Uruguay's century-old Russian colony troubled over war from afar


People walk past the Maximo Gorki Cultural Centre in San Javier, 

Uruguay on March 2, 2022

 (AFP/Eitan ABRAMOVICH)


Russian descendant Alejandro Sabelin poses at his house

 in San Javier, Rio Negro department, Uruguay on March 2, 2022 

(AFP/Eitan ABRAMOVICH)



Russian descendant Alejandro Sabelin shows the passport of his grandfather at his house in San Javier, Uruguay

 (AFP/Eitan ABRAMOVICH)

The Na Zdorovie restaurant and hotel is seen in San Javier, Uruguay on March 1, 2022, where the village's Russian roots are visible in the business's name

 (AFP/Eitan ABRAMOVICH)


A girl poses with traditional Russian nesting dolls, called matryoshkas, at the Libertad square in San Javier, Uruguay, on March 1, 2022

 (AFP/Eitan ABRAMOVICH)

Aerial view of San Javier, Rio Negro department, Uruguay, on March 2, 2022 (AFP/Ivan PISARENKO)

Jordane BERTRAND
Mon, 7 March 2022

Far away from Kyiv and even further from Moscow, residents of the small Uruguayan village of San Javier -- an old Russian settlement -- look on with dismay at the invasion of Ukraine.

At a first glance, the community's grid plan, low houses and surrounding fields resembles any other rural Uruguayan village -- but a scratch below the surface reveals the history of a site founded more than a century ago by Russian peasants.

Although few of their descendants speak Russian or even carry Russian names, the inhabitants here insist they are "proud" of their Slavic heritage, while also firmly denouncing the motherland's invasion of Ukraine.


San Javier has several Cyrillic inscriptions on display, a "Maximo Gorki" cultural center and five giant matryoshka dolls on the central square.

It all points to a history that is "unique in Uruguay and South America," says Leonardo Martinez, the deputy mayor of the village of 1,800 people.

San Javier's story began in 1913 when 300 families -- originally from Russia's western Voronezh region and followers of the "New Israel" Christian sect that was persecuted by Tsarist Russia -- arrived in Montevideo.

A few months later, around 600 people settled in San Javier, a five-hour drive northwest of Montevideo and flanked by the Uruguay River.

It was the largest autonomous Russian agricultural colony in South America, and quickly became a roaring success.

A century later, the sunflower -- which the colonists introduced to Uruguay -- appears everywhere as the village symbol.

"Looking at photos we feel a bit nostalgic... for the great sacrifice they made," said Martinez, 43, the great-grandson of an original settler.

The mayoral office claims a "high percentage" of the current inhabitants descend from the Russian colonizers, although over time the village has seen a blending of people and cultures, like the country as a whole.

The local restaurant offers the typical Uruguayan grilled meat "asado" as well as "shashlik," a type of lemon-seasoned skewered meat popular across much of the former Soviet Union.

The village square hosts Uruguayan creole folk dances as well as traditional Russian ones.

- Killing 'brothers' -

The village, which has its own museum, has become a tourist site for its Russian history.

But despite those ties, not a single flag or banner proclaiming partisanship can be found in its streets.

"I've not seen explicit support in San Javier" for either country, said Martinez about the war between Russia and Ukraine more than 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) away.

"We're against the war, that's obvious," he said. "Against all armed conflict."

Leonardo Lorduguin, a 22-year-old San Javier resident, has set up a Facebook page dedicated to his village.

He is fascinated by the Russian language, which he has been learning for two years -- one of the few of his generation to speak it.

But he would not commit to either side in the conflict.

Like many other villagers, he insists that the first settlers came from "Great Russia" -- an old term that includes territories outside the modern Russian borders.

"In 1913, only Russians came but some had Ukrainian names. They came to Montevideo and were told there was a Russian colony in San Javier," said Lorduguin, reeling off the Russian and Ukrainian surnames of some villagers.

Alejandro Sabelin, 80, is one of the only other villagers who speaks Russian alongside Spanish.

His father was born in San Javier three months after his grandparents arrived there.

He recognizes that the language is being lost in the community. His own children understand Russian better than they speak it.

A picture of his grandparents hangs in his small house.

"I'm really sorry about what is happening because it is almost like killing your brothers," he said of Russia's invasion of its neighbor.

Although he has never visited the homeland of his grandparents, Sabelin says, "I will never stop supporting Russia."

