MOSCOW, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine after recognising them as independent on Monday, accelerating a crisis the West fears could unleash a major war. A Reuters witness saw tanks and other military hardware moving through the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk after Putin issued a decree recognising the breakaway regions and told Russia's defence ministry to send in forces to "keep the peace". The moves drew U.S. and European condemnation and vows of new sanctions although it was unclear whether it was Putin's first major step toward a full-scale offensive in Ukraine that Western governments have warned about for weeks. A senior U.S. official said the deployment to breakaway enclaves already controlled by separatists loyal to Moscow did not yet constitute a "further invasion" that would trigger the harshest sanctions, but that a wider military campaign could come at any time. There was no word on the size of the force Putin was dispatching, but the decree said Russia now had the right to build military bases in the breakaway regions. In a lengthy televised address packed with grievances against the West, a visibly angry Putin described Ukraine as an integral part of Russia's history and said eastern Ukraine was ancient Russian lands. Russian state television showed Putin, joined by Russia-backed separatist leaders, signing a decree recognising the independence of the two Ukrainian breakaway regions - the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic - along with agreements on cooperation and friendship. Defying Western warnings against such a move, Putin had announced his decision in phone calls to the leaders of Germany and France earlier, the Kremlin said. Moscow's action may well torpedo a last-minute bid for a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine, which the senior U.S. official said was now in doubt. Oil jumped to a seven-year high, safe-havens currencies like the yen rallied and U.S. stock futures dived as Europe's eastern flank stood on the brink of war. The rouble extended its losses as Putin spoke, at one point sliding beyond 80 per dollar. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who received a solidarity call from Biden, accused Russia of wrecking peace talks and ruled out territorial concessions in an address to the nation early on Tuesday. Biden, who also spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz, quickly signed an executive order to halt all U.S. business activity in the breakaway regions and ban import of all goods from those areas. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said the measures were separate from sanctions the United States and its allies have been readying if Russia invades Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the executive order "is designed to prevent Russia from profiting off of this blatant violation of international law." The U.N. Security Council was due to meet publicly on Ukraine at 9 p.m. EST Monday (0200 GMT on Tuesday), a Russian diplomat said, following a request by the United States, Britain and France. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's spokesman said Germany, France and the United States had agreed to respond with sanctions, while British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said Britain would announce new sanctions on Tuesday. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg accused Russia of "trying to stage a pretext" for a further invasion. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. In his address, Putin delved into history as far back as the Ottoman empire and as recent as the tensions over NATO's eastward expansion. His demands that Ukraine drop its long-term goal of joining the Atlantic military alliance have been repeatedly rebuffed by Kyiv and NATO states. With his decision to recognise the breakaway regions, Putin brushed off Western warnings. "I deem it necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago - to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic," Putin said. A French presidential official said the speech "mixed various considerations of a rigid and paranoid nature".
DIPLOMATIC WINDOW NARROWS Putin has for years worked to restore Russia's influence over nations that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with Ukraine holding an important place in his ambitions. Russia denies any plan to attack its neighbour, but it has threatened unspecified "military-technical" action unless it receives sweeping security guarantees, including a promise that Ukraine will never join NATO. Recognition of the separatist-held areas will narrow the diplomatic options to avoid war, since it is an explicit rejection of a seven-year-old ceasefire mediated by France and Germany. Separately, Moscow said Ukrainian military saboteurs had tried to enter Russian territory in armed vehicles leading to five deaths, an accusation dismissed as "fake news" by Kyiv. Those developments fit a pattern repeatedly predicted by Western governments, who have accused Russia of preparing to fabricate a pretext to invade by blaming Kyiv for attacks and relying on pleas for help from separatist proxies. Washington says Russia has massed a force numbering 169,000-190,000 troops in the region, including the separatists in the breakaway regions, and has warned of invasion at any moment.
\KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 22): Velesto Energy Bhd said its unit Velesto Workover Sdn Bhd (VWO) has been awarded a contract by ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc (EMEPMI) for the provision of one hydraulic workover unit and services to EMEPMI.
The contract is for a period of one year, commencing in the third quarter of 2022, until the completion of EMEPMI's selected wells programme.
“The value of this enabling contract with no guarantee of call-offs shall be based upon the agreed rates and work order, if any, issued by EMEPMI within the contract term,” said the oil rig operator in a bourse filing.
For the project, Velesto will deploy its VELESTO GAIT 6, a hydraulic workover unit with a maximum pulling and snubbing capacity of 460,000 lbs and 225,000 lbs, respectively, capable of rigging up on offshore platforms to perform wells workover, plugging and abandonment operations.
The group said the contract is expected to contribute to its earnings and net assets for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY22) and FY23.
Velesto shares closed unchanged at 13 sen, with a market value of RM1.07 billion. Some 11.03 million shares were traded.
MOSCOW/KYIV, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its south coast on Thursday, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east. Shortly after Putin spoke in a televised address on Russian state TV, explosions could be heard in the pre-dawn quiet of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Gunfire rattled near the capital's main airport, the Interfax news agency said, and sirens were heard over the city.
Previously, Maybabk IB expect Velesto to end 2021 with a solid profit with high utilisation level of more than 70% for its current fleet size. They estimate three jack-ups (JUs), namely Naga 2, 4 and 8, will achieve a full three-month utilisation for 4Q21.
Let's see what is the reality when qtr report is out on monday.
Drilling segment actually made profit before tax of 14million.. Just the other segments still dragging down profit. However good to finally achieve profit
a bit skeptical though today so much sell pressure at 12c like if QR is good why would they start dumping the shares into the market for past few days though i enter 12c today to test water will tomorrow people rush to buy back?
a sigh of relief for many long term holders....just need more contracts. If Russian/UKraine war last 6months ---Oil will stay above $90 for atleast a year
This book is the result of the author's many years of experience and observation throughout his 26 years in the stockbroking industry. It was written for general public to learn to invest based on facts and not on fantasies or hearsay....
Macgyver11
2,492 posts
Posted by Macgyver11 > 2022-02-19 21:34 | Report Abuse
The dispute in between Russia and Ukraine not over yet. Monday most probably oil up again..
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/shelling-breaks-out-east-ukraine-west-moscow-dispute-troop-moves-2022-02-17/