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Posted on 19th October 2024 |
Show only this post Show all posts in this thread (Politics). |
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I was shocked when I read this report on Newsweek: "NATO Ally Spending Five Times More on Russian Energy Than Ukraine Aid". The European Union banned the import of Russian oil and petroleum products, but gave some member nations (including Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia) temporary exemptions, to give them time to find alternate sources. Czechia (previously known as the Czech Republic, however, has "exploited" this loophole, as well as the resulting discounts on Russian crude oil, to increase its imports last year — which rose to 60 percent of Czechia's oil imports in 2023, up from 56 percent in 2022. Czechia has strong political and historical ties to nearby Ukraine, and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine took in half a million Ukrainian refugees. Despite this, Czechia is currently spending five times more on Russian oil than it gives to Ukraine in aid, and the amount has only in 2024 begun to decrease. This oil revenue is helping to finance Russia's war effort. Who needs enemies, when you have friends like that? | |