A sideways look at Ukraine war news

Chris Johns

I write a (short) daily post for Powerscourt, a Strategic Communications company, based in London and Dublin. The idea is to summarise the news flow around the war in Ukraine - not so much the news that makes the front pages but more the stuff that we find interesting/relevant. News that may have not attracted the attention it deserves. Anyone interested in receiving the short email on a daily basis is welcome to contact Powerscourt here: insights@powerscourt-group.com.

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16th January

Germany attracts plenty of criticism for its allegedly slow response to Ukrainian requests for help.  According to widespread media reports it will imminently lose its hapless defence minister who attracts a lot of the blame. There has been no formal announcement about Christine Lambrecht’s departure or replacement but it seems to be a done deal. 

It will come as no surprise to Germany’s detractors that the US is the country that has supplied the most military assistance. Bloomberg has tallied the value of the kit sent to Ukraine and the US tops the league table at $18.1 billion. No other country comes close.

Some people will be surprised by the country with the second largest contribution so far, $4.1 billion: Germany. Bloomberg has added up assistance sent to Ukraine across ten different categories ranging from armoured personnel carriers to aircraft. The US ticks all ten boxes, with Germany sending eight types of munitions. Only the U.K. has matched that, although the monetary value of Germany’s military aid tops the UK’s effort of $3.5 billion.

Pictures of the type of missile that hit the apartment block in Dnipro have emerged on military blogger’s websites and social media channels. 1000kg of high explosive RDX (hexogen) was packed into a weapon originally designed, in the 1960s, as an anti-ship missile. 

iNews reports a number of Ukrainian refugees are returning home from the U.K. to seek health treatment after failing to get the help they need within the NHS.

The upcoming Feb 5th deadline for the imposition of a cap on Russian oil exports attracts plenty of attention. That day will also see a ban on EU imports of Russian refined petroleum products, including diesel. And Europe gets an awful lot of its diesel from Russian refineries: 600,000 barrels a day. Nobody is quite sure about where the replacement barrels are going to come from. The chances of price hikes appears quite high. Or it could be that most experts know where the diesel will come from but are unwilling, publicly at least, to say. Perhaps countries like India will act as intermediaries, importing and re-exporting. Indeed, Bloomberg reports that is exactly what India has been doing with Russian crude oil shipments.

17th January

Rishi Sunak won’t be banging the drum for ‘global Britain’ at The World Economic Forum in Davos this week, but plenty of other world leaders will be there. Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv, is attending along with with his twin brother Wladimir. Both men, former world heavyweight boxing champions, are accompanied by a large Ukrainian delegation, including the First Lady. President Zelensky is due to address the Forum although it is not yet known if it will be in person.