by Mingming Shi
1) The Government of Greenland (Naalakkersuisut) has stated that it supported and would be joining the sanctions of the European Union against Russia in order to demonstrate regional solidarity with Ukraine.
2) Several Nordic and Arctic governmental and non-governmental institutions, including via the Arctic Council, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Arctic Economic Council have released announcements that they were suspending cooperation with Russia.
3) Amongst the many European and international firms which are withdrawing from the Russian market to protest the war in Ukraine, Swedish furniture firm Ikea confirmed that it would suspend its activities in Russia as well as in Belarus, which has been supporting Moscow in the Ukraine conflict. Ikea joined other Swedish companies, including Ericsson, H&M and Volvo, in pulling out of Russia over the past week.
4) As reported by CNN, Lukoil, the second-largest oil company whose business covers a number of countries around the world, has called for the ‘soonest’ termination of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Like numerous other Russian companies, the energy firm has been encountering boycotts from consumers abroad.
5) Iceland, according to RÚV, has also joined the international sanctions against Russia, ranging from preparations to receive refugees from Ukraine, to removing some Russian products from store shelves, along with some other moves, (e.g. closing its airspace to Russia). According to Finance Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, however, these actions will come with a price for the domestic economy of Iceland, especially in the fisheries and related sectors.
6) The Reykjavík Grapevine picked up a story from the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (Vegagerðin) about a pair of swans which were rescued by the employees at the service centre of the organisation in Vík, a town in South Iceland. The birds, who were covered in sand, were recovered and later cleaned and fed before they restarted their adventure.
Over the Circle 