歐盟尋求在亞洲“緊張局面”中發揮更大作用 - 警告中國

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

EU seeks bigger role in Asia's 'theatre of tensions', warns on China

Wed, May 11, 2022, 8:12 PM

By Elaine Lies

TOKYO (Reuters) -European Union leaders said on Thursday that the EU wants to become a bigger actor in Asia, which they termed a "theatre of tensions", warning of an increasingly assertive China even as they called on Beijing to defend the multilateral global order.

The call came in a joint news conference in Tokyo after an EU-Japan summit featuring European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. It also came a day after Beijing warned the summit not to "speak ill" of China.

The trio said they would keep up talks on ways to maximize their partnership to tackle Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, in areas such as energy as well as aid, joining in a statement to call for the immediate cessation of hostilities.

But Michel and von der Leyen, in Japan for the latest in a series of annual talks, also said they were aware that regional tensions existed in Asia as well, and that the EU wanted - and needed - to take on a bigger role.

"The Indo-Pacific is a thriving region. It is also a theatre of tensions," von der Leyen said. "Take the situation in the East and South China Sea and the constant threat of the DPRK (North Korea)."

"The European Union wants to take a more active role in the Indo-Pacific. We want to take more responsibility in a region that is so vital to our prosperity."

Both warned of China's close relationship with Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation", and condemned unilateral moves to change the status quo in any region of the world.

"Our cooperation in Ukraine is critical but it is also important in the Indo-Pacific, and we also want to deepen our consultation on a more assertive China," Michel said. "We believe that China must stand up to defend the multilateral system that it has benefited from."

The meeting came a day after China said that while a strong EU-Japan relationship was beneficial, it shouldn't go too far.

"I also need to emphasize that the EU-Japan summit is a matter between themselves but they should not speak ill of China, let alone interfere in China's internal affairs," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday.

Both Michel and von der Leyen welcomed Japan's participation in measures against Russia, including sanctions.

"We welcome the increasingly strong stance Japan is taking against Russia," von der Leyen said at the start of their talks.

Tokyo has joined the European Union and Group of Seven nations in imposing trade sanctions on Russia, that have cramped Moscow's ability to export its oil and gas.

But Japan is heavily reliant on energy imports, including purchases from Russia. Last week Kishida said Japan would "in principle" ban Russian oil but it has been more reluctant to disengage from some projects.

The three officials were meeting in the Japanese capital for an annual conference that was held online last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, a day after Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin met with Kishida and just hours before Finland said it would apply to join NATO.

Von der Leyen will leave Japan on Thursday afternoon, while Michel will travel to the nuclear memorial city of Hiroshima, where he will offer flowers, and leave at the weekend.

"In light of the war in Ukraine, this will be an opportune time to send a powerful message of peace and of hope," he said.

Translation

東京（路透社） - 歐盟領導人周四表示，歐盟希望在亞洲成為一個更大的參與者，他們稱亞洲為“緊張局勢的場所”，儘管他們呼籲北京捍衛多邊全球組織，但警告中國會變得越來越咄咄迫人。

歐盟委員會主席馮德萊恩、歐洲理事會主席米歇爾和日本首相岸田文雄出席歐盟-日本峰會後，在東京舉行的聯合新聞發布會上發出了這一呼籲。這也是在北京警告峰會不要“說中國壞話”的第二天。

三人表示，他們將繼續討論如何最大限度地擴大合作夥伴關係，以應對俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭的問題，包括能源和援助等領域，並發表聲明，呼籲立即停止敵對行動。

但米歇爾和馮德萊恩, 在日本參加了最新的一系列年度會談，亦表示他們意識到亞洲也存在地區緊張局勢，歐盟希望 - 也需要 - 發揮更大的作用。

馮德萊恩說: “印太地區是一個繁榮的地區。它也是一個緊張的舞台”;  “以東海和南海局勢以及朝鮮（北韓）的不斷脅迫為例。”

“歐盟希望在印太地區發揮更積極的作用。我們希望在這個對我們的繁榮至關重要的地區承擔更多責任。”

兩人都警告中國與俄羅斯關係密切，俄羅斯聲稱其在烏克蘭的行動是“特殊軍事行動”; 兩人並譴責單方面改變世界任何地區現狀的行動。

Michel說: “我們在烏克蘭的合作至關重要，但在印太地區也很重要，我們還希望與更加自信的中國深化磋商”; “我們認為，中國必須站出來捍衛它從中受益的多邊體系。”

會議召開前一天，中國表示，雖然堅實的歐日關係是有益的，但不應走得太遠。

中國外交部發言人趙立堅週三表示: “我還需要強調，歐日峰會是雙方之間的事情，他們不應該說中國的壞話，更不能干涉中國內政。”

米歇爾和馮德萊恩都對日本參與針對俄羅斯的措施表示歡迎, 包括制裁在內。

馮德萊恩在會談開始時表示: “我們歡迎日本對俄羅斯採取越來越強硬的立場” 。

東京已加入歐盟和七國集團對俄羅斯實施貿易制裁，這限制了莫斯科出口其石油和天然氣的能力。

但日本嚴重依賴能源進口，包括從俄羅斯購買。上週岸田表示，日本將“原則上”禁止俄羅斯石油，但它較不願意退出一些項目。

這三位官員在日本首都了一次年度會議，由于冠狀病毒大流行會議去年是在線舉行。 年度會議是在芬蘭總理 Sanna Marin 與岸田會面的第二天，及芬蘭表示將申請加入北約前的幾個小時。

馮德萊恩將於週四下午離開日本，而米歇爾將前往核紀念城市廣島獻花，並於週末離開。

他說: “鑑於烏克蘭的戰爭，這將是傳遞有力的和平與希望信息的好時機。”

So, the EU wants to become a bigger actor in Asia, which they term a "theatre of tensions", judging from the situation in the East and South China Sea and the constant threat of the North Korea. I consider this is a change in foreign policy of the EU. The Russian-Ukraine conflict has changed the perception and world view of many countries.

中國希望10個太平洋國家支持全面協議

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

China wants 10 Pacific nations to endorse sweeping agreement

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NICK PERRY

Wed, May 25, 2022, 1:49 AM

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — China wants 10 small Pacific nations to endorse a sweeping agreement covering everything from security to fisheries in what one leader warns is a “game-changing” bid by Beijing to wrest control of the region.

A draft of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press shows that China wants to train Pacific police officers, team up on “traditional and non-traditional security" and expand law enforcement cooperation.

China also wants to jointly develop a marine plan for fisheries — which would include the Pacific's lucrative tuna catch — increase cooperation on running the region's internet networks, and set up cultural Confucius Institutes and classrooms. China also mentions the possibility of setting up a free trade area with the Pacific nations.

China’s move comes as Foreign Minister Wang Yi and a 20-strong delegation begin a visit to the region this week.

Wang is visiting seven of the countries he hopes will endorse the “Common Development Vision” — the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea.

Wang is also holding virtual meetings with the other three potential signatories — the Cook Islands, Niue and the Federated States of Micronesia. He is hoping the countries will endorse the pre-written agreement as part of a joint communique after a scheduled May 30 meeting in Fiji he is holding with the foreign ministers from each of the 10 countries.

But Micronesia’s President David Panuelo has written an eight-page letter to the leaders of other Pacific nations saying his nation won't be endorsing the plan and warning of dire consequences if others do.

Panuelo said in his letter, which the AP has obtained, that behind attractive words in the agreement like “equity” and “justice” are many worrying details.

Among other concerns, he said, is that the agreement opens the door for China to own and control the region's fisheries and communications infrastructure. He said China could intercept emails and listen in on phone calls.

