Ukraine invasion is about energy resources—WSJ op-ed:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/putins-ukraine-i...1649186174
Quote:
Under cover of the wider conflict, Mr. Putin is taking full control of Ukraine’s vast, extremely valuable energy assets and intends to integrate them into the Russian supply chain on which Europe now depends. China and India will eventually depend upon it too.
… Taking Ukraine’s energy would give Mr. Putin the second-largest natural-gas reserves in Europe, worth more than $1 trillion at today’s prices. It would give him oil and condensate worth as much as $400 billion, and most of Ukraine’s coal—the sixth-largest reserve base in the world. Additionally, he would consolidate an extraordinary strategic geopolitical advantage with ports on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, putting Russia at the center of global energy supply to the vast European and Asian markets for the foreseeable future.
…Russian troops are now concentrated in the parts of Ukraine that hold 90% of its energy resources. …They are embedded along the Black Sea coast and focusing extreme pressure on Mariupol. If the fighting stopped now, Mr. Putin would control all of Ukraine’s offshore oil, its critical ports on the Azov Sea, the Kerch Strait, 80% of the Black Sea coastline, and all critical energy-processing and shipping infrastructure.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/putins-ukraine-i...1649186174
Quote:
Under cover of the wider conflict, Mr. Putin is taking full control of Ukraine’s vast, extremely valuable energy assets and intends to integrate them into the Russian supply chain on which Europe now depends. China and India will eventually depend upon it too.
… Taking Ukraine’s energy would give Mr. Putin the second-largest natural-gas reserves in Europe, worth more than $1 trillion at today’s prices. It would give him oil and condensate worth as much as $400 billion, and most of Ukraine’s coal—the sixth-largest reserve base in the world. Additionally, he would consolidate an extraordinary strategic geopolitical advantage with ports on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, putting Russia at the center of global energy supply to the vast European and Asian markets for the foreseeable future.
…Russian troops are now concentrated in the parts of Ukraine that hold 90% of its energy resources. …They are embedded along the Black Sea coast and focusing extreme pressure on Mariupol. If the fighting stopped now, Mr. Putin would control all of Ukraine’s offshore oil, its critical ports on the Azov Sea, the Kerch Strait, 80% of the Black Sea coastline, and all critical energy-processing and shipping infrastructure.
