Tornado Alley (PROG)

[12yearplan]

Yes B4. Saw a poignant sign on the blue and yellow flag - "We now have your respect - now please help us"

To your points:

Russia has earned $653bn from the sale of fossil fuels, since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, a new report says today, despite western sanctions.
 
The Kremlin has used loopholes and a “shadow fleet” of tankers to bypass an oil embargo by the US, EU and G7 nations, it says. Typically crude oil is shipped legally to countries such as India and China, It is then refined and sold internationally, Reuters reports.
 
The report by B4Ukraine – a coalition of more than 80 civil society groups – calls on western governments in 2024 to close down loopholes and to strengthen sanctions. It wants them to “defund” Russia’s war.
 
With Ukrainian cities under attack, the report said that Russian weapons recovered from the battlefield were made with foreign components. In 95 per cent of cases critical parts originated from coalition countries helping Ukraine, in particular the US. They reached Moscow via third party sellers, such as Hong Kong, Turkey and the UAE.
 
Some 358 multinational companies exited from the Russian market in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion. But 2138 corporations continue to operate in Russia. They have paid $40bn in taxes – cash used by the state to fund its war economy, the report says.
 
Natliia Popovych, B4Ukraine’s co-founder said:
 
The flow of Russia’s fossil fuel revenue combined with corporate taxes paid by foreign companies and the supply of western military tech explain Russia’s ability to continue to wage war and further militarise.
 
Closing the existing sanctions loopholes and issuing guidance on the risks of remaining in Russia for the non-sanctioned businesses are of paramount importance to defunding Russia’s war machine. Further actions by the West are the key to crippling Russia’s capacity to wage war in 2024 and beyond.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/feb/22/russia-ukraine-war-live-latest-news-updates-avdiivka-volodymyr-zelenskiy-vladimir-putin
 
Progress is f'n slow but this looks like recognition:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/22/uk-quits-treaty-that-lets-fossil-fuel-firms-sue-governments-over-climate-policies