Gas pipelines of the Finnish Gasum plant, in Imatra, Finland. Photo: Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva/AFP
Russia to cut off natural gas supply to Finland on Saturday, according to the Finnish state energy provider, amid growing confrontation between the two countries over the war in Ukraine.
Russia said on Friday that it had suspended supply because Finland had not complied with its request to pay in rubles. Finland also submitted an application to join NATO, which angry with Russiaand last weekend Moscow suspended electricity exports to its Nordic neighbor when Finnish intentions for joining the military alliance became clear.
Finnish company Gasum has called the move by Russian gas giant Gazprom “ “very sad”and said in a statement that it would provide customers through other sources and that I did not expect any disruption.
The Finnish Gasum plant in Raikkola, Imatra, Finland. Photo: Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva/AFP
The geopolitical fallout from the war was further extended on Friday when state-controlled Russian oil giant Rosneft Gerhard Schröder, Germany’s former chancellor, announced, step down as chairman of the boardaccording to the Interfax news agency.
Schroeder he was a personal friend of President Vladimir Putin from Russia and criticized for maintaining relations even as Russia conducts its brutal war.
Germany’s parliamentary budget committee voted on Thursday to strip the former leader of privileges worth more than 400,000 euros after he refused to distance himself from Putin and renounce his relationship with Russian energy companies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AP
Military service with no age limit
Under pressure to achieve battlefield victories and support its forces for an intensifying battle in the east, Russia moved Friday towards removal of age limits for military service, an apparent effort to expand the pool of potential recruits.
An amendment introduced by top lawmakers in Russia’s parliament would allow the Russians over 40 years old sign military service contracts for the first time. Under current law, Russian citizens must be between the ages of 18 and 40 to sign a contract for the first time.
Experts say Russia has lack of labor and under pressure afterwards a series of embarrassing setbacks by trying to capture the Ukrainian capital, kyiv, and more recently by hustling out to the country’s second largest city, Kharkov.
But Putin resisted ordering a large-scale military draft, it seems for fear of an internal reactionand instead increases recruitment.
On the eastern battlefield, a week -long fighting around the city of Sievierodonetsk intensified on the last day, according to Ukrainian civilian and military officials.
other events
– The Ukrainian Foreign Minister criticized his call lack of NATO support since Russia began its aggression three months ago, but acknowledged that its country has received support from individual NATO countries.
-The Group of 7 economic powers (G-7) agreed on Friday provide nearly $ 20 billion to support Ukraine’s economy over the next few months to help keep the country’s government running as it struggles to repel Russia’s aggression.
-Turkey will continue to talk to European leaders, but still opposed to NATO’s offers of Finland and Sweden, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday after a phone call to Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands. It is unclear whether Erdogan is only seeking concessions from NATO allies.
– Since Russia captured the vast Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on Tuesday, more than 1,700 fighters have surrendered, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The Kremlin used his surrender for propaganda purposes.
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Source: Clarin
