The Volkswagen auto concern has forced to suspend the production of cars at several factories in Germany due to the cessation of supplies of components from Ukraine after the start of Russian military aggression.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the automaker has created a working group whose task is to assess the risks and find ways to ensure the uninterrupted production of cars.
The largest Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg is operating normally this week, however, according to the concern’s forecasts, car production will have to be reduced next week, and production will be completely stopped in another week.
Supply disruptions will also affect the work of the Hannover truck plant and enterprises that produce auto parts.
Earlier, Volkswagen had to suspend the work of enterprises in Dresden, as well as in Zwickau, where electric vehicles are produced, in particular, the ID.4 model exported to the United States.
The UK will gradually stop importing Russian oil by the end of 2022 in response to Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the British government said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The UK is working closely with the US, the EU and other partners to end our dependence on Russian hydrocarbons in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, recognising the different circumstances and transition timelines. This significant move will increase the growing pressure on Russia’s economy by choking off a valuable source of income,” the document says.
According to it, the refusal of imports will not be immediate: the UK, which covers 8% of its oil demand from Russia, will have more than enough time to adjust supply chains, support industry and consumers. The government will work with companies through a specially created Taskforce on Oil to help them use this period to find alternative sources.
London notes that oil accounts for 44% of Russian exports, which provides 17% of federal budget revenues.
According to the British government, in a competitive global market for oil and petroleum products, demand can be met by alternative suppliers. The UK has various reliable suppliers outside of Russia, including the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
“In another economic blow to the Putin regime following their illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK will move away from dependence on Russian oil throughout this year, building on our severe package of international economic sanctions,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
According to London, Russian oil is already being ostracised by the market, with nearly 70% of Russian oil currently struggling to find a buyer, and in a competitive global market demand will quickly be met by alternative suppliers. On March 1, Russian ships were banned from UK ports and authorities were granted new powers to detain Russian vessels.
The statement notes that the UK is not dependent on Russian natural gas, making up less than 4% of our supply. Ministers are also exploring options to reduce this further.
The Prime Minister confirmed that the government will set out an energy strategy to set out the UK’s long term plans for greater energy security, including both renewable and domestic oil and gas supplies.
As reported earlier on Tuesday, the United States announced a complete renunciation of Russian oil imports.
IMPORT, RUSSIAN OIL, STOP, UK
State-owned PrivatBank (Kyiv) has introduced credit holidays for homeowner associations, the bank’s press service reported.
“To support homeowner associations and housing construction cooperatives under martial law, PrivatBank announced from March 1 to June 1, 2022 credit holidays under agreements according to which there was no delay or the delay period is no more than 90 days,” the press service said.
Under the terms of the loan holidays, for the loans for energy-efficient modernization and the Energodom product the mandatory payments (the principal and interest) are transferred to June 1, 2022, no delay is recorded.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed ways to end the war with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
“Talked to Naftali Bennett. Thanked for Israel’s mediation efforts. Discussed ways to end the war and violence,” Zelensky said on Twitter on Tuesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday a ban on the import of Russian oil into the United States. In a press statement in Washington on Tuesday, he stated: “Today I am announcing new sanctions. We ban all oil imports. The measure has strong bipartisan support. We made this decision in close consultation with allies in Europe.”
At the same time, Biden noted that “our European allies may not be in a position to join us.”
The U.S. President called on Congress to pass a $12 billion aid package for Ukraine. He noted that the United States has already provided Ukraine with a $1 billion security assistance package and is coordinating actions in this area with European allies.
Speaking about the impact of sanctions on Russia, Biden noted that “the Russian economy has cracked.” “The Central Bank of Russia is trying to support the ruble, but cannot do it now. We are restricting Russians’ access to technology, which will weaken its military for many years to come.” “If we don’t confront Putin now, the situation will get even worse,” he said.
BAN, BIDEN, IMPORT, RUSSIAN OIL, US
European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson says there are already reports of criminals taking orphans out of Ukraine’s orphanages, pretending to be their relatives as they cross the border for further trafficking, in the general refugee flow.
In this regard, she called for doing everything possible to protect the most vulnerable category of Ukrainian refugees – unaccompanied minors who may become victims of trafficking. She said this on Tuesday, speaking at the plenary session of the European Parliament on the issue of “Deterioration of the situation with refugees as a consequence of Russian aggression against Ukraine.”
“Let me raise the issue that causes me the greatest concern. It’s about children. We do not know exactly how many children arrived in the EU. From what I saw with my own eyes when I was at the border – I would guess that almost half of the two million may be children. These kids need to go to school, they need some kind of normal life. There is an urgent need to support children who are fleeing the war. But we also need to ensure that we can provide support to the most vulnerable children – unaccompanied children,” the European Commissioner said.
She said that the MEPs saw photographs of small children crossing the border “alone, with a small bag, without parents.” “Unfortunately, in this situation, we know that there is a very high risk that unaccompanied minors may become victims of crime who would like to use them for various purposes. For example, for trading. We have reports of criminals using orphans from orphanages in Ukraine, crossing the border pretending they are the child’s relatives, and then using him for trafficking,” Johannson said.
In this regard, she expressed her confidence that the EU has an obligation to protect these children. “We have to do much more than we have done so far. We must support children better than we have been able to do so far. They need our support. This (refugee flow) will not end soon. Putin wages his war without any restrictions or mercy. There will be more, the worst is yet to come. Many more millions will flee. And we should welcome them,” the European Commissioner said.
She also said that about two million refugees arrived in the EU in 12 days. “Just to compare, in 12 days we received two million refugees. This is the same amount as the EU received for the period 2015 and 2016 combined. More than one million in Poland, almost half a million in Romania, 170,000 in Hungary, 130 in Slovakia. Member States are doing an outstanding job,” Johannson said.
The European Commissioner also expressed confidence that “in addition to solidarity and unity, we need money not only for admission, but also to help with education, work, living, integration into our community.” “Today we proposed – and this is yet another unprecedented decision – to provide more flexibility to Member States to use our €420 million Home Affairs Fund and unspent funds from the previous macro-financial assistance package, to provide the flexibility to switch priorities so that States can provide more money to support those fleeing the war. We will also propose today to amend the rules for funding the Asylum and Migration Fund. I hope that this Parliament will approve these proposals without delay,” the European Commissioner said.
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER, EVACUATING, MINORS, PROTECTION, VICTIMS TRAFFICKING
