Russia’s war against Ukraine suffered a pair of setbacks Thursday when the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet sank after a catastrophic explosion and fire, as the European Union moved closer to an embargo on Russian oil imports. Ukraine claimed to have struck the vessel with two of its own Neptune missiles, while Russia said the blast was caused by ammunition aboard the ship.
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin has warned that Western countries’ attempts to phase out Russian gas imports will have a negative impact on their economies. Speaking Thursday, Putin said European attempts to find alternatives to Russian gas shipments will be “quite painful for the initiators of such policies.” He argued that “there is simply no reasonable replacement for it in Europe now.” Putin noted that “supplies from other countries that could be sent to Europe, primarily from the United States, would cost consumers many times more.” He added it would “affect people’s standard of living and the competitiveness of the European economy.” The European Union is dependent on Russia for 40% of its natural gas and 25% of its oil.
Russia’s war in Ukraine is likely to result in a significant 1.3 per cent lower GDP growth for India and 2.3 percentage point lower income growth, a top World Bank official has said. Hans Timmer, World Bank Chief Economist for the South Asia Region, in an interview with news agency PTI emphasised that in the long-term, India needs to really work hard to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel, shift towards renewable energy and increase the participation of women in the workforce, which at present is quite low at 20 per cent.