Panuelo said in his letter that the agreement is “an intent to shift those of us with diplomatic relations with China very close to Beijing’s orbit, intrinsically tying the whole of our economies and societies to them.”

He warns the agreement would needlessly heighten geopolitical tensions and threaten regional stability.

In his letter, Panuelo said the Common Development Vision is “the single most game-changing proposed agreement in the Pacific in any of our lifetimes,” and it “threatens to bring a new Cold War era at best, and a World War at worst.”

Panuelo declined to comment on the letter or the proposed agreement.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Wednesday he didn't know about Panuelo's letter.

“But I don’t agree at all with the argument that cooperation between China and the South Pacific island countries will trigger a new Cold War,” he said.

He said that China "has a long history of friendly relations with the South Pacific island countries" and had long provided them economic and technical assistance without any political strings attached.

Like some other countries in the Pacific, Micronesia is finding itself increasingly caught between the competing interests of Washington and Beijing.

Micronesia has close ties to the U.S. through a Compact of Free Association. But it also has what Panuelo describes in his letter as a “Great Friendship” with China that he hopes will continue despite his opposition to the agreement.

The security aspects of the agreement will be particularly troubling to many in the region and beyond, especially after China signed a separate security pact with the Solomon Islands last month.

That pact has raised fears that China could send troops to the island nation or even establish a military base there, not far from Australia. The Solomon Islands and China say there are no plans for a base.

The May 30 meeting will be the second between Wang and the Pacific islands' foreign ministers after they held a virtual meeting last October.

Those who follow China's role in the Pacific will be scrutinizing the wording of the draft agreement.

Among its provisions: “China will hold intermediate and high-level police training for Pacific Island countries.”

The agreement says the countries will strengthen “cooperation in the fields of traditional and non-traditional security” and will “expand law enforcement cooperation, jointly combat transnational crime, and establish a dialog mechanism on law enforcement capacity and police cooperation."

The agreement would also see the nations “expand exchanges between governments, legislatures and political parties."

The draft agreement also stipulates that the Pacific countries “firmly abide” by the one-China principle, under which Taiwan, a self-ruled island democracy, is considered by Beijing to be part of China. It would also uphold the “non-interference” principle that China often cites as a deterrent to other nations speaking out about its human rights record.

The agreement says that China and the Pacific countries would jointly formulate a marine spatial plan “to optimize the layout of the marine economy, and develop and utilize marine resources rationally, so as to promote a sustainable development of blue economy.”

China also promises more investment in the region by mobilizing private capital and encouraging "more competitive and reputable Chinese enterprises to participate in direct investment in Pacific Island countries.”

China also promised to dispatch Chinese language consultants, teachers and volunteers to the islands.

The AP has also obtained a draft of a five-year action plan that's intended to sit alongside the Common Development Vision, which outlines a number of immediate incentives that China is offering to the Pacific nations.

In the action plan, China says it will fully implement 2,500 government scholarships through 2025.

“In 2022, China will hold the first training program for young diplomats from Pacific Island countries, depending on the pandemic situation,” the draft plan states, adding that China will also hold seminars on governance and planning for the Pacific nations.

In the draft action plan, China says it will build criminal investigation laboratories as needed by the Pacific nations that can be used for fingerprint testing, forensic autopsies, and electronic forensics.

China also says it will also spend an additional $2 million and send 200 medics to the islands to help fight COVID-19 and promote health, and promises to help the countries in their efforts to combat climate change.

Translation

新西蘭威靈頓（美聯社）- 中國希望 10 個太平洋小國支持它的一項涵蓋從安全到漁業等方方面面的全面協議，一位小國領導人警告稱，這是北京為奪取該地區控制權而進行的“改變遊戲規則”的企圖。

美聯社獲得的一份協議草案顯示，中國希望培訓太平洋警察，在“傳統和非傳統安全”方面展開合作，擴大執法合作。

中國還希望共同製定一項海洋漁業計劃 - 其中包括太平洋地區利潤豐厚的金槍魚捕撈 - 加強在該地區互聯網網絡運營方面的合作，並建立文化孔子學院和課堂。中國還提到了與太平洋國家建立自由貿易區的可能性。

中國此舉正值外交部長王毅和一個由 20 人組成的代表團本週開始訪問該地區之際。

王正在訪問他希望會支持 “共同發展願景” 的七個國家 - 所羅門群島、基里巴斯、薩摩亞、斐濟、湯加、瓦努阿圖和巴布亞新幾內亞。

王還與其他三個潛在簽署國 - 庫克群島、紐埃和密克羅尼西亞聯邦舉行虛擬會議。他希望在預定的 5 月 30 日在斐濟與 10 個國家的外交部長舉行會議後，希望這些國家將批准預先寫好的書面協議，作為聯合公報的一部分。

但密克羅尼西亞總統 David Panuelo 已經給其他太平洋國家的領導人寫了一封長達八頁的信，稱他的國家不會支持該計劃，並警告如果其他國家這樣做，後果將不堪設想。

Panuelo 在美聯社獲得的信中說，協議中“公平”和“正義”等有吸引力的詞背後有許多令人擔憂的細節。

他說，其中一個擔憂，該協議為中國能擁有和控制該地區的漁業和通信基礎設施打開了大門。他又說，中國可以截到電子郵件並竊聽電話。

Panuelo 在信中說，該協議 “旨在將我們這些與中國有外交關係的人轉移到非常接近北京的軌道上，從本質上將我們的整個經濟和社會都與它們聯繫在一起。”

他警告說，該協議將不必要地加劇地緣政治緊張局勢並威脅地區穩定。

Panuelo 在信中說，共同發展願景 是 “我們有生之年在太平洋地區提出的最改變遊戲規則的單一提議協議”，它“至少有可能帶來一個新的冷戰時代，最壞的情況是一場世界大戰。”

Panuelo 拒絕對這封信或對被提出的協議發表評論。

中國外交部發言人汪文斌週三表示，他不知道Panuelo的信。

他說:“但我完全不同意中國與南太平洋島國合作將引發新冷戰的說法”。

他說，中國“與南太島國有著悠久的友好關係”，長期以來一直不附加任何政治條件地向他們提供經濟和技術援助。

與太平洋其他一些國家一樣，密克羅尼西亞發現自己越來越陷入華盛頓和北京之間相的利益互相競爭。

密克羅尼西亞通過 自由連合盟約 與美國有著密切的聯繫。但它也有 Panuelo 在信中所說的與中國的“偉大友誼”，儘管他反對該協議，但他希望這種友誼能夠繼續下去。

該協議的安全方面對該地區及以外地區的許多人來說尤其令人不安，特别是在中國上個月與所羅門群島簽署了一項單獨的安全協議之後。

該協議引發了人們的擔憂，即中國可能會向這個島國派遣軍隊，甚至在離澳大利亞不遠的地方建立軍事基地。所羅門群島和中國表示沒有建立基地的計劃。

5月30日的會晤將是王毅與太平洋島國外長繼去年10月舉行虛擬會議後的第二次會晤。

那些追踪中國在太平洋地區角色的人, 將仔細研究協議草案的措辭。

其中條款規定： “中國將為太平洋島國舉辦中高級警察培訓。”

該協議稱，兩國將加強“在傳統和非傳統安全領域的合作”，並將“擴大執法合作，共同打擊跨國犯罪，建立執法能力和警務合作對話機制”。

該協議還將使各國 “擴大政府、立法機構和政黨之間的交流”。

協議草案還規定，太平洋國家 “堅決遵守” 一個中國原則，根據這一原則，台灣這個自治的島嶼民主國家被北京視為中國的一部分。亦將會擁護中國經常引用的 “不干涉”原則，以威懾其他國家評論其人權記錄。