But "the war is awful, what's happening is horrible," he adds.

jb/bc/caw

Ukraine priests want to break from 'Cain' Russian church

The Kremlin's war against Ukraine has pushed some priests in the country to call for a break from the Russian Orthodox Church, to which their parishes have belonged for centuries.

© Yuriy Dyachyshyn

 Ukraine set up an Orthodox church independent of Moscow in late 2018

AFP

Like much of their social and cultural fabric, Ukraine and Russia have been intertwined by their religious beliefs for hundreds of years.

But President Vladimir Putin's war, which has killed hundreds and forced more than 1.7 million people to flee the country, has changed that too.

"The Russian president is today's Cain," says Iov Olshansky, a priest at the Orthodox Resurrection New Athos Monastery in the western city of Lviv. In the Bible, Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, kills his brother Abel.

© Yuriy Dyachyshyn Father Iov Olchansky is calling for a break with the mother church in Moscow following Russia's invasion of his country


"The only way for our Church is independence," he says.

- Unified Ukrainian Church --

The Russian Orthodox Church was dominant for some 300 years in Ukraine, including during Soviet times, when religion was officially outlawed and believers practiced in secret.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Orthodox faith in Ukraine splintered into three branches: one whose clerics pledged loyalty to the Moscow patriarchate; one loyal to a newly established patriarchate in Kyiv; and the smaller Ukrainian Orthodox Autocephalous Church.

But this changed after Russia seized and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and then backed separatists, who carved out two unrecognised breakaway regions in Ukraine's east. That conflict has since claimed some 13,000 lives.

© Yuriy Dyachyshyn Refugees take their breakfast in a room filled with books and icons

Four years after the annexation of Crimea, the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognised Kiev's religious independence, allowing the creation of a unified Ukrainian Church.

The Russian Church lost many members to the new unified Ukrainian Church but remained the country's second-largest confession. According to a poll in 2021, 58 percent of Orthodox believers said they were members of the new unified church, compared with 25 percent who pledged allegiance to the Moscow patriarchate.

But now priests like 33-year-old Olshansky are calling for a split.

"All our prayers are now for the re-establishment of peace in Ukraine and for the victory of our army," he says.

- Priests call for split -

The monastery that Olshansky oversees has become a centre for dispensing aid to the masses of people fleeing the fighting in the east.

When he spoke to AFP, a group of some 33 adults and children who had spent the night there, some sleeping on the floor in front of the altar, were eating their breakfast of porridge and buttered bread sandwiches.

"We're trying to help everyone," says Olshansky, who wears clerical robes and a black hooded sweatshirt. "We don't ask who they are."

© Yuriy Dyachyshyn

 The monastery has become a centre for dispensing aid for people fleeing the fighting further east

Olshansky's monastery is also helping Ukrainian armed forces, collecting and sending supplies like hygiene products and sleeping bags.

Olshansky is not alone in calling for a break from the Moscow patriarchate, whose head, Patriarch Kirill, has called Russia's opponents in Ukraine "evil forces" rather than condemning the invasion.

In the Lviv diocese, Kirill's name is no longer mentioned in the liturgies and several priests from across Ukraine have posted a video calling for a complete break with the Russian Church.

Another group of priests from the Lviv region has called for a national meeting of the Church to formally declare its independence from Moscow.

That text has been posted in front of the Church of Saint George, the headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church in Lviv, next to another listing the needs of the Ukrainian fighters.

- 'Brother killing his own brother' -

One such priest is taking refuge at the monastery, after fleeing his parish near Kyiv with his wife and two young children.

"I am 100-percent convinced that we should separate from the Russian patriarchate," says his wife, Vira Khvust.

"If they consider us brothers, then you can't have a brother killing his own brother. "A good neighbour will never go to war against his neighbour."

Western Ukraine -- where the vast majority of residents practice the Greek Catholic faith -- has been a bastion of Ukrainian nationalism for decades. Anti-Russian sentiment was high in the country even before the Crimea annexation.

So after the Kremlin unleashed its war on the country, Olshansky faced abuse and threats from some local elected officials.

For them, his association with a Moscow-based church meant he was a figure of influence for Russia.

Some Russian Orthodox churches in the west of the country have even been searched, suspected of concealing weapons.

One group of youths hung up a placard insulting the Moscow patriarch at the Church of Saint George.

Despite these tensions, Olshansky says he does not feel threatened.

