East European Countries

Former Ukrainian detainees as well as Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of torturing civilian and military?detainees. They also said that they held them incommunicado, subjected them to electric shocks, and sexually abused thousands of people. Russia has rejected the allegations that were made during an informal U.N. Security Council Meeting. Its Deputy U.N. representative Maria Zabolotskaya called it "a campaign of disinformation" and claimed that Russian prisoners held in Ukraine had been subjected "to torture and degradation, and moral and physically abuse." Khuan Levya-Garsiya is still an active member in the Ukrainian military. He claims that his Russian captors tortured...

Prosecutors announced a 25-year sentence for three former managers of Polish refiner Orlen, and one of its subsidiaries. They were indicted over crude oil contracts that resulted in losses of almost $400 million. Polish prosecutors are investigating the $378 million in prepayments that Orlen made for Venezuelan crude oil and other goods but never received. The defendants are accused of failing to supervise and protect the assets of Orlen Trading Switzerland and Orlen Trading Switzerland by entering into contracts for the purchase crude oil that were detrimental to both companies, prosecutors claim. The defendants, identified by Polish privacy laws as...

Orlen, Poland's largest energy group, posted an adjusted core profit for the second quarter that exceeded analyst expectations on Friday. The company's downstream business was boosted by higher refining margins and petrochemicals. The company's core profits adjusted for?changes of value in its oil inventories, and impairments or?EBITDA LIFO was 13.9 billion Zlotys ($3.7billion) in the third quarter. This is?above what analysts expected in a company compiled consensus. The company reported that refining margins increased as the Middle East conflict drove prices of?refined fuels like jet fuel and diesel up faster than crude oil costs. Orlen's retail business was partially offset...

Sinochem sold a 14% share in Pirelli to Czech billionaire Michal Strnad on Thursday. The Chinese state-owned group has significantly reduced its investment in the Italian tyremaker. Sinochem said it sold shares as part of its 34.1% overall shareholding in a block trade deal, reducing its stake to 20,1%. This made Pirelli the second largest shareholder. Strnad’s investment company Lumina Crown issued a statement saying it had acquired a 14% stake in Pirelli, making it the third largest shareholder. It said that the investment was a “long-term” one. Strnad, the largest shareholder in the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), is a defence...

Regional governors reported on Saturday that waves of Ukrainian drone attacks killed seven people who were working at a warehouse in the capital region. They also caused a fire to break out at an oil depot. Evgeniy Pryshov, the governor of Tambov, said that 25 people were injured when Ukrainian drones?slammed? into a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s?largest?online retailer?, in the town of?Kotovsk, located 475 kilometres (290 miles) south of Moscow. Pervyshov posted on Telegram that "Seven people working the nightshift?died right there on the spot." 28 UAVs were destroyed on approach. If they had succeeded in their mission, the...

Regional governors reported on Saturday that waves of Ukrainian drone attacks killed seven warehouse workers and injured dozens more. Another attack caused a fire to break out at an oil depot within the capital region. Evgeniy Pryshov, the governor of Tambov, said that 25 people were hurt after Ukrainian drones crashed?into the warehouse of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer?in Kotovsk, located 475 km (295 miles) south of Moscow. Pervyshov, a Telegram user, wrote: "Seven night workers died right there on the spot." He added that 28 drones had been?also fired upon as they approached. He said that if they had...

Seven & i shares rose 3% on Friday in Tokyo after the Japanese retailer announced that it is in talks to buy a stake from Polish convenience store operator Zabka Group. Nikkei reports that the '7-Eleven owner may consider acquiring Zabka share held by funds. The investment is likely to be several hundred billion dollars (several billion yen). The deal would expand Seven & i’s reach beyond its strongholds of Japan and North America to Eastern Europe. This is part of the retailer’s efforts to grow under the leadership Stephen Dacus. Naoshi Matsumoto is an analyst with Yamawa Securities. He...

Aleksandar Vucic, the president of Ukraine, said that Serbia would send Ukraine more humanitarian assistance but had not signed a regional agreement calling for more pressure to be put on Russia and for continued security aid for Ukraine. Vucic had earlier met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and taken part in the regional Southeastern Europe - Ukraine summit. It was the first time in more than a decade that a Serbian president visited the Ukrainian capital. Vucic had also participated in the regional Southeastern Europe-Ukraine summit last year. Belgrade has had a long history of close relations with Moscow. It has refused...