協議稱，中國與太平洋國家將共同製定海洋空間規劃 “優化海洋經濟佈局，合理開發利用海洋資源，促進可持續發展的藍色經濟” 。

中國還承諾通過動員私人資本, 和鼓勵 “更具競爭力和信譽良好的中國企業參與對太平洋島國的直接投資” 以增加對該地區的投資度。

中國還承諾向這些島嶼派遣漢語顧問、教師和志願者。

美聯社還獲得了一份五年行動計劃草案，該計劃旨在與 共同發展願景 並列，其中概述了中國向太平洋國家提供的一些即時獎勵措施。

在行動計劃中，中國表示到2025年將全面落實 2,500 個政府獎學金名額。

計劃草案稱: “2022年，中方將根據疫情形勢，舉辦首期太平洋島國青年外交官培訓班。” 並稱中方還將舉辦太平洋國家治理與規劃研討會。

在行動計劃草案中，中國表示將根據太平洋國家的需要建立刑事調查實驗室，可用於指紋檢測、法醫屍檢和電子取證。

中國還表示，將額外花費 200 萬美元並向這些島嶼派遣 200 名醫務人員，以幫助抗擊 COVID-19 並促進健康，並承諾幫助各國應對氣候變化。

       So, China wants to jointly develop fisheries in the aera, to increase cooperation in running the region's internet networks, and to set up cultural Confucius Institutes and classrooms etc. China is trying to convert these countries into Chinese followers. China is promising a lot to these Island countries and the promises are attractive and difficult to resist. It is flexing its money soft power in the Pacific ocean.

QUAD Summit to hold "Free and Open Indo-Pacific"

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

ＱＵＡＤ首脳会合開催、「自由で開かれたインド太平洋」構築へ

2022.05.24 Tue posted at 17:57 JST

  （ＣＮＮ） 日米豪印４カ国の協力の枠組み「ＱＵＡＤ（クアッド）」の首脳会合が２４日、東京の首相官邸で行われた。各国首脳は互いの関係を称賛するとともに、「自由で開かれたインド太平洋」を築くという目標について改めて確認した。

米国のバイデン大統領は会合の冒頭、ロシアによるウクライナ侵攻を非難し、米国としてウクライナ政府を支援する姿勢を改めて示した。

そのうえで、ウクライナでの戦争は人道上の大災害を引き起こしたと指摘。ロシア軍がウクライナの学校や教会、博物館を標的にしていることに触れ、ロシアのプーチン大統領は「文化の根絶を図っている」と警告した。

２１日の総選挙を制し、２３日に就任宣誓を済ませたばかりのアルバニージー豪首相は、新政権の優先事項がＱＵＡＤの政策課題に沿ったものであると強調。具体的には気候変動への取り組み、より強大かつ強靱（きょうじん）なインド太平洋地域の構築を挙げた。

岸田文雄首相は、会合の焦点としてウクライナでの戦争に言及。法に基づく国際秩序が根底から揺るがされたと危機感を示すとともに、同様の事象を決してインド太平洋地域で起こしてはならないと強調した。

モディ印首相はウクライナでの戦争には触れず、新型コロナウイルスワクチンの供給や気候問題対策、サプライチェーン（供給網）の強靭化といった分野での「相互協力」の重要性を語った。同氏はこれまでのところ、ロシアの侵攻に対する非難や制裁の実施を拒否している。

この後、４首脳は４カ国の学生を対象とする教育プログラムやワクチン供給での提携、宇宙を基点にした地球観測データの共有など数々の新構想を明らかにした。このうちデータ共有には、米国のプログラムによる海洋・大気のモニタリング、洪水マッピングなどのデータが含まれる。

Translation

(CNN) A summit meeting of the "QUAD" framework for cooperation between Japan, the United States, Australia and India was held at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on the 24th. Leaders praised each other's relationships and reaffirmed their goal of building a "free and open Indo-Pacific."

At the start of the meeting, US President Joe Biden condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and reiterated its willingness to support the Ukrainian government.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the war in Ukraine caused a humanitarian catastrophe. Noting that Russian troops were targeting Ukrainian schools, churches and museums, warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "trying to eradicate culture."

Australian Prime Minister Albanese, who won the general election on the 21st and had just taken the oath of office on the 23rd, emphasized that the new administration's priorities were in line with QUAD's policy agenda. He specifically addressed climate change efforts, building a stronger and more resilient Indo-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida mentioned the war in Ukraine as the focus of the meeting. He expressed a sense of crisis that the international order based on the law had been shaken from the ground up, and emphasized that similar events should never occur in the Indo-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Modi did not mention the war in Ukraine and talked about the importance of "mutual cooperation" in areas such as the supply of new coronavirus vaccines, climate control measures, and the strengthening of the supply chain. So far, he refused to blame or impose sanctions on Russia's invasion.

After this, the four leaders revealed a number of new initiatives such as educational programs for students from four countries, partnerships in vaccine supply, and sharing of earth observation data based on space. Of these, data sharing includes data such as ocean and atmospheric monitoring and flood mapping from US programs.

              So, a summit meeting of the "QUAD"  consisting of  Japan, the United States, Australia and India has been held in Tokyo. While individual country has its own focus and agenda in the meeting, the common goal is to stand together in dealing with China.

中國的伊朗石油進口因利潤微薄而減少，俄羅斯石油的誘惑

Recently Yahoo News on line reported the following:

China’s Iranian oil imports ease on poor margins, lure of Russian oil

Sun, May 8, 2022, 11:09 PM

By Chen Aizhu and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) - China's Iranian oil imports in April came off peak volumes seen in late 2021 and early 2022 as demand from independent refiners weakened after COVID-19 lockdowns pummelled fuel margins and on growing imports of lower-priced Russian oil.

The easing of Iranian oil purchases, which still make up some 7% of imports by the world's largest crude importer, came as Western diplomats have largely lost hope in reviving a 2015 nuclear pact while high oil prices emboldened Iran to take its time to return to an agreement.

A revived nuclear deal would allow Iran to boost its oil sales beyond China - Iran's number one customer for the past two years - to previous clients in South Korea and Europe.

Meanwhile, Russian crude, displaced by falling demand in Europe on growing concerns about sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is heading to China. Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a "special operation".

Initial assessments by Vortexa Analytics showed China imported nearly 650,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude in April, slightly less than the nearly 700,000 bpd discharged in March.

Kpler, another data analytics firm, tentatively pegged Iran's April exports at 575,000 bpd, down from an average of 840,000 bpd in the first quarter of 2022, though the agency expected to revise up April volumes in coming weeks.

China's independent refiners, also known as teapots and situated mostly in the eastern province of Shandong, are key Iranian oil buyers. The refiners have since February reduced crude imports, operating under half their capacity in April as soaring prices, tighter import quotas and COVID lockdowns squashed margins, traders said.

"The Iranian barrels started having difficulties finding buyers since February, after independent plants cut throughput," said Emma Li, China analyst with Vortexa.

At least six cargoes of Iranian oil totaling eight million barrels have not been able to offload at Chinese ports, floating off Shandong and Zhejiang ports for more than three months, Li added.

In contrast, China's sea-borne crude imports from Russia jumped 16% in April from March to about 860,000 bpd, the highest since last December, Refinitiv data showed.

Though the April Russian supplies were dominated by its Far East export grade ESPO blend, the prospect of growing Urals cargoes being forced out of Europe is providing a new lure for the teapots.

At least one teapot refiner bought one June-arriving Urals cargo at a discount of $6 to $7 a barrel to Brent on delivered basis, traders said.

That compared with Iranian oil, transacted at $5 a barrel under Brent.