"They are only emotions. I don't get angry at these people. I understand them and forgive them," he says.

ant/yad/gil/jm

Ukraine Team Defy Heartbreak To Win Bittersweet Paralympic Golds
 adeleyekunle

It was a bittersweet day for Ukraine at the Winter Paralympics with nine medals and a clean sweep of two biathlon events Tuesday — just as one athlete learned her father had been taken prisoner by Russian troops, IgbereTV reports.



Despite grappling with heartbreak following Russia’s invasion of their homeland, the yellow and blue team dug deep to net two golds, four silver and three bronze medals on day four in Beijing.

In a show of girl power on international women’s day, Iryna Bui achieved her lifetime dream of Paralympic gold, sharing the podium with team-mates Oleksandra Kononova and Liudmyla Liashenko in the standing middle distance biathlon race.

“We are here to fight for Ukraine, with Ukraine and in the name of Ukraine,” the 26-year-old Bui told reporters.

Kononova said that even though she is physically in China competing, mentally she is still back home.

“All my thoughts, my heart and my soul is with my family and with my child,” the 31-year-old said.

“Emotionally it’s very difficult to focus and to concentrate on the race and the competition, so this is the most difficult Paralympic Games for me.”

Liashenko’s home in Kharkiv, which is under heavy bombing, was destroyed Monday which caused her to pull out of her cross-country race, team spokeswoman Nataliia Harach said.

The United Nations estimates 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled the country as part of the fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II.

Second Russian general killed on the battlefield as 'demoralised' troops suffer heavy losses

Verity Bowman
Tue, 8 March 2022

Major General Vitaly Gerasimov

A Russian general has been killed near the besieged city of Kharkiv, according to Ukrainian officians, making him the second senior Russian commander to die in the invasion.

Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, the first deputy commander of Russia's 41st army, died on Monday alongside other senior officials.

The Kremlin has been distracted by logistical issues and Ukrainian military commanders have claimed that the advance of Russia has been slowed by heavy losses and the “demoralisation” of its troops.

According to US intelligence, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has committed all of its troops congregated on the border into battle without making any significant territorial gains since late last week.

Russian forces are “demoralised and increasingly tend to looting and violations of international humanitarian law,” Ukrainian commanders said.

If the claims are verified, Gerasimov would become the second Russian general from the 41st army to die within a week.

Andrei Sukhovetsky was reportedly killed at the end of February.

Gerasimov was a decorated officer, having served during the second Chechen war, Russia’s activity in Syria, and the annexation of Crimea.

Bellingcat, an investigative journalism agency, said it had confirmed his death, which emerged after an alleged conversation between two Russian FSB officers was broadcast by the intelligence arm of the Ukrainian defence ministry.

The leaked conversation suggests Russia’s expensive new encrypted messaging service is already struggling to work, which would be a major blow for the Kremlin.

“Era is a super expensive cryptophone system that [Russia’s defence ministry] introduced in 2021 with great fanfare ... guaranteed [to] work ‘in all conditions,'" said Christo Grozev, Bellingcat’s director.

Mr Grozev said that during the phone call, an FSB officer assigned to the 41st army reported the death to a senior official, saying they had lost all secure communications.

“In the call, you hear the Ukraine-based FSB officer ask his boss if he can talk via the secure Era system. The boss says Era is not working,” he said.

Era needs 3G or 4G to operate, Mr Grovez added, but Russians have destroyed many 3G masts. The phone call was therefore made using a local sim card, resulting in the intercept.

РУССКИЕ!  МЯТЕЖ!  RUSSIANS! MUTINY!

‘They were sent as cannon fodder’: Siberian governor confronted by relatives of Russian unit

Pjotr Sauer
Tue, 8 March 2022


A Russian governor in Siberia has been confronted by angry citizens who blamed him for deploying a local riot police unit to Ukraine to become “cannon fodder”, a video clip circulating online showed.

The footage, first posted by Radio Free Europe (RFE) on Monday, showed a fiery exchange between Sergei Tsivilyov, the governor of the Kemerovo region, and people in the city of Novokuznetsk.

“They lied to everyone, they deceived everyone … Why did you send them there?” one woman asks Tsivilyov, saying that the soldiers thought they were going for military drills in Belarus.

“They didn’t know their objective … They were sent as cannon fodder,” the woman adds.

The governor would not have been responsible for the decision to deploy the unit, which would have been made by the country’s national guard, a separate internal military force directly subordinated to the president, Vladimir Putin.

