $30 price cap, had as of Thursday evening not confirmed whether it would support the deal, an EU diplomat told Reuters. The countries have to clinch an agreement before the Monday deadline when the bloc’s oil sanctions kick in.

US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo reportedly told Reuters on Thursday that a $60 per barrel price cap would be acceptable to Washington, saying it was “in the range” discussed by the Group of Seven (G7) countries.

The initial G7 proposal last week was for a price cap of between $65 and $70 per barrel with no adjustment mechanism. G7 nations are aiming to put the price cap in place before December 5, when wider EU sanctions on Russian oil trade are due to come into force.

The restrictions would ban shipping and services needed to transport Russian oil, such as brokering, financial assistance and insurance, unless the cargoes are purchased at or below the cap.

Moscow has already threatened to ban crude supplies to countries that participate in the scheme.
https://www.rt.com/business/567531-eu-russian-oil-price-cap/
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