Ukraine

Nayara Energy, a Russian-backed refiner in India, condemned Monday the European Union sanctions against it and said that it was exploring its legal options to combat the latest "restrictive" measures. The EU approved Friday its 18th package against Russia for its war in Ukraine. This includes sanctions on Nayara Energy - a refinery owned by Rosneft, the Russian oil giant. In a press release, it stated that "Nayara Energy condemns strongly the European Union’s unjustified and unilateral decision to impose restrictions on our company." Rosneft owns 49.13% of Nayara, and a similar amount is held by Kesani Enterprises Co Ltd.,...

Rosneft - Russia's largest oil producer - slammed Sunday the European Union's sanctions against India's Nayara Energy Refinery, calling them unjustified, illegal and a direct threat to India's energy independence. The 18th package against Russia for the conflict in Ukraine was approved by the European Union on Friday. It is designed to deal further blows to Russia’s oil and energy industries. Nayara Eenrgy is one of the companies targeted. The Nayara Energy Refinery is an important strategic asset for India's energy industry. It provides a steady supply of petroleum products on the domestic market. "The imposition of sanctions on the...

The Ukrainian military reported that Ukrainian forces attacked and destroyed an oil depot located in the southern Rostov region of Russia, which was used to supply Russian troops in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces announced that the military’s special operations units in conjunction with rocket and artillery forces had struck the Atlas plant in Rostov Region, not far away from Ukraine’s eastern border. In a Telegram statement, the General Staff confirmed that "our forces have struck in the area where the target is located." "A fire was observed." "The results of the...

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said that more pressure should be applied to Russia in order to secure a ceasefire. She urged G7 nations intensify sanctions to achieve this goal. The leaders of the largest industrial countries are meeting in Canada’s Rockies, along with European nations. They want to keep the conflict in Ukraine on the minds of U.S. president Donald Trump, despite the fighting between Israel and Iran taking place in the Middle East. The European Union has decided to adopt new sanctions against Russia. However, they have not been able to convince Trump, who...

Keith Kellogg - the envoy of U.S. president Donald Trump - scolded on Wednesday, a Russian official, for inciting fears of a third world war after Trump warned that President Vladimir Putin "played with fire" regarding Ukraine. Trump warned that Russia would have suffered "REALLY BAD things" if not for Trump's post on Truth Social. What Vladimir Putin does not realize is that without me, a lot of bad things, and I do mean BAD, would have happened in Russia. Trump stated in a Truth Social posting on Tuesday that "He's playing with flames." Former president Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Trump's...

RIA News Agency reported that Alexander Novak, the Russian prime minister, said on Monday morning that the OPEC+ grouping of major oil producers had not yet discussed raising output by another 411,000 barley per day before its meeting. On May 28, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia will host an online ministerial conference. Novak told RIA that he expected the two to discuss the current market conditions, forecasts, and "adjustments". Eight OPEC+ nations will meet separately, who had committed to voluntary extra cuts in oil production. Three OPEC+ source told us earlier...

Andriy Sibiha, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, said that Ukraine wanted the Group of Seven Advanced Economies to lower its price limit on Russian oil shipped by sea to $30 per barrel. The G7's current price cap is $60 per barrel. This was imposed because of Russia's conflict in Ukraine. Sybiha, a journalist from Brussels, told reporters that the reasonable price cap for oil is 30 dollars. The European Union (EU) and Britain (UK) announced new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday. They said that the sanctions would target the "shadow fleet" in Moscow of oil tankers, financial firms and other companies...

Valdis Dombrovskis, European Economic Commission Commissioner, said that the EU will propose this week to the G7 Finance Ministers a reduction of the current $60 per barrel cap on Russian oil seaborne as part the new sanctions against Moscow. Dombrovskis didn't mention the level at which the European Union wants the price cap to be lowered. However, EU officials who were briefed about the discussions stated that the EU would suggest $50 per barrel. When asked by reporters if the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Canada next week would include a proposal to lower this cap, he replied: "Yes." The...

Donald Trump said that he would be meeting with the presidents from Russia and Ukraine to discuss stopping the "bloodbath" in Ukraine. What are the obstacles that the U.S. President faces when he is trying to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia and Ukraine? SECURITY GUARANTEE Ukraine, which has been subjected to a full scale invasion in 2022, and witnessed Russia annex Crimea, needs security guarantees from major powers, primarily the United States. Sources involved in the talks say that the problem is that a security agreement without teeth could leave Ukraine vulnerable. Diplomats talked about a "robust" security guarantee,...