According to RFE, the confrontation took place on Saturday at the gymnasium of the training base for riot police units, some of whose officers were killed or captured in Ukraine.

As the fighting in Ukraine nears its third week, more and more relatives of killed and captured Russian soldiers have expressed their opposition to the war, saying their loved ones were not told in advance about the country’s plans to invade Ukraine. Videos of captured Russian soldiers issued by the Ukrainians also appear to show that Russian troops were not informed of the invasion until the very end.

Western military experts have raised questions about Russian troops’ morale and preparedness in Ukraine, which could explain why Moscow’s blitzkrieg plan to overwhelm Ukraine and take Kyiv has so far failed.

Russia has revealed very little information about the state of its soldiers fighting in Ukraine. Last week, Russia’s defence ministry said that 498 Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine. Ukraine’s military claimed on Sunday that more than 11,000 Russian troops had been killed since the invasion of Ukraine began.

In the video, Tsivilyov defended the invasion, saying that Russia’s actions in Ukraine “shouldn’t be criticised”.

“Look, you can shout and blame everyone right now, but I think that, while a military operation is in process, one shouldn’t make any conclusions,” Tsivilyov said.

Russian officials, as well as state media, have been referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation” rather than a “war” or “invasion”.

Authorities have also introduced a number of new laws aimed at stifling public opposition to the war.

On Friday, Putin signed into law a bill that introduced jail terms of up to 15 years for fake news about the Russian army, forcing many Russian and international outlets to cease their coverage of the events.

And while the authorities have been successful at getting a large segment of the population behind its war efforts, videos such as the Novokuznetsk footage circulating online suggest the war is deeply unpopular among those who have lost friends and relatives in Ukraine.

The Guardian previously spoke to family members of a Russian sniper captured in Ukraine, who similarly expressed anger and shock about their relative’s involvement in the war.

“Young boys are thrown like cannon fodder, and most importantly for what? For palaces in Gelendzhik?” the close family member of the captured sniper Leonid Paktishev said, referring to the palatial mansion on the Black Sea that Russian independent journalists have said is linked to Putin.

‘We f****** hit them’: Russian warship that attacked Snake Island soldiers ‘destroyed’


Chiara Giordano
Tue, 8 March 2022

Members of Ukraine’s navy can be heard cheering as they appear to destroy a Russian warship while defending the Odessa region (General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Facebook)

Video footage has captured Ukrainian sailors cheering as they claim to have destroyed a Russian warship that attacked a small island on the first day of the war.

The recording, shared by the Ukrainian navy, shows a barrage of rockets being fired into the night sky during the defence of the Black Sea port of Odessa in the early hours of Monday before an orange glow appears to show a destroyed vessel in the distance.

One man can be heard shouting excitedly “We f****** hit them”, while another repeats the words spoken by captured Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island, saying: “Russian warship, go f*** yourself.”

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shared the footage on Facebook, writing: “Today, March 7, 2022, the Marine Corps units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, protecting Odessa region, struck an enemy ship.”

The Ukrainian navy later confirmed forces defending the port city in southern Ukraine hit a Russian vessel in the Black Sea with gunfire.

"The enemy has retreated again," it said in a brief statement on Facebook.

It was not immediately clear what type of vessel had been hit, however reports claim it was the Vasily Bykov – one of two ships involved in the notorious attack on Zmiinyi (Snake) Island which saw defiant Ukrainian border guards who refused to surrender tell the Russian navy “go f*** yourself” before being shelled in response.

In an audio recording of the incident, a Russian warship told the guards via loudspeaker that they should surrender or “be hit with a bomb strike”.

“Russian warship, go f*** yourself,” was their leader’s reply.

The 13 border guards stationed on the remote Snake Island, a largely uninhabited but strategically important strip of land in the Black Sea, about 186 miles west of Crimea, were initially thought to have been killed in the attack on 24 February.

Citizens fill bags with sand for frontlines along the beach of the Black Sea city of Odessa, in southern Ukraine, on 7 March 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

But days later it emerged they were still alive and had been taken prisoner.

Russian state media showed the Ukrainian soldiers’ arrival in Sevastopol, Crimea, where they are reportedly being held.

They surrendered after repelling two Russian attacks “due to the lack of ammunition,” the Ukrainian navy said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky returned to his Kyiv office on Monday night, declaring he was “not hiding” from anyone and would stay in Ukraine for as long as needed to win the war started by Russia. 