Traders and fuel market participants reported that the fuel?shortages?in Russia caused by?Ukrainian drone attacks on its refineries?have reached Central Asian nations, who are dependent on Russian supplies. Sources claim that the amount of jet fuel shipped by rail by Central Asia and Afghanistan dropped 92% from May to 3,800 metric tons in June, while gasoline supplies fell 34% to 99 300 tonnes. According to traders, diesel exports grew?in June from 167.500 tons in May to 237.700 tons. Despite the larger drop in June, Russian fuel imports to Central Asia & Afghanistan rose by 7% from a year earlier to 3,82...

The local RFE/RL branch reported that Tajikistan has 60 days worth of fuel reserves. It is also in discussions with nearby countries to secure future supplies. This comes amid acute fuel shortages in Russia, a major trading partner. Radio Ozodi quoted the minister Daler Juma as saying "The export of some types?of petroleum products is still continuing from Russia to Tajikistan." At the same time, some difficulties continue. The broadcaster quoted the minister as saying that Tajikistan worked with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran to ensure it had the fuel it needed. Tajikistan is a small country with a population of...

Kyrgyzstan said it was awaiting fuel deliveries from China and Belarus to help deal with the 'knock-on effect' of a fuel shortage in its main supplier Russia. According to local media, Deputy Premier Daniyar Amangeldiev said that Kyrgyzstan has signed contracts with Belarus and China for 3 metric tons jet fuel and 10 metric tons diesel. Last week, Kyrgyzstan - which gets more than 90% its fuel from Russia - appealed for help to ensure stable fuel supplies. It asked Kazakhstan, Belarus and Azerbaijan as well as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Fuel?shortages are affecting Russia following an attack by Ukrainian drones...

Sberbank's finance chief said on Wednesday that the bank will lower its corporate lending growth forecast for 2026 due to the deteriorating financial position of its borrowers. Taras Skovortsov, CFO of Bank of Russia, told the Bank of Russia Financial Congress in St Petersburg that the country's largest lender had performed better than expected, but that the economy was slowing due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the growth forecast for 2026 is only 0.4%. Skvortsov stated that "it is true?that we performed slightly better than anticipated in the first half. This is primarily due to interest income and...

Nuclearelectrica, the state-owned Romanian 'nuclear energy producer', has begun the process of 'disconnecting their sole working reactor from power grid due to the record low Danube River levels. It was forced to close one reactor due to the drought in the river by late July. Two 706 megawatt reactors are located in Cernavoda, on the Danube. They account for one fifth of the power output in the country. Romania declared an energy emergency in August, and asked companies and households to reduce their consumption during evening peak hours. It said that the energy ministry had 'turned on a 330 megawatt...

In a video posted on Facebook, Peter Magyar, the Prime Minister of Hungary said that the government would carry out engineering works?on the Danube River to raise water levels and ensure cooling for Paks Nuclear Plant. In recent weeks, the Danube fell to record lows amid a heatwave and a drought that lasted across Europe. The plant is now only operating at around 25% of capacity with only two out of eight turbines still running. The summer droughts have caused havoc on the European power industry, shipping and health care systems. Romania's neighbor, for instance, may shut down its final...

Nuclearelectrica, the state-owned producer of?nuclear energy?in Romania, could close its last reactor working on August 13, as the levels on the Danube continue to drop, the company said on Tuesday. This is despite attempts to divert cooling waters to the plant. Nuclearelectrica was forced to shut down a reactor due to the record-low river levels in late July. Two reactors are located in Cernavoda, on the Danube. They account for about a fifth of the power produced by the country. Romania has taken unprecedented steps to keep its only working reactor operating. These include detonating an obstruction of rocks out...

The Danube River in Romania dropped to its 'lowest level since 1996 at the weekend. This led to a'restriction on irrigation for farmers and a partial disruption of shipping and tourism along the river banks. The 'Climate Monitor' shows that the waterways of Europe are being affected by the prolonged heatwaves this year. The Romanian state agency for water management said that the level of the second-longest European river at the Romanian entry point was 1,700 cubic metres of water per second, compared to a range of 4,700 cubic metres per second in July. The footage shows long stretches of...

