Posted by BW Actual on Apr 27th 2022

BLACKWATER USA | DAILY BRIEF

Ukraine and Russia

  • Germany said it would send up to 50 armored vehicles to Ukraine, and the U.S. and 40 allies committed to sending Ukraine ongoing military support.
  • Russia isn’t pleased to see heavy weaponry arriving in Ukraine, and warned that Western support for Ukraine was killing prospects for peace talks. Foreign Minister Lavrov even warned of a “serious, real” risk of nuclear escalation.
  • In addition, Russia’s Gazprom cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria and said it would only reopen the Yamal pipeline if Poland and Bulgaria start paying for their gas in rubles. Poland and Bulgaria import 45% and 73% of their gas from Russia, respectively.
  • UN SecGen Guterres met Pres. Putin yesterday, seated on opposite ends of that awkwardly long table in the Kremlin. Ukraine asked Guterres to lobby Putin for a humanitarian corridor to let civilians flee Mariupol. Putin told Guterres he was being “misled” about the situation in Mariupol, but agreed “in principle” to let the UN organize civilian evacuations.
  • This week has seen several fires at strategic sites in Russia like oil storage depots in Byransk (less than 100 miles / 60 km from Ukraine), a Defense Ministry research campus near Moscow, and Russia’s biggest chemical plant—also somewhat close to Moscow.
  • So far there’s no clear evidence of sabotage or Ukrainian strikes behind any of the fires: one analyst called the coincidence of multiple fires at such strategic sites “quite suspicious,” but also noted that accidental fires are quite common in Russia because of poor maintenance.

North Korea

  • North Korea held a military parade on Monday to celebrate the anniversary of its military’s founding and showcase some of its banned intercontinental ballistic missiles. Speaking defiantly at the event, Kim Jong Un vowed to “strengthen and develop our nation's nuclear capabilities at the fastest pace.”

China

  • Beijing is carrying out mass COVID testing and hasn’t ruled out a strict lockdown, but China’s central bank said it would step in with a stimulus package to boost oil demand and buoy the economy if there is a lockdown in the capital.

Pakistan

  • A female suicide bomber targeted the Confucius Institute at Karachi University, killing three Chinese teachers. The separatist Baloch Liberation Army claimed the attack, and China demanded justice.

Guyana

  • Pres. Ali told an audience at an investment seminar in London that his government is in talks with Abu Dhabi Ports to build a deepwater port that can accommodate a Panamax ship. He didn’t mention who would finance the project.

Venezuela

  • The government-controlled National Assembly appointed a new Supreme Court, but it’s essentially the same court as before: 12 of the 20 magistrates were holdovers from the previous court, and only two are connected to opposition groups.

DRC

  • DRC reported a second Ebola death in Equateur province: the sister-in-law of the first victim of this outbreak. Authorities are tracing 145 people who were in contact with the two confirmed cases.