"Teapots are facing terrible margins and plentiful oil on offer. Dealing Iranian and Russian barrels both carries risks, so refiners would be careful and picking the cheaper supplies that offer relatively better margins," said a trading executive with a Shandong-based refiner.

To avoid U.S. sanctions, Iranian crude has been exported to China marked as oil from Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, traders have said.

Aware of the Chinese purchases, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has chosen not to enforce the sanctions against Chinese individuals and companies.

China's foreign ministry did not respond to request for comment. Iran's oil ministry also did not respond to a request for comment.

Chinese customs data last reported imports of 260,000 tonnes (1.9 million barrels) of Iranian oil each in December and January, in its first official record in a year.

Translation

新加坡/倫敦（路透社）- 中國 4 月份的伊朗石油進口量已脫離 2021 年底和 2022 年初的峰值，原因是 COVID-19 封鎖減弱獨立煉油廠需求, 打擊其油的利潤, 以及增加進口價格較低的俄羅斯石油增加。

伊朗石油採購量仍佔全球最大原油進口國進口量的 7% 左右，與此同時，西方外交官在很大程度上對恢復 2015 年的核協議失去了希望，而高油價讓伊朗有胆量去花多些時間去達成協議。

重新恢復核協議將使伊朗能夠將其石油銷售從中國（過去兩年伊朗的第一大客戶）擴大到韓國和歐洲的先前客戶。

與此同時，由於歐洲對俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭的日益擔憂的製裁，对俄羅斯原油需求下降，俄羅斯原油正流向中國。俄羅斯於 2 月 24 日在所謂的 “特別行動” 中向烏克蘭派出了數以萬計士兵。

Vortexa Analytics 的初步評估顯示，中國 4 月每天進口近 65 萬桶伊朗原油，略低於 3 月送出的近 70 萬桶/日。

另一家數據分析公司 Kpler 暫時將伊朗 4 月的出口量定為 57.5 萬桶/日，低於 2022 年第一季度的平均 84 萬桶/日，不過該機構預計將在未來幾週上調 4 月的出口量。

中國的獨立煉油廠，也被稱為茶壺，主要位於東部山東省，是伊朗石油的主要買家。交易商表示，自 2 月以來，煉油廠減少了原油進口，4 月以一半產能去運行，原因是價格飆升、進口配額收緊和 COVID 封鎖壓低了利潤率。

Vortexa 的中國分析師 Emma Li 表示： “自 2 月以來，在獨立工廠削減產量後，伊朗桶開始難以找到買家。”

Emma 補充說，至少有六批總計 800 萬桶的伊朗石油無法在中國港口卸貨，在山東和浙江港口海上等待了三個多月。

相比之下，Refinitiv 數據顯示，4 月中國從俄羅斯的海運原油進口量較 3 月增長 16%，至約 86 萬桶/日，為去年 12 月以來的最高水平。

儘管 4 月份的俄羅斯供應主要是其遠東出口級 ESPO 混合油，但展望越來越多的烏拉爾貨物會被迫離開歐洲, 為茶壺提供新的誘惑。

交易商稱，至少有一家茶壺煉油廠以每桶比布倫特原油低 6 至 7 美元的價格購買了一批 6 月運抵的烏拉爾原油。

與伊朗石油相比, 每桶低布倫特原油價格5 美元。

山東一家煉油廠的貿易主管表示: “茶壺面臨著糟糕的利潤和豐富的石油供應。交易伊朗和俄羅斯的油都存在風險，因此煉油商會小心選擇利潤相對較高的廉價供應” 。

貿易商稱，為避免美國製裁，伊朗原油出口到中國石油, 標為從阿曼、阿拉伯聯合酋長國和馬來西亞出口。

美國總統拜登政府意識到中國的採購，但選擇不對中國個人和公司實施制裁。

中國外交部沒有回應置評請求。伊朗石油部也沒有回應置評請求。

中國海關數據上一次報告稱，去年 12 月和 1 月分別進口了 26 萬噸（190 萬桶）伊朗石油，這是一年來的首次官方記錄。

            So, China's sea-borne crude imports from Russia jumps 16% in April compared to March, the highest since last December. It seems that China is buying more Russian crude oil and less Iranian oil.

Ports in the Mediterranean refused Russian merchant ship entry: Grain loaded was stolen from Ukraine?

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

地中海の港、ロシア商船の入港拒否　ウクライナから盗んだ穀物積載か

2022.05.13 Fri posted at 12:12 JST

  （ＣＮＮ） ロシア軍がウクライナから盗んだとされる穀物を積んだロシアの商船が、地中海沿岸の港で入港を拒まれて、シリア北西部のラタキア港に停泊している。海運関係者やウクライナ当局者が明らかにした。

ＣＮＮはこの商船を、貨物船の「マトロス・ポジニッチ」と特定した。

写真や衛星画像によれば、同船は４月２７日、クリミア半島沖を出航してトランスポンダーのスイッチを切り、翌日にはクリミア半島のセバストポリ港で目撃された。

ウクライナ当局者などによると、マトロス・ポジニッチは盗まれた穀物の貿易に関与している３隻のうちの１隻とされる。

ロシアが２０１４年に併合したクリミア半島では、小麦はほとんど生産されていない。しかしロシア軍が３月上旬以来支配しているウクライナ北部は年間何百万トンもの穀物を生産する穀倉地帯。ウクライナ当局者は、何千トンもの穀物がトラックでクリミア半島に輸送されていると訴える。

ウクライナのオンラインメディア記者がＣＮＮに語ったところによると、クリミア半島西部セバストポリからの穀物輸出は急増し、３月も４月も約１０万トンに達しているという。

衛星画像やＣＮＮが入手した追跡データによると、マトロス・ポジニッチはセバストポリからボスポラス海峡を横断し、エジプトのアレキサンドリア港に向かった。ウクライナ当局者によると、同船は３万トン近い（ウクライナの）小麦を積んでいた。

しかしウクライナは先手を打っていた。当局者によると、エジプトは穀物が盗まれたものだとの連絡を受け、同船を入港させなかった。同船はレバノンの首都ベイルートに向かったが、結果は同じだった。

同船は今月５日に再びトランスポンダーのスイッチを切ったが、タンカー追跡サイトなどがとらえた画像は、同船がシリアのラタキア港に向かったことを示していた。

シリアの政権はロシアとの関係が深く、ロシア軍は頻繁にラタキアに駐留している。マトロス・ポジニッチの船名は、１５年にシリアで死亡した兵士の名に由来する。

海運情報サイトの編集長は、同船の穀物は出所を偽るため、ラタキアで別の船に積み替えられた可能性があると語った。

国防省情報局は１０日、ウクライナの穀物の不正輸出について「ウクライナから盗まれた穀物の大部分は、地中海を航行するロシア船籍の船舶に積まれている」と述べ、「積み荷はシリアへ向かう公算が大きい。穀物はそこから中東の国々へ密輸できる」との見方を示していた。

海運データによると、マトロス・ポジニッチは、クレーン・マリン・コントラクター社（本社ロシア・アストラハン）に登録された貨物船３隻のうちの１隻。同社は各国の制裁の対象にはなっていない。

ウクライナ国防省は、ロシア軍の侵攻開始以来、少なくとも４０万トンの穀物が盗まれ、ウクライナ国外へ持ち去られたと推計している。

Translation

  (CNN) A Russian merchant ship loaded with grain allegedly stolen from Ukraine had been denied entry at a port on the Mediterranean coast and was moored at the port of Latakia in northwestern Syria. Shipping officials and Ukrainian officials revealed this.

CNN had identified the merchant ship as the "Matros Pozynich” cargo ship.