Karel Havlicek, Minister of Industry in the Czech Republic, said on Tuesday that they plan to extend both units' lifespans by 20 years. This will take them up to 2080 and 2082. In order to meet the expected increase in electricity demand, Czech Republic's main state-owned energy company CEZ is looking to use more nuclear power over the next few decades. Officials said earlier this year that the life expectancy of the four units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic could be extended by 20 to 2065-2067. Havlicek added that it was the correct move to...

The central bank is expected to hold interest rates through 2027, as they weigh domestic political instability, currency weaknesses and geopolitical risk. Data from the National Statistics Board revealed on Monday that consumer prices dropped to 10.42% in June from 10.85% in may, and were below analyst expectations of 10.55%. Prices increased 0.06% from the previous month. Central bank officials expect inflation to drop sharply during the third quarter, once the effects of the higher electricity and tax increases implemented last year in order to reduce the biggest?budget gap in the European Union have faded. Political uncertainty following the collapse...

Norsk Hydro announced 'on Wednesday that its Slovalco aluminum joint venture had reached an agreement with Slovak Government?to partly restart production after?a four-year shut down,?and 'the deal included a new long term power supply contract. Hydro stated that the pact will pave the way for a restart of smelting capacities of 75,000 tons per annum. Production is expected to resume by the fourth quarter of 2026. The remaining 100,000 tonnes of capacity would depend on the conditions after 2030 and any additional power contracts. The resumption of primary aluminium production in Ziar nad Hronom, central Slovakia, would be a huge...

Slovenske Elektrarne, the Slovak utility, has begun fuel loading on the fourth 'unit' of the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant, nearing the?start of production after almost four decades of construction. The fourth unit, a 471 megawatt unit, will be the last unit to go online at the second nuclear power plant in the country after the grid connection of its third unit is completed in 2023. When the project was restarted last in 2008, it was originally planned that the fourth unit would be completed in 2013. The start-up of the nuclear power plant in Slovakia will mean that it has...

?U.S. ICF International, a global consulting firm, said that the rapid expansion of the electric grid could add another grid to the size of America's largest regional power system in 2030. ICF, a Reston-based Virginia company, forecasts that the U.S. will add 445 gigawatts of capacity by 2030. Grid expansion is accelerating at an alarming rate as data centers, heat pumps and electric vehicles compete for power plants and transmission line access. It is equivalent to 191 GW on a peak demand basis, as intermittent wind and solar energy cannot be dispatched?on-demand. This is approximately equivalent to the PJM Interconnection...

Poland plans to choose a partner and confirm the location of its second nuclear plant by 2027, said its deputy energy minister on Friday. He was presenting an updated plan for nuclear capacity in Poland. As Poland moves away from its coal-based power fleet, the program predicts that it will eventually have 6-9 gigawatts in nuclear?power plant?capacity. Construction of the first plant will begin in 2020. The plant is expected to start supplying electricity in 2036. Wojciech Wrochna said at a press conference that "this schedule is achievable". Poland has chosen Westinghouse Electric, a U.S. company, to build its first...

The Kremlin announced that Russia and Uzbekistan began building a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan. It is the first one of its kind in post-Soviet Central Asia. This will help meet the growing demand for energy in the region. The Kremlin announced late Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin, Uzbek president Shavkat Miziyoyev and other officials had met in St Petersburg to discuss the annual economic forum of Putin. The project is situated in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh Region (central-eastern region), which borders Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. The design of the plant combines two types?nuclear?reactors: two large units that can produce 1,000 megawatts...

In an article published a week before his visit to Kazakhstan, Vladimir Putin said that Russia had given the Central Asian country four Amur tigers. Two of these cubs were also handed over to help the country restore the number of the animals. Kazakhstan is rich in minerals and energy, and shares a border and ally with Russia. Putin announced on Tuesday that the four animals caught in Russia's Khabarovsk region, located in the far east, were flown to Kazakhstan and will be released soon into the wild. Putin is not a stranger to using animals as a diplomatic tool....