The extent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Images)

Overnight attacks and shelling continued in parts of Ukraine, including Kyiv and Sumy, and the Kyiv suburb Bucha faced heavy artillery fire last night.

To the west, tens of thousands in Lviv are facing starvation and homelessness, the city’s mayor announced.

Russia’s advance has slowed but it is on track to storm Kyiv, the Ukrainian army said on Monday after a third round of negotiations between the two nations hit a deadlock.

But the Ukrainian defence forces claim to have killed another top Russian military leader, Major General Vitaly Gerasimov.

 Women 'working around the clock' to help Ukrainians, organizer says

• 21 hours ago
• News
• Duration
  

Mariya Dmytriyeva, a resident of Kyiv and women's rights expert for the Democracy Development Centre, tells CBC News she's not leaving Ukraine because she feels she will be more useful there than as a refugee.

 

Amnesty International: Russia's invasion of Ukraine is 'a crime under international law'

 

Cécile Coudriou, President of Amnesty International, joins FRANCE 24 and acknowledges that her organization has taken a "very strong position." Nevertheless, she asserts that they are "absolutely justified to call [Russia's invasion of Ukraine] an aggression, according to international law." Ms. Coudriou denounces Russia's actions, arguing that they did not have "a legitimate defense." She further states that Russia never sought authorization "from the Security Council of the United Nations. So, in that case, it can be characterized as an aggression." And now that the ICC is launching a war crimes investigation over Russia's assault on Ukraine, Ms. Coudriou is hoping that Vladimir Putin will face justice for his actions, not only in Ukraine, but also in Syria. "Our organization is trying to document, day after day, these war crimes because it will help in the investigation conducted by the International Criminal Court."

Ukrainians escape besieged Sumy through corridor

Ukrainians boarded buses to flee the besieged eastern city of Sumy on Tuesday (March 8), the first evacuation from a Ukrainian city through a humanitarian corridor agreed with Russia.

Saskatchewan prepared to accept large number of Ukrainian refugees

By David Giles Global News
Posted March 8, 2022

The UN says two million Ukrainians have fled country amid the ongoing conflict. Mike Armstrong has the latest on the ground in Lviv.

The Saskatchewan government is asking its federal counterpart to consider sending a larger number of refugees from Ukraine to Saskatchewan.

Jeremy Harrison, the province’s immigration minister, said the province has a long history of Ukrainian immigration and Saskatchewan would be an ideal location for incoming refugees.

READ MORE: Two million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian invasion began, UN says

He also suggested taking advantage of the immigrant nominee program as a way of bringing more people to the province.

“We are not doing this exclusively because there is a labour shortage, we are doing this because we believe we are in a unique situation for there to be successful outcomes for refugees who are resettled regardless of skills or education,” Harrison said.

Immigration critic Aleana Young said while the NDP believes the province should take in as many people who want to come to Saskatchewan as possible, they want to ensure sufficient supports are in place.

“We’ve seen in the past that support, especially for those who have been fleeing war and conflict, has not always matched the need, whether it is language, support or care needed for students potentially experiencing trauma,” she said.

“I think of the hundreds of families who moved to Saskatchewan following the war in Syria. So ensuring that newcomers are supported and welcomed, of which I have no doubt, will be critical.”


READ MORE: Regina man shares his experiences while in Ukraine during Russian invasion

Premier Scott Moe said a number has not been attached to what his government will invest in supporting Ukrainians fleeing the conflict and coming to Saskatchewan.

“We have turned much of our attention towards how do we get those Ukrainian people here out of that area of conflict, get them to Saskatchewan where we can provide the supports,” he said.

“Whatever those supports are, they’ll be provided.”

Moe is also looking for unanimous support for a motion he introduced in the legislature on Monday that supports Ukraine and condemns Russia.

“Your courage and determination are an inspiration to us all. We unequivocally condemn this unprovoked and illegal invasion,” he said in a statement.

“Democracy and freedom are under attack and it is our hope that the whole world will stand up to Russia and say no.”

5:10 Mass exodus from Ukraine continues

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Queen Elizabeth meets Canada's Trudeau in first face-to-face since she had COVID-19

Queen Elizabeth II met with Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday.
Photo courtesy of Buckingham Palace/Twitter


March 7 (UPI) -- Queen Elizabeth II met Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, marking her first in-person official meeting since her COVID-19 diagnosis two weeks ago.