According to photographs and satellite images, the ship departed from the coast of the Crimean Peninsula on April 27, switching off its transponders, and was seen at the port of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula the next day.

According to Ukrainian officials and others, Matros Pozynich was one of three vessels involved in the trade in stolen grain.

Wheat was produced on the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. However, northern Ukraine, which had been dominated by Russian troops since early March, was a breadbasket that produced millions of tones of grain annually. Ukrainian officials alleged that thousands of tonnes of grain were being transported to the Crimean Peninsula.

Ukrainian online media reporters told CNN that grain exported from Sevastopol in the western part of the Crimean Peninsula surged to about 100,000 tons in March and April.

According to satellite images and tracking data obtained by CNN, Matros Pozynich crossed the Bosphorus from Sevastopol to the port of Alexandria in Egypt. According to Ukrainian officials, the ship was loaded with nearly 30,000 tones of (Ukrainian) wheat.

But Ukraine took action first. According to officials, Egypt was informed that the grain had been stolen and did not allow the ship to enter the port. The ship headed for Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, but the result was the same.

The ship turned off its transponder again on the 5th of this month, but images captured by tanker tracking sites and others showed that the ship was heading for the port of Latakia in Syria.

The Syrian government had close ties with Russia, and Russian troops were frequently stationed in Latakia. The name of the Matros Pozynich came from the name of a soldier died in Syria in 2015.

The editor-in-chief of the shipping information site said the ship's grain could have been transferred to another ship in Latakia in order to falsify its source.

The Pentagon's intelligence agency said on the 10^th about illegal exports of Ukrainian grain that "Most of the grain stolen from Ukraine is loaded on Russian-flagged vessels navigating in the Mediterranean"; and showed a viewpoint that "The cargo is most likely going to Syria. Then the grain can be smuggled from there to countries in the Middle East. "

According to shipping data, Matros Pozynich was one of three cargo ships registered with Crane Marine Contractor (Headquarters Astrakhan, Russia). The company was not subject to national sanctions.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense estimated that at least 400,000 tonnes of grain had been stolen and taken out of Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.

              So, on top of seizing others’ territories, Russians are interested in stealing the grain of another country.

To fund Ukraine reconstruction using Russian foreign exchange reserves frozen in the west: EU officials

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

西側凍結のロシア外貨準備高、ウクライナ復興資金に　ＥＵ高官

2022.05.12 Thu posted at 17:50 JST

  （ＣＮＮ） 欧州連合（ＥＵ）のボレル外交安全保障上級代表は１２日までに、ウクライナ戦争が終結した際、西側諸国が凍結しているロシアの外貨準備高をウクライナの復興資金に充てる方途を考慮すべきだとの考えを示した。

英紙フィナンシャル・タイムズとの会見で述べた。同代表はこの考えは論理的な正当性を十分に持っているとして全面的に賛同する意向を示した。

「我々は意のままに動かせる資金を得ている」と指摘。「アフガン向けの資金に有効だったことを考えるなら、ロシア向けの資金に適用出来ないのならその理由などの説明を誰かにしてもらいたい」とも主張した。

アフガニスタンで昨年、イスラム主義勢力タリバンが実権を掌握した後、米国がアフガン中央銀行が保持していた約７０億米ドル相当の資金を凍結した事例を念頭に置いた発言となっている。

西側諸国はロシアによるウクライナ侵攻を受けロシアが保持していた約３１５０億ドルの外貨準備高を押さえる制裁措置を発動。

ＥＵ内ではこの凍結資金をウクライナの復興資金に充当させる方途について話し合ってもいた。ただ、具体的な政策は提言されていなかった。

ロシアの中央銀行は今年４月、米国やＥＵがロシア保有の金や外貨準備高の凍結解除を求めて法的措置を講じることを警告。ただ、この対抗措置を仕掛ける時期や法的な根拠については不明となっている。

Translation

  (CNN) European Union (EU) High Representative Borrell Fontelles on the 12th expressed his thought in considering ways to use Russia's frozen foreign currency reserves to fund Ukraine's reconstruction when the Ukrainian war ended.

He said in a press conference with the Financial Times. He fully agreed that the idea had sufficient logical justification.

He pointed out that "We have the money to move at will." He also insisted that "Given it was effective for the funding for Afghanistan, if it is not applicable on funding of Russia, I would like someone to explain why."

The statement was based on the case in which the United States frozen about US $ 7 billion worth of funds held by the Afghan central bank after the Islamist Taliban took control in Afghanistan last year.

Western nations had imposed sanctions to curb Russia's $ 315 billion foreign exchange reserves following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Within the EU, people were also discussing ways to allocate the frozen funds to Ukraine's reconstruction funds. However, no concrete policy was proposed.

Russia's central bank warned in April this year that the United States and the EU would take legal action to unfreeze Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves. However, it was unclear when and on what legal basis for this countermeasure.

              So, it is interesting to hear the suggesting to use Russia's frozen foreign currency reserves to fund Ukraine's reconstruction. I am wondering how will the Russians pay for the damage and destruction in Ukraine.

俄羅斯對鐵路系統的襲擊未能癱瘓“烏克蘭的生命線”

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Russian attacks on rail system fail to paralyze 'lifeline of Ukraine'

Sun, May 8, 2022, 11:49 AM

By Jonathan Landay

FASTIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - A salvo of missiles brought the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine to Fastiv, a quiet town abounding with flowering cherry trees and set in sweeping farmland hundreds of kilometres from the front lines.

The strike on April 28, which injured two people, hit an electrical substation that feeds power to a confluence of railway lines that forms a key hub of networks linking central Europe, Russia, and Asia.

The damage quickly was repaired, said Ukrainian officials, and a Reuters visit last week revealed no lingering impact. Trains plied between Kyiv and the southern port of Odesa, disgorging passengers into the station at Fastiv, a town of 45,000 people 75 km (45 miles) south of the capital.

Officials said the attack was part of an escalating Russian assault on infrastructure, aimed in part at paralyzing rail deliveries of Western-supplied arms and also reinforcements sustaining Ukrainian forces fighting in the east and south.

So far, Moscow's effort has failed, making state-owned Ukrainian Railways a leading symbol of the country's resilience.

"The longest delay we’ve had has been less than an hour," said Oleksandr Kamyshin, 37, a former investment banker who keeps the trains running as the CEO of the railways, Ukraine's largest employer.

“They haven’t hit a single military train."

The Russian defense ministry has said Ukrainian facilities powering the railways have been targeted by missile strikes because trains are used to deliver foreign arms to Ukrainian forces.

The rail system is being hit not just because it is critical to military supplies, Ukrainian officials said.

Moscow's "goal is to destroy critical infrastructure as much as possible for military, economic and social reasons," Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yuri Vaskov said in an interview.

With Russian warships blockading Black Sea ports, downed bridges and checkpoints obstructing roadways, and a fuel crunch snarling trucking, Ukraine’s 22,000 km (14,000 miles) of track are the main lifeline of the struggling economy and a passage to the outside world.

Trains have evacuated millions of civilians fleeing to safer parts of the country or abroad.

They have begun running small grain shipments to neighboring counties to circumvent Russia's maritime blockade. Ukraine was the world’s fourth largest grain exporter in the 2020/21 season and exports disrupted by the war have interrupted global food chains and helped fuel worldwide inflation.

Internally, trains are distributing humanitarian aid and other cargoes. They enabled the restart of the AcelorMittal steel plant, in Kryvyi Rih, by bringing workers in and product out, said Kamyshin. They carry civilian casualties in hospital cars staffed by Doctors Without Borders.

Since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, he said, trains have distributed more than 140,000 tonnes of food and will have carried some 1 million kilos of mail for the state postal service by mid-May.

