Today’s Russia/Ukraine Update

🇺🇦 Several attacks were reported yesterday in the Transnistria region of Moldova, a small former Soviet country bordering Ukraine; local officials alleged there were three separate attacks targeting a government building, two Russian-language radio towers and a military unit, with no reported casualties.

• Transnistria is a breakaway pro-Russian region that fought a war for independence against Moldova in 1992 that ended in a stalemate.
• The separatist region is currently not recognized by any country, but governs itself as though it were independent. It has close ties to Russia.
• Last week, a Russian general said Moscow was looking into the oppression of Russian speakers in Moldova – allegations similar to those made in the weeks before its invasion of Ukraine.

How the invasion is impacting…

🛢️ Oil & gas: Yesterday, the Polish and Belarusian governments confirmed Russia has stopped supplying them with natural gas through one of Europe’s biggest pipelines. 

• It’s the first instance of Putin following through on his threat to cut off countries that don’t pay for Russian gas on new wartime terms that include paying the full amount in rubles; it also sets a potential precedent for the rest of the EU, which gets as much as 40% of its gas from Russia.
• European gas prices jumped as much as 17% yesterday.

🌍 International relations: Finland and Sweden are reportedly preparing to simultaneously submit membership applications to NATO as early as mid-May, according to Nordic media organizations; the two countries have historically pursued policies of military neutrality.