Joe Biden does not want to see gasoline prices rise before the elections. It would be detrimental to his chances of reelection if people were reminded about his failed energy policy.
Ukraine fights for its independence. Kyiv has been successful in attacking Russian oil refineries and hitting Russia right where it hurts the most: its wallet. This is one of the few weapons Ukraine has that can seriously affect Moscow’s war-fighting capabilities.
Biden cannot accept that. The administration has warned Ukraine repeatedly to leave the Russian refining facilities alone.
The Financial Times reported that “warnings were sent from Washington to senior officials of Ukraine’s state intelligence service, SBU, and military intelligence directorate known as GUR.”
Russia is still one of the largest energy exporters in the world despite sanctions imposed by Western countries on its oil sector. Oil prices are up 15 percent this year to $85 per barrel. Fuel costs have increased just as US President Joe Biden launches his reelection campaign.
Washington is also worried that if Ukraine continues to hit Russian facilities, many of which are located hundreds of miles away from the borderline, Russia may retaliate against the energy infrastructure that the West relies on.
The CPC pipeline, which carries oil from Kazakhstan to Russia and the world market, is included in this. ExxonMobil, Chevron, and other Western companies use this pipeline. It was briefly closed by Moscow in 2022.
A spokesperson for the National Security Council stated, “We don’t encourage or facilitate attacks in Russia.” This is not true. Washington doesn’t mind if Kyiv hits Russian military targets anywhere as long as Ukraine does not attack oil refineries.
Unfortunately, Russia is also capable of playing this game.
Politico:
Overnight, Russia launched an enormous barrage of drones and missiles against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving many cities without power and damaging Dnipro Hydropower Plant, Ukraine’s largest dam.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said the attack had brought the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the brink of blackout. Since 2022, Russia has occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, said that more than 60 drones as well as almost 90 missiles were fired by Russia at Ukraine to target power plants and energy lines.
Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia were without electricity for several hours. The biggest concern is the loss of power from the Dnipro Hydro plant. Losing that facility would result in a devastating environmental catastrophe and would also leave the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih industrial region in darkness.
Ukrhydroenergo said that the Russians were attempting to create a “new ecological disaster” by cynically attacking the hydroelectric plants and the dam.
The inability to strike back at Moscow’s infrastructure for energy invites further destructive attacks such as this. It’s not the U.S.’s place to tell Ukraine how it should fight a conflict.