Russian attacks on some of the 1,000 stations have killed scores of civilians, including dozens killed in an attack in April in the station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk.

That has not deterred passengers.

Daily ridership has reached as many as 200,000 passengers, Kamyshin said in an interview on Saturday as he rode a train across a bridge that had been repaired after being badly damaged during Russia's failed advance on Kyiv from the suburb of Irpin.

Nor have the railway’s 230,000 personnel stayed home even though 122 have been killed and 155 others wounded on the job and in their houses, said Kamyshin.

Moscow denies striking civilian targets in what it calls a "special military operation" to disarm Ukraine and rid it of what it calls anti-Russian nationalism fomented by the West. Ukraine and the West say Russia launched an unprovoked war of aggression.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the assertions of Kamyshin and other Ukrainian officials about their successes keeping the railways going in wartime.

UKRAINE'S 'LIFELINE'

Helena Muskrivska, 56, the Irpin station master, said she worked for the first four days of the Russian assault, helping evacuate some 1,000 people and relaying local developments by landline to Kyiv. She took documents and equipment home when it became too dangerous.

“I was here when the Russians came into the station. I didn’t want to see them face to face,” said Muskrivska.

A group of current and former U.S. and European railway executives formed the International Support Ukraine Rail Task Force in March to raise money for protective gear, first aid kits and financial aid for railway staff.

“There's a lot of fundraising efforts everywhere for Ukraine, but none of it goes to the railroad,” said Jolene Molitoris, a former U.S. Federal Railroad Administration chief who chairs the group. “It is the lifeline of the country.”

The group also aims to fund purchases of heavy machinery, rails and other equipment sought by the railways.

Kamyshin said he is racing against the Russian attacks, deploying teams of workers and dispatchers around the clock to fix tracks and reroute trains. “It’s all about hours, not about days.”

He and top aides constantly move, taking trains to inspect damage and repairs around Ukraine, he said, adding: "Once they break it, we fix it".

Kamyshin said his top priority is redirecting grain exports from Ukraine’s southern ports to Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states to help revive the economy. He said Russia would remain a threat even after what he called its inevitable defeat.

“This crazy neighbor will stay with us,” he said. “No one knows when they will come again.”

Translation

烏克蘭法斯蒂夫（路透社）- 導彈齊射將克里姆林宮對烏克蘭的戰爭帶到了法斯蒂夫 (Fastiv)，這是一個安靜的小鎮，到處都是開花的櫻桃樹，位於距離前線數百公里的廣闊農田中。

4 月 28 日的導彈襲擊了一個變電站，該變電站為鐵路線的交匯處供電，該鐵路線是連接中歐、俄羅斯和亞洲的重要網絡樞紐。

烏克蘭官員說，損壞很快得到修復，路透社上週的訪問顯示沒有殘餘的長期影響。火車在基輔和南部港口 Odesa 之間穿梭，將乘客運送到首都以南 75 公里（45 英里）處擁有 45,000 人的小鎮Fastiv的車站。

官員們說，這次襲擊是俄羅斯對基礎設施不斷升級的攻擊的一部分，部分目的是癱瘓西方提供的武器的鐵路運輸,及癱瘓支持在東部和南部作戰的烏克蘭部隊的增援。

到目前為止，莫斯科的努力失敗了，使國有的烏克蘭鐵路公司成為該國復原力的主要像徵。

37 歲的前投資銀行家 Oleksandr Kamyshin 說: “我們遇到的最長延誤不到一個小時”; 他鐵路公司的首席執行官，是烏克蘭最大雇主, 負責維持火車的運行。“

“他們沒有打中任何一列軍用火車。”

俄羅斯國防部表示，為鐵路提供電能的烏克蘭設施已成為導彈襲擊的目標，​​因為火車被用來向烏克蘭軍隊運送外國武器。

烏克蘭官員說，鐵路系統受到打擊不僅僅是因為它對軍事物資至關重要。

基礎設施副部長 Yuri Vaskov 在接受採訪時說, 莫斯科的“目標是出於軍事,經濟和社會原因, 盡可能多地摧毀關鍵基礎設施” 。

隨著俄羅斯軍艦封鎖黑海港口、倒塌的橋樑和檢查站阻塞道路，以及卡車運輸的燃料緊縮，烏克蘭 22,000 公里（14,000 英里）的軌道是陷入困境的烏克蘭經濟的主要生命線, 和通往外部世界的通道。

火車已經疏散了數百萬逃往國內或國外更安全地區的平民。

他們已經開始向鄰國運送少量糧食，以規避俄羅斯的海上封鎖。烏克蘭是 2020/21 年度世界第四大穀物出口國，受戰爭影響的出口中斷了全球食物鏈，助長了全球通脹。

在國內，火車正在分發人道主義援助和其他貨物。 Kamyshin 說，他們通過引進工人和生產產品，重新啟動了位於 Kryvyi Rih 的 AcelorMittal 鋼鐵廠。他們運送受傷平民到由無國界醫生組織運作的醫院。

他說，自俄羅斯於 2 月 24 日入侵以來，火車已經分發了超過 14 萬噸食品，到 5 月中旬將為國家郵政服務運送約 100 萬公斤的郵件。

俄羅斯對 1,000 個車站中的一些車站發動襲擊，造成近百名平民死亡，其中數十人在 4 月東部城市 Kramatorsk 車站的襲擊中喪生。

這並沒有阻嚇乘客。

Kamyshin 週六在接受採訪時說，每天的乘客量已達到 200,000 人次，他乘坐火車穿過一座橋樑，該橋在俄羅斯從Irpin郊區向基輔推進失敗後嚴重受損，該橋已被修復。

Kamyshin說，儘管有 122 人遇難，另有 155 人在工作中和在家中受傷，但鐵路的 230,000 名人員也沒有閑留在家中。

莫斯科否認在其所謂的“特別軍事行動”中打擊平民目標，説行動是去解除烏克蘭的武裝並擺脫它聲稱西方煽動的反俄民族主義。烏克蘭和西方說俄羅斯發動了一場無端的侵略戰爭。

路透社無法獨立核實 Kamyshin 和其他烏克蘭官員關於他們在戰時保持鐵路運行的成功的說法。

烏克蘭的 “生命線”

 56 歲的 Irpin 站站長 Helena Muskrivska 說，她在俄羅斯襲擊的首四天工作，幫助疏散了大約 1,000 人，並通過固定電話將當地的事態發展轉播到基輔。當變得太危險時，她將文件和設備帶回家。

Muskrivska 說: “當俄羅斯人進入車站時，我就在這裡。我不想面對面看他們”。

一群現任和前任美國和歐洲鐵路高管於 3 月成立了國際支持烏克蘭鐵路工作組，為鐵路工作人員的防護裝備、急救箱和經濟援助籌集資金。

該組織的主席、前美國聯邦鐵路管理局局長 Jolene Molitoris 說: “烏克蘭到處都有很多籌款活動，但沒有一個資金用於鐵路”; “鐵路是國家的生命線。”

該集團還旨在資助烏克蘭鐵路購買需求的重型機械、鐵路和其他設備。

Kamyshin 說，他正在與俄羅斯的襲擊賽跑，全天候部署工人和調度員團隊來修復軌道和重新安排火車路線。 “修復全部是用小時計，而不是用日數計。”

他說他和高級助手不斷走動，乘坐火車檢查烏克蘭周圍的損壞和維修情況，並補充說：“一旦他們破壊它，我們就會修復它”。

Kamyshin 說，他的首要任務是將糧食出口從烏克蘭南部港口轉向波蘭、羅馬尼亞和波羅的海國家，以幫助振興經濟。 他說，即使俄羅斯在他所謂的不可避免被打敗後，俄羅斯仍將是一個威脅。

他說: “這個瘋狂的鄰居會和我們在一起”; “沒有人知道他們什麼時候會再來。”

       So, Ukraine’s 22,000 km long rail is the main lifeline of the struggling economy and a passage to the outside world. So far, Moscow's effort to cripple it has failed, making the state-owned Ukrainian Railways a leading symbol of the country's resilience. Ukrainian rail workers have done a good job.