The 95-year-old queen, Britain's longest reigning monarch, tested positive on Feb. 20 and said at the time she was experiencing "mild cold-like symptoms." She recovered last week and made virtual appearances with foreign diplomats before the meeting with Trudeau.

The queen, wearing a long-sleeve dress and pearl necklace and earrings, smiled and grasped Trudeau's hand in greeting at Windsor Castle, a photo released by Buckingham Palace showed.

The queen has been staying at Windsor Castle, about an hour away from London's Buckingham Palace, through the COVID-19 pandemic, after previously using it as a weekend getaway, and has decided to make it her permanent home and main official residence, The Sunday Times reported.

Trudeau thanked her "for being a stabilizing force throughout the pandemic and congratulated Her Majesty on her Platinum Jubilee," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

The jubilee weekend in June will mark the queen's 70th year on the British throne.

"The Prime Minister highlighted that Canada will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee and seven decades of Canadian achievements by hosting a range of activities throughout 2022 and support community projects and initiatives across the country," his office statement said.

Before her recovery last week, Queen Elizabeth postponed two virtual events as she experienced cold-like symptoms, but she upheld a weekly audience with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

She was fully vaccinated and had a booster shot before her COVID-19 diagnosis.

Trudeau also met with Johnson Monday to discuss response to the Russia-Ukraine war.

RELATEDCOVID-19 surges in Hong Kong with 300,000 cases, 1,200 deaths in week

"Canada will impose new restrictions on 10 individuals complicit in Russia's unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine, including former and senior government officials, and supporters of Russian leadership," Trudeau's office said in a statement. "These measures put further pressure on Russia's leadership, including President Putin's inner circle, to cease its repeated violations of human rights and Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"Both leaders agreed to pursue further joint support for Ukraine by providing critical humanitarian and military aid and ensuring that Russia is held accountable for its illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable invasion, including by referring the attacks to the International Criminal Court," the statement continued.

Trudeau and Johnson also agreed to work together on other global issues, such as economic recovery from the pandemic and climate change, according to the statement.

They also joined a trilateral meeting with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte to discuss additional response to Russia's violation of international law, the statement added.

That weird photo of Queen Elizabeth going around is fake

MARK FRAUENFELDER 

BOING BOING

 TUE MAR 8, 2022

A widely spread photo of Queen Elizabeth with her head in an abnormally low position is fake. You can see Steve Parsons' actual photo of the Queen shaking hands with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Getty Images.

Why would someone create and post a photo like this? Gizmodo suggests that it's because there's a rumor that the Queen died some time ago. But how could such a photo support that rumor? My theory is it is just someone trying to be funny. What do you think? 

NOT FAKE!

Queen Elizabeth II Made a Statement in Support of Ukraine During Her Meeting With Justin Trudeau

Trudeau was in the U.K. to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

(Image credit: Getty/Steve Parsons)

By Iris Goldsztajn

When the Queen is photographed in one of the royal homes, the objects featured in the background always tell a carefully curated story.

In the latest example, the monarch received Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Windsor Castle on March 7, and the scene was set to make a strong statement in support of Ukraine.

As the two heads of state spoke, a large bouquet of blue and yellow flowers was visible behind them—that's blue and yellow to represent the Ukrainian flag.

Trudeau was in the U.K. to meet with Prime Minister Boris Johnson for discussions relating to the Ukrainian crisis following the Russian invasion. The Canadian statesman acknowledged on at least two occasions that he also discussed Ukraine with the Queen.

"@JustinTrudeau confirmed he discussed the #Ukraine #UkraineUnderAttaсk #UkraineRussia situation with the Queen and she had plenty to say: 'I was able to talk about the situations we are facing and draw on her long experience from having seen much over these past decades,'" tweeted royal editor Roya Nikkhah.

Posting on Instagram Stories, Trudeau wrote, "It's always wonderful to see Queen Elizabeth II. When we met at Windsor Castle, we spoke about a wife range of issues—including global affairs, the situation in Ukraine, and Her Majesty's lifetime of service to Canada and the Commonwealth."

The meeting was also significant because it was the Queen's first in-person engagement since she contracted COVID in February.

This isn't the first time the Queen has broken her usual impartiality to show her support for peace in Ukraine. She also recently made a "generous donation" to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, according to The Sun.

