Vladimir Putin stages ‘belligerent' show of force in Moscow Victory Day parade
Vladimir Putin presided over a massive show of tanks, missiles and troops in Moscow yesterday in a 'belligerent' show of force alongside Chinese president Xi Jinping, to bolster Russia's global image as the Ukraine war grinds on.
Putin was joined by 27 foreign leaders, who witnessed more than 11,000 troops on display in Red Square, in Russia's World War II Victory Day parade that involved soldiers from 13 other countries, and included 200 tanks among the presentation of military power.
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RTÉ News
2 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
EU sanctions envoy says Ireland must 'beef up' Naval Service
The European Union's Sanctions Envoy has said Ireland needs to make significant improvements to its Naval Service in order to better monitor its maritime zone and address the ongoing movement of sanctioned Russian vessels off the west coast. David O'Sullivan told RTÉ that Ireland "really needs to beef up our capacity and patrol and police our territorial waters," and described the Naval Service as in "poor shape." Mr O'Sullivan, a former EU Ambassador to the United States, is now responsible for trying to stop Russia's attempts to evade European sanctions which are designed to cut off funding for its war in Ukraine. Earlier RTÉ reported that vessels belonging to Russia's so called 'shadow fleet' regularly transited through the Irish maritime Exclusive Economic Zone – a large area extending into the Atlantic off the west coast which is the site of major undersea cables and shipping lanes. The shadow fleet vessels are used to help Russia export oil and circumvent oil price caps imposed as part of western sanctions. Asked about what Ireland could do to help tackle the activities of shadow fleet vessels off Ireland, Mr O'Sullivan said "unfortunately I think the Irish Naval Serice is not equipped to be able to deal with this at the present time". There are "many reasons" why the Irish naval service needs to be revamped, he said, adding the shadow fleet is a "new imperative to which Ireland will have to respond." Non-military vessels – including sanctioned vessels – can legally transit through an EEZ but are required to have the correct insurance in place when moving through certain areas, including busy shipping lanes like those off the west coast. However, analysts say the vessels in the Russian shadow fleet are typically poorly maintained and lack proper insurance. 'Shadow fleet' vessels have also conducted activities considered risky at sea, including turning off location transponders and conducting ship-to-ship oil transfers. The data reported earlier by RTÉ showed that some 245 shadow fleet vessels passed through Ireland's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) more than 450 times so far this year. The figures were provided by maritime intelligence company Windward which uses satellite imagery and AI technology to spot, analyse and monitor ships, including those which turn their transponders off. Windward's data included information on routes taken through the Irish EEZ by 72 vessels which have been directly named on sanctions lists. Experts have warned that the movement through Irish waters of shadow fleet vessels poses a serious environmental risk and undermines international efforts to isolate Russia's energy sector which is used to fund the country's war in Ukraine. David O'Sullivan accepted there "would, in any event, be limits to what the naval service could do," to a non-military vessel within an EEZ, before adding "but obviously this pleads, yet again, our vulnerability to this kind of activity, to the risks to undersea cables, and the fact that we really need to beef up our capacity and patrol and police our territorial waters." He said the European Union wants to stop the transit of these shadow fleet vessels but said it is a difficult task to completely stop their transit. "Member states are tightening their controls. The UK has done that through the English Channel" he said. "I think what is now happening in the Irish case, is that the Russian ships are going around the coast of Ireland into Ireland's economic zone, but not our territorial waters, and escaping the kind of checks say in the Baltic Sea.... or that the British are doing, of asking to see proof of the insurance." Asked about its monitoring of 'shadow fleet' activity within the Irish EEZ, the Defence Forces said: "While it is our policy not to comment on specific operational matters, all relevant information gathered in support of Maritime Domain Awareness is shared in a timely manner with the appropriate national and international authorities. "The Defence Forces, through the deployment of Naval Service and Air Corps assets, maintains a continuous presence and vigilance within Ireland's maritime domain. We monitor all activity within our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as part of our routine operations to ensure the security and integrity of our waters."