數百萬俄羅斯人如何在電子鐵幕上開洞

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

How millions of Russians are tearing holes in the Digital Iron Curtain

Anthony Faiola - The Washington Post

Fri, May 6, 2022, 2:35 AM

RIGA, Latvia - When Russian authorities blocked hundreds of Internet sites in March, Konstantin decided to act. The 52-year-old company manager in Moscow tore a hole in the Digital Iron Curtain, which had been erected to control the narrative of the Ukraine war, with a tool that lets him surf blocked sites and eyeball taboo news.

Konstantin turned to a virtual private network, an encrypted digital tunnel more commonly known as a VPN. Since the war began in February, VPNs have been downloaded in Russia by the hundreds of thousands a day - a massive surge in demand that represents a direct challenge to President Vladimir Putin's attempt to seal Russians off from the wider world. By protecting the locations and identities of users, VPNs are now granting millions of Russians access to blocked material.

Downloading one in his Moscow apartment, Konstantin said, brought back memories of the 1980s in the Soviet Union - when he used a shortwave radio to hear forbidden news of dissident arrests on U.S.-funded Radio Liberty.

"We didn't know what was going on around us, and that's true again now," said Konstantin, who, like other Russian VPN users, spoke on the condition that his last name be withheld for fear of government retribution. "Many people in Russia simply watch TV and eat whatever the government is feeding them. I wanted to find out what was really happening."

Daily downloads in Russia of the 10 most popular VPNs jumped from below 15,000 just before the war to as many as 475,000 in March. As of this week, downloads were continuing at a rate of nearly 300,000 a day, according to data compiled for the Washington Post by the analytics firm Apptopia, which relies on information from apps, publicly available data and an algorithm to come up with estimates.

Russian clients typically download multiple VPNs, but the data suggests millions of new users per month. In early April, Russian telecom operator Yota reported that the number of VPN users was 53.5 times as high as in January, according to the Tass state news service.

The Internet Protection Society, a digital rights group associated with jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, launched its own VPN service on March 20 - and reached its limit of 300,000 users within 10 days, according to executive director Mikhail Klimarev. Based on internal surveys, Klimarev estimates that the number of VPN users in Russia has risen to roughly 30% of the country's 100 million Internet users.

To combat Putin, "Ukraine needs Javelin [missiles] and Russians need Internet," Klimarev said.

By accessing banned Ukrainian and Western news sites, Konstantin said, he has come to deeply sympathize with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a former comedian the Russian press has sought to falsely portray as a "drug addict." He was recently compared to Adolf Hitler by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"I loved him as an actor, but now I know Zelensky is also brave because I've seen him talk on Ukrainian news sites with my VPN," Konstantin said.

Not only does widespread VPN use help millions reach material laying out the true extent of Russian military losses and countering the official portrayal of the war as a fight against fascists, say Russian Internet experts, but it also limits government surveillance of activists.

Russian officials have sought to curtail VPN use. An anti-VPN law in 2017 resulted in the banning of more than a dozen providers for refusing to comply with Russian censorship rules.

In the days before the war, and in the weeks since then, Russian authorities have also ratcheted up pressure on Google, asking the search engine to remove thousands of URLs associated with VPNs, according to the Lumen database, an archive of legal complaints related to Internet content. Google, which did not respond to a request for comment, still includes banned sites in search results.

The Russian government is reluctant to ban VPNs completely. Policing such a ban would pose a technological challenge. In addition, many Russians use VPNs to access non-political entertainment and communication tools - popular distractions from daily hardships.

Last month, when asked by Belarusian TV if he had downloaded a VPN, even Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov conceded: "Yes, I have. Why not?"

Since the war began on Feb. 24, more than 1,000 Internet sites have been restricted by Russian authorities, including Facebook, Instagram, BBC News, Voice of America and Radio Liberty, according to a survey by the technology site Top10VPN. The last independent Russian media outlets were forced to shut down, and those in exile that are offering critical content - like the popular Meduza - have also been banned.

Today, even calling Putin's "special operation" - as he has forcibly dubbed the invasion - a "war" risks a sentence of up to 15 years in jail. Free speech has effectively disappeared; even teachers who question the invasion are being reported to the authorities by their students.

"People want to see banned content, but I think they're also genuinely scared," said Tonia Samsonova, a London-based Russian media entrepreneur. "No matter your attitude toward the government or the war, every Russian knows that if the government knows too much about you, it's potentially dangerous. So a VPN is so useful even if they aren't critical of Putin."

Katerina Abramova, spokeswoman for Meduza, said online traffic at the site declined only briefly after it was banned by Russian authorities in March. That's because, suddenly, traffic began surging from unlikely countries like the Netherlands - suggesting that Russians were utilizing VPNs that made them appear to be abroad.

"VPNs won't start a broad revolution in Russia," Abramova said. "But it's a way people who are against this war can stay connected to the world."

Natalia, an 83-year-old Muscovite and former computer operator, asked her adult daughter to help her download a VPN on her laptop shortly after the war started. She feared that the government would ban YouTube, preventing her from seeing her favorite program - an online talk show on technology news. The Kremlin has yet to block YouTube, though Russian Internet experts say the probability remains high.

As the war progressed, however, Natalia found herself also looking at banned news sites, including Radio Free Europe, to stay informed, even as friends around her bought "totally" into the government line that Ukrainians were Nazis and Russia was facing an existential threat from the West.

"People now just believe lie after lie. I feel so isolated," she said.

She said, for example, that she's been able to read foreign news stories suggesting there were significant Russian casualties in the sinking last month of the Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. But the Russian press has reported only one official death, with 27 soldiers declared "missing."

"Parents are just getting one answer from the Ministry of Defense - that your son is 'missing,' " she said. "Missing? Don't you really mean dead? But they're not saying that. They're not telling the truth."

Although downloading a VPN is technically easy, usually requiring only a few clicks, purchasing a paid VPN has become complicated in Russia, as Western sanctions have rendered Russian credit and debit cards nearly useless outside the country. That has forced many to resort to free VPNs, which can have spotty service and can sell information about users.

Vytautas Kaziukonis, chief executive of Surfshark - a Lithuania-based VPN that saw a 20-fold increase in Russian users in March - said some of those customers are now paying in cryptocurrencies or through people they know in third countries.

In a country used to hardships, Russians are good at creative workarounds. Elena, a 50-year-old Moscow tour operator, said she has managed to tap into her old Facebook account by repeatedly signing up for free trials with a series of different VPN providers to avoid payment.

"We do what we have to do," Elena said.

