Photo from UNIAN
Russian propagandists are "savoring" the possibility of destroying Ukraine by imposing economic sanctions.
The Kremlin's propaganda TV channels say Russia intends to cease motor fuel supplies to Ukraine, while Ukrainian experts take the threat seriously and call on officials to react and look for the alternative sources of deliveries.
"We've not imposed sanctions for four and a half years. We are introducing them right before the presidential election [in Ukraine]," Russian propaganda talking heads reiterate in one of the panel shows, as reported by the TV news service TSN.ua.
For more than an hour, they are "savoring" the possibility of destroying Ukraine by imposing economic sanctions, TSN.ua said.
The show's guests call on the Russian authorities to cut off all fuel supplies to Ukraine. They say that without Russian gasoline and Belarusian diesel fuel they will be able to persuade Kyiv to shift to their side. A member of the State Duma Committee, Aleksey Zhuravlev, vows a "collapse" in Ukraine: "We supply 80% of petroleum products to Belarus. It's that simple: once and for all, that's all, goodbye. Collapse right away."
Read alsoExpert names causes behind record LPG price hikes in Ukraine
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have not reacted to Zhuravlev's statements, although there are several gas stations on the sanctions list released recently. Fuel market experts warn that once the Russians move from words to action, Ukraine will face hard times, as the country may face the deficit of fuel, while the price of petrol and diesel fuel could double. CEO of Consulting Group A-95, Serhiy Kuyun, recalls how exactly the Russians made Ukraine badly dependent on fuel – in the late '90s they shut down five of the seven refineries. In particular, they bought the Lysychansk oil refinery and ceased operations there. "There are different versions, but this can really be considered as sabotage: buying up refineries and then shutting them down. They closed refineries here [in Ukraine] and modernized those in Russia," he said.
Today, Ukraine's energy independence is in the hands of the Cabinet and the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine. The first should look for alternative sources of fuel supplies and create favorable conditions for domestic producers, while the latter should respond adequately to Russia's aggressive actions in the market. Experts insist that the fuel has no longer been an issue of economic relations as this is also part of a hybrid war. So far, Ukrainian officials are only calculating the risks in anticipation of further developments, forgetting how insidious Ukraine's northern neighbors could be when the demand for fuel increases. The last time they rocked Ukraine's local fuel market was in late October. The prices of fuel then jumped by a few hryvnias.
On November 6, retail prices of petrol at gas stations across Ukraine decreased, while those of diesel fuel went up; average prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remained high.