Roya Nikkhah@RoyaNikkhah📷 @PA5:58 AM · Mar 7, 2022·Twitter for iPhone

Soaring oil prices could be the death rattle of our fossil-fuelled economy

By Max Fawcett | Opinion, Politics | March 8th 2022

It’s long been said that the cure for high oil prices is high oil prices, writes columnist Max Fawcett. 

Photo by Erik Mclean / Unsplash

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times. For the people working in the corner offices of Calgary’s corporate towers, that’s been the story of 2022 so far, especially when it comes to the war in Ukraine. After years of watching their industry get beaten down, first by a price war and then by growing concerns about climate change, it’s suddenly a very good time to be an oil and gas company executive. After briefly trading in negative territory less than two years ago, Canadian oil is poised to set a new all-time high.

But the joy being felt in those Calgary towers is misplaced because the renewed surge in commodity prices is a long-term defeat disguised as a short-term victory.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will almost certainly prove to be the tipping point in the global energy transition as entire continents move to make their economies and societies less dependent on oil-exporting countries like Russia and Saudi Arabia. Yes, those executives in Calgary will see their stock options increase in value, and the Alberta government will collect billions more in royalty revenue.

But this is the death rattle of the fossil-fuelled global economy, not its latest renaissance.

That’s because unlike the last time oil prices traded above $100 a barrel, consumers and companies alike have options for reducing their exposure to high fuel prices. Those options will only continue to grow in number in the year to come, as every major automaker on the planet rolls out its own range of electric vehicles.

“Oil staying above or near $100 a barrel for a protracted period of time just makes renewable investment look better,” Sarah Ladislaw, managing director at the think tank RMI, told the Los Angeles Times. “If the price environment and the strategic conflict lasts a bit longer, I think it drives people to find alternatives.”

Investors have already twigged to this. Case in point: When the markets opened on Feb. 24 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it seemed likely that a huge increase in oil prices would be the story of the day. But by the time it was over, a much different one had emerged. Yes, global energy stocks were up, with the largest energy ETF in the world gaining 1.7 per cent on the day. But that was nothing compared to the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF, which was up 7.6 per cent — and on a day when the overall market fell.

What people are reading

The unethical opportunism of Jason Kenney
By Max Fawcett | Opinion | March 5th 2022

High oil prices, and the impact they’re already having on household budgets, aren’t a good thing for the vast majority of people. But when it comes to driving down global emissions and increasing the sense of urgency people feel about climate change, they might just do the trick. The longer prices stay at these nosebleed levels, the more likely it is that consumers, businesses, industry and even entire countries will look to find alternatives. Once they do, it’s unlikely they’ll ever look back again.


That’s particularly true in Europe, where the combination of high energy costs and Russia’s reckless invasion of Ukraine could prove transformative.

“The stuff coming out of the mouths of European leaders has never come out of their leaders’ mouths before,” said Nikos Tsafos, the James R. Schlesinger Chair for Energy and Geopolitics with the Centre for Strategic & International Studies, in an interview with Scientific American. “There is a different strategic resolve coming out of Europe, and if you’re not factoring that into your model, I think you’re missing something.”

Opinion: The longer prices stay at these nosebleed levels, the more likely it is that consumers, businesses, industry and even entire countries will look to find alternatives, writes columnist @maxfawcett. #Ukraine #FossilFuels #Renewables

That’s why the federal government needs to hold its nerve when it comes to its promised plan to regulate and restrict oilsands emissions. Premiers like Jason Kenney and Scott Moe will renew their demands for more pipelines and production, and industry advocates will repeat their tired arguments about ethical oil. Let them. What they can’t see, or won’t, is that the transition away from fossil fuels has shifted into a higher gear.

If Canada can’t keep up with that, it risks getting left behind in years and decades to come — especially as global demand for oil starts to roll over and fall off.

Most fossil fuel enthusiasts, including the well-paid ones in those Calgary corporate towers, refuse to believe that’s even a possibility. Mick Dilger, the former CEO of Pembina Pipeline, told the Calgary Herald’s Chris Varcoe in November: “The key question right now is: What is the tenure of hydrocarbon production? And I think it looks a lot like it’s four to five decades, rather than one to two decades.”


But if the pace of the energy transition starts to really pick up in the years ahead, we’ll almost certainly look back to early 2022 as a key influence on that.

It’s long been said that the cure for high oil prices is high oil prices. This time, it might be a permanent one.