Translation

拉脫維亞-里加 - 當俄羅斯當局在三月份封鎖了數百個互聯網站時，Konstantin 決定行動起來。這位 52 歲的莫斯科公司經理在電子鐵幕上撕開了一個洞，該鐵幕是為了控制烏克蘭戰爭的敘述而豎立起來的，他使用的工具可以讓他瀏覽被屏蔽的網站和盯著禁忌新聞。

Konstantin 轉向虛擬專用網絡，即通常稱為 VPN 的加密電子隧道。自 2 月戰爭開始以來，俄羅斯的 VPN 下載量每天已達到數十萬 - 需求量激增，這對總統普京試圖將俄羅斯人與更廣闊的世界隔離開來的努力構成直接挑戰。通過保護用戶的位置和身份，VPN 現在允許數百萬俄羅斯人接觸被阻止的材料。

Konstantin說，在他莫斯科的公寓裡進行一個下載，令他想起了 1980 年代在蘇聯的記憶 - 當時他使用短波收音機收聽美國資助的自由電台有關逮捕異議人​​士的受禁消息。

Konstantin說: “我們不知道我們周圍發生了什麼，現在又再發生了”，他和其他俄羅斯 VPN 用戶一樣，發言的條件是隱去他的姓氏, 因為害怕政府報復。 “俄羅斯的許多人只是看電視，接收政府給他們的任何東西。我想知道到底發生了什麼。”

俄羅斯最受歡迎的 10 個 VPN 的每日下載量從戰前的 15,000 次以下躍升至 3 月的 475,000 次。根據分析公司 Apptopia 為《華盛頓郵報》編制的數據，截至本週，下載量繼續以每天近 300,000 次的速度持續增長，該公司依靠來自應用程序的信息、公開可用的數據和一種特定計算程式來得出估計值。

俄羅斯客戶通常會下載多個 VPN，但數據表明每月有數百萬新用戶。據塔斯社報導，4 月初，俄羅斯電信運營商 Yota 報告稱，VPN 用戶數量是 1 月份的 53.5 倍。

與被監禁的俄羅斯反對派領導人 Alexei Navalny 有關聯的電信權利組織的互聯網保護協會 (Internet Protection Society) 的執行董事Mikhail Klimarev 於 3 月 20 日推出了自己的 VPN 服務，並表示在 10 天內達到了 30 萬用戶的極限。根據內部調查，Klimarev 估計俄羅斯的 VPN 用戶數量已上升到該國 1 億互聯網用戶的大約 30%。

為了對抗普京, Klimarev說: “烏克蘭需要Javelin[導彈]，俄羅斯人需要互聯網”。

Konstantin說，通過訪問被禁的烏克蘭和西方新聞網站，他對烏克蘭總統澤連斯基深表同情，俄羅斯媒體試圖將這位前喜劇演員錯誤地描繪成“吸毒者”。俄羅斯外交部長拉夫羅夫 (Sergei Lavrov) 最近將他與希特勒相提並論。

Konstantin說: “我喜歡他作為演員，但現在我知道澤連斯基也很勇敢，因為我用我的 VPN 看到他在烏克蘭新聞網站上講話” 。

俄羅斯互聯網專家表示，VPN 的廣泛使用不僅幫助數百萬人獲得了材料顯,示俄羅斯軍事損失的真實程度, 反駁對官方將戰爭描述為與法西斯鬥爭，而且還限制了政府對社運人士的監視。

俄羅斯官員試圖限制 VPN 的使用。 2017 年的一項反 VPN 法導致十多家供應商因拒絕遵守俄羅斯審查規則而被禁止。

根據 Lumen 數據庫，一個與互聯網內容相關的法律投訴檔案儲藏室, 指出在戰爭之前的日子裡，以及之後的幾周里, 俄羅斯當局同時加大了對谷歌 Google 的壓力，要求搜索引擎刪除與 VPN 相關的數千個 URL。谷歌沒有回應置評請求，在搜索結果中仍然包含被禁止的網站。

俄羅斯政府不願完全禁止 VPN。監管執行這樣的禁令將帶來技術挑戰。此外，許多俄羅斯人使用 VPN 來接進到非政治性娛樂和通訊工具 - 這是日常辛勞中的常見的消遣。

上個月，甚至普京發言人 Dmitry Peskov 當白俄羅斯電視台問他是否下載了 VPN 時，也承認：“是的，我有。為什麼不呢？”

根據技術網站 Top10VPN 的一項調查，自 2 月 24 日戰爭開始以來，包括 Facebook、Instagram、BBC 新聞、美國之音和自由電台在內的 1000 多個互聯網站點已受到俄羅斯當局的限制。最後一家獨立的俄羅斯媒體機構被迫關閉，那些提供關鍵內容的流亡者 - 例如受歡迎的 Meduza - 也被禁止。

今天，即使声稱普京所 謂“特別行動” - 正如他盡力稱這個入侵行動 - 為“戰爭”，也有可能被判處長達 15 年的監禁。言論自由實際上已經消失了；甚至質疑入侵的教師也被學生舉報給當局。

駐倫敦的俄羅斯媒體企業家 Tonia Samsonova 說: “人們希望看到被禁止的內容，但我認為他們也真的很害怕，” “無論你對政府或戰爭的態度如何，每個俄羅斯人都知道，如果政府對你了解太多，就有潛在的危險。因此，即使他們不批評普京，VPN 也非常有用。”

Meduza 的女發言人 Katerina Abramova 表示，該網站的在線流量在 3 月被俄羅斯當局禁止後僅短暫下降。這是因為，突然之間，來自荷蘭等不太可能的國家的流量開始激增 - 這表明俄羅斯人正在使用令他們看起來像是在國外的 VPN。

Abramova 說: “VPN 不會在俄羅斯引發一場廣泛的革命”;  “但這是反對這場戰爭的人們可以與世界保持聯繫的一種方式。”

83 歲的莫斯科人、前計電腦操作員 Natalia 要求她成年的女兒在戰爭開始後不久幫助她在筆記部電腦上下載 VPN。她擔心政府會禁止 YouTube，從而阻止她看到她最喜歡的節目 - 一個關於科技新聞的在線脫口秀節目。克里姆林宮尚未封鎖 YouTube，儘管俄羅斯互聯網專家表示可能性仍然很高。

然而，隨著戰爭的進展，Natalia 發現自己也在看被禁止的新聞網站，包括自由歐洲電台，以保持知情，即使她周圍的朋友“完全”相信政府新聞線路說烏克蘭人是納粹分子，及俄羅斯正面臨來自西方的生存威脅。

她說:“人們現在只相信一個又一個謊言。我感到非常孤立”。

例如，她說，她能夠閱讀外國新聞報導，這些報導表明俄羅斯黑海艦隊的旗艦“莫斯科號”上個月沉沒，造成俄羅斯重大人員傷亡。但俄羅斯媒體只報導了一名官方死亡事件，有 27 名士兵被宣布“失踪”。

“父母們剛剛從國防部得到一個答覆 - 你的兒子‘失踪’，”她說。 “失踪？你的意思不是真的死了嗎？但他們沒有那樣說。他們沒有說實話。”

雖然下載 VPN 在技術上很容易，通常只需要點擊幾下，但在俄羅斯購買付費 VPN 變得很複雜，因為西方的製裁使俄羅斯的信用卡和扣數卡在國外幾乎毫無用處。這迫使許多人求助於免費 VPN，它們的服務參差不齊，並且可以出售有關用戶的信息。

Surfshark 的首席執行官 Vytautas Kaziukonis 是一家立陶宛的 VPN，3 月份俄羅斯用戶增長了 20 倍 - 說其中一些客戶現在使用加密貨幣或通過他們在第三國認識的人付款。

在一個習慣困難的國家，俄羅斯人擅長創造性的變通方法。 50 歲的莫斯科旅遊經營者Elena說，她通過反復與一系列不同的 VPN 提供商註冊免費試用以避免付款，成功地進入了她的舊 Facebook 帳戶。

Elena說: “我們要做必須做的事”。

            So, since Putin’s war in Ukraine began in February, VPNs have been downloaded in Russia by the hundreds of thousands a day - a massive surge in demand that represents a direct challenge to President Putin's attempt to seal Russians off from the wider world. Millions of Russians are tearing holes in the digital iron curtain.