The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
Russian-owned alumina refinery in Limerick suspended from energy market
MINISTER FOR ENTERPRISE Peter Burke has said that the government is working 'very closely' with a Russian-owned alumina refinery in Co Limerick following its suspension from the energy market. Aughinish Alumina is Europe's largest alumina refinery and employs 450 people on its 222-hectare site, located close to the Shannon-estuary towns of Foynes and Askeaton. It is owned by Russian metals company Rusal. Eirgrid has confirmed that the company has been suspended from the ex-ante energy market - which provides day-ahead and intraday markets for the buying and selling of wholesale electricity by generators, supply companies and traders. 'Aughinish Alumina have not been taken offline and remain connected to the transmission system,' a spokesperson for Eirgrid said. 'EirGrid can confirm that Aughinish Alumina have been suspended from the ex-ante market in line with a decision by ECC (European Commodity Clearing). EirGrid are currently reviewing the implications of this development.' Speaking to reporters today, the Enterprise Minister said the decision was taken in a sovereign court in Italy. Peter Burke said his department, the Department of Energy, Eirgrid and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) are engaging with the company to 'try and find a pathway for the company'. 'They're a very significant employer, and one that we are committed to working very closely with,' he said. 'Obviously, there are sanctions that we have to adhere to in relation to the ownership structure, as well as its participation now subject to that case in the energy market.' Asked if jobs were under threat at the plant, Burke said: 'We're working with the company, and that's the key thing. Advertisement Aerial view of Aughinish Alumina refinery on the Shannon, Co Limerick. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo 'We need to ensure that there is a pathway. It's a very significant company. It's a heavily export-oriented company from the Irish market, and obviously supplies a significant amount of power brought into the grid and in terms of its utilisation.' Burke said he understands that the company is still fully operational, but that 'they are in discussion with Eirgrid and the CRU to find a pathway'. While the Aughinish Alumina plant has no direct link to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, it is owned by Russian metals company Rusal, which was co-founded by Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska, who is still a shareholder in Rusal, is an industrialist who is reported to have had close ties to Russia president Vladimir Putin. In 2018, he was placed on a US sanctions list and the UK government also announced sanctions against the oligarch in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The businessman is well-connected in Russian politics and business, and was pictured earlier this month at the Kremlin in Moscow for a ceremony ahead of World War II commemorations. According to reports, pre-tax losses at Aughinish Alumina in 2023 totalled €108 million, down from losses of €141 million the previous year. Earlier this month, a bomb was discovered attached to a fuel tank that services the refinery . The bomb is believed to have included a battery-timed mechanism so that it could be detonated long after the perpetrators had left the area. It's understood that up to 100 staff at the refinery were unable to leave the plant while a 350-metre security cordon was in place at the scene for several hours. The area where the bomb was found is located close to a publicly accessible nature walking trail. Gardaí investigating the incident are examining many lines of enquiry, including the possibility that the bomb may have been a direct response to Russian missile attacks in Kyiv carried out at the time. In February 2022 Gardaí launched an investigation into criminal damage at the entrance to Aughinish Alumina which was daubed with slogans in red paint, similar in nature to protests at Russian embassies around the world at Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
How a Chinese border town keeps Russia's economy afloat
Trainloads of Siberian lumber cross China's border, ready to be sliced and polished into furniture components and chopsticks. Truckloads of Russian rapeseed come across to be crushed for canola oil. And at a palatial used car showroom, Russians buy late-model used cars to send back to their hometowns. As is visible in Manzhouli, China's main border crossing with Russia, the two countries' economies are increasingly intertwined. China is the biggest buyer of Russian oil, timber and coal, and it will soon be the biggest buyer of Russian natural gas. Trade between the two countries exceeded $240 billion last year, up two-thirds since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. China has supplied many of the drones and drone components used by Russia in the conflict. China's staunch support for Russia's economy has helped Moscow survive: dozens of countries have barred Russia from much of the global financial system, upending its economy at home. The rail yard in Manzhouli. Soviet advisers helped build steel mills, railways and arms factories in China in the 1950s, but now Russia supplies raw materials in exchange for manufactured goods. Photograph: New York Times China has had the opposite reaction to Russia's war on Ukraine. 'China-Russia relations represent the most stable, mature and strategically significant big-country relationship in the world today,' Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, said this month after meeting Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. By backing Russia so enthusiastically, China's leaders have put new strain on their country's relationship with the European Union. If Beijing had distanced itself from Moscow, Europe might have turned toward China as US president Donald Trump threatened tariffs on European goods this year. European Union leaders are set to meet Chinese officials Thursday for a daylong summit in Beijing. They are expected to again ask that Chinese president Xi Jinping , China's top leader, reduce China's economic and industrial support for Russia's war in Ukraine . European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said this month that China's stance on the war in Ukraine would be 'a determining factor' for the bloc's relations with Beijing. Shoppers at a Russian-themed store in Manzhouli this month. Photograph: New York Times 'China's unyielding support for Russia is creating heightened instability and insecurity here in Europe,' she said. 'We can say that China is de facto enabling Russia's war economy – we cannot accept this.' Much of the trade between China and Russia has long run through Manzhouli. Russia built a rail line through the city into northeastern China in 1900. Today, trains and trucks from Russia cross into China, many of them carrying timber or freshly cut boards: pine for construction and furniture, white birch for chopsticks, aspen for framing concrete and sturdy elm for coal mine supports. The flow underscores Russia's diminished economic position. It is now functionally an economic satellite of China, dependent on Beijing for manufactured goods while selling raw materials that China could, if it wanted to, buy elsewhere. Russian restaurant in Manzhouli.😋😋😋 Manzhouli is a city in Inner Mongolia, located on the border between China and Russia. — Sharing Travel (@TripInChina) Almost 6 per cent of the entire Russian economy now consists of exports to China. That is a proportion equalled by Iran, another country under international sanctions. As part of pressure on Russia to accept a ceasefire, Trump threatened last week to impose high tariffs or other sanctions on countries trading with Russia, although he did not name China. Manzhouli's official economic strategy – 'Russian supply, Chinese processing' – underlines Russia's evolution into a supplier of raw materials to China's vast manufacturing sector, which dwarfs Russia's own. Russia depends on China for clothing, electronics, even cars. China's northbound exports have risen 71 per cent since the start of the Ukraine war. Stalin-branded alcohol is sold at a Russian-themed store in Manzhouli, inner Mongolia. Photograph: New York Times The trade alliance also shows up in other contexts. State media in China has tilted strongly toward Russia in the Ukraine war. Russian television channels have been gradually squeezing out their US counterparts in Chinese hotels. China's sympathies show up on store shelves in Manzhouli: Stalin-brand vodka and ground coffee are on sale, and one store even specialises in busts of past Soviet leaders and matryoshka dolls that resemble President Vladimir Putin . The new embrace signals a turnaround in the two countries' relationship. During the 1950s, Soviet advisers helped a mostly rural, underdeveloped China build many of its early steel mills, railroads and weapons factories. But now, China produces 32 per cent of the world's manufactured goods – more than the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea and Britain combined. Russia's share of global manufacturing? It's just 1.33%, even including weapons production, according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation . China is also benefiting from the imports. By buying timber and other goods from Russia, through Manzhouli, Beijing has been able to avoid buying imports from the United States and its allies. China used to buy raw materials such as rapeseed from Canada, for example, but has shifted to purchasing more of these goods from Russia after Canada mostly sided with then US president Joe Biden last year and subsequently with Trump in imposing higher tariffs on Chinese goods. China retaliated against Canada by imposing tariffs of 100 per cent on imports of canola oil and canola meal from Canada. China also began a trade case against Canadian rapeseed, targeting some of Canada's largest exports to China. At the Manzhouli Xinfeng Grain and Oil Industry Limited Company, bright red forklift trucks move sacks of supplies. The highly automated factory, less than one mile from the border, removes the hulls from Russian rapeseed and presses them to make canola oil. Huang Baoqiang, the managing director of a nearby lumber mill, said his company bought large quantities of timber from neighbouring Siberia and turned them into bed slats and other furniture components. The US treasury department has tried to block the use of dollars for transactions with Russia, but Huang said he was able to pay with Chinese renminbi or Russian roubles through VTB Bank. The bank, one of Russia's largest financial institutions, faced sanctions by the United States and the European Union soon after Russia invaded Ukraine. But while Russia and China increasingly trade with each other, there are a few signs of tension. Russia has banned the shipment of freshly cut pines to China. So the bark is removed from pines, and the logs are cut into boards at sawmills in Siberia, to the annoyance of businesspeople such as Huang. China, in turn, imposed tariffs on imports of Russian coal at the start of last year after state-owned Chinese coal mines expanded output and complained of Russian competition. The biggest stress in the trade relationship involves cars. Back in 2021, Chinese cars weren't very popular in Russia. But after the invasion of Ukraine, western carmakers withdrew from the country and Chinese manufacturers slashed prices. Trucks made in China parked at the border in Manzhouli. Photograph: New York Times Chinese cars captured 60 per cent of the Russian market by late summer last year, according to GlobalData Automotive, a research firm. Russia's carmakers had initially been expected to benefit from the retreat of their western competitors and were disappointed by China's success. They persuaded Moscow to start collecting a $7,500 (€6,400) fee on imported cars. The fee, which took effect on October 1st, has an exemption: it does not apply to used cars purchased by Russian citizens for personal use. China's car exports to Russia in the first five months of this year plunged 58 per cent from a year earlier. 'It's a big bucket of cold water on what Chinese automakers expected to be their top market for years to come,' said Stephen Dyer, head of the Asia automotive practice at AlixPartners, a consulting firm. Chinese entrepreneurs in Manzhouli are already exploiting the used car loophole in Russia's rules. A block from the Russian border, a year-old palace of a used car showroom in Manzhouli has towering bronze doors that open up to an 80ft-high hall, all designed to lure Russian shoppers who want to beat the $7,500 fee. On sale are barely used BMWs, Land Rovers, Volkswagens and other popular brands no longer sold in Russia, as well as Chinese brands such as Zeekr and Hongqi. The staff explained that new cars were not available – but that used cars, only a month old, could be purchased and shipped. – This article originally appeared in The New York Times