The main British indexes rose along with global markets on Monday after the United States agreed to temporarily lower tariffs. This eased investor concerns over the trade war between two of the world's largest economies. By 1021 GMT the blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.35% while the domestically focused Midcap Index advanced 1%. After talks in Geneva, both countries announced that the U.S. would reduce its extra tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30% and Chinese duties will drop to 10%. The new measures will be in effect for 90 days. The Geneva meetings marked the first face...

In an interview broadcast Sunday, Russia's Foreign Minister said that Russia would continue to target military sites in Ukraine, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported 70 Russian attacks. Sergei Lavrov is the top diplomat in Moscow. He said that a deadly Russian phrase. Missile strike The attack on a Kyiv residential building last week did not target an "absolutely civil" target. Lavrov told CBS' "Face the Nation", in an interview taped Thursday, after the attack: "We will continue targeting the sites used either by the Ukrainian military or by mercenaries and instructors from other countries who are officially being sent...

Officials said that a Russian drone attacked warehouses belonging to Ukraine's state-owned gas producer in Poltava, a central region, during a ceasefire on energy strikes. The company also said it had suffered damage. Washington announced on Tuesday that Kyiv, Moscow and other countries had agreed to cease striking each other's power plants. However, both sides accuse each other of violating the U.S.-brokered agreement and seem to interpret it differently. Poltava’s governor stated that drones had hit storage sites belonging to a division of Naftogaz, a company which produces gas in Ukraine. The region is a major hub of Ukrainian production,...

The Russian-installed management of the Russia-held nuclear power plant in Ukraine confirmed on Monday that Ukrainian drones had attacked a training center at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Sunday evening. The administration posted on Telegram that "the enemy used three unmanned aircraft vehicles." The administration added that there were "no serious" damages. Could not independently verify the Russian claim. The report was released a day after IAEA (the United Nations nuclear watchdog) reported that hundreds of rounds were fired at the plant late Saturday night. In the first few weeks of Russia's 2022 February, Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia Plant....

The head of the UN nuclear safety watchdog stated on Tuesday that the idled Zaporizhzhia plant, which is occupied by Russia, was not in a position to restart at this time due to the lack of cooling water and a stable electricity supply. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said that water would need to be pumped out of the Dnipro River to restart the plant. It hasn't generated electricity for almost three years. In March 2022, Russia occupied the facility in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Region, Europe's biggest nuclear plant. This was shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion against its neighbor. The...

The Finnish customs authority announced on Thursday that it was investigating a possible breach of Russian sanctions involving documents relating to the construction and operation of a nuclear plant. The Economic Crime Investigation Unit of Finnish Customs released a statement that the preliminary investigation focused on an important number of archived documents which were allegedly taken from a warehouse in Kymenlaakso to Russia. According to preliminary investigations, certain data are classified as materials subject to sanctions against Russia. Finnish Customs refused to comment on the matter further but stated that the managing director for a construction firm involved in the...

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Tuesday that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant was a Russian facility, and it was impossible to transfer control of this plant to Ukraine or other countries. The ministry said that it was also not permissible to operate the plant jointly, as it would make it impossible to ensure the safety of the station in terms of both physical and nuclear security. The report said that the Zaporizhzhia Region, which is partly controlled by Russian troops, was one out of four regions in Ukraine to be annexed into Russia as a result of referendums held seven...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that he will speak with Vladimir Putin of Russia on Tuesday to discuss ending the Ukraine conflict. The question of who controls the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is likely to play a major role in the discussions. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of drone attacks and military activity around Zaporizhzhia - Europe's biggest nuclear plant - and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned about the dangers of a catastrophe there for years. The plant is located 500 kilometers (300 miles), away from the site where the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster, which...

The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that future discussions between Russia and the United States will include discussions on Iran’s nuclear program, a topic it claimed had been "touched on" during an initial round U.S. - Russia talks last month. Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Russia had agreed to help the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump communicate with Iran about various issues including Tehran's nuclear program and its support for anti-U.S. regional proxies. Although the Kremlin did not confirm this, it has stated that Iran will now be one of many topics that Washington and Moscow will discuss in greater detail....

Rafael Grossi, the U.N. chief nuclear watchdog, defended his decision on Monday to send staff across Russian territory in order to relieve their colleagues at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine as an "extraordinary" exception. Since September 2022 - roughly six months after Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine - the International Atomic Energy Agency has had a small presence there. Since then, the IAEA has replaced or rotated its staff 26 times. Ukraine's Energy Minister sent Grossi a note saying that the latest rotation which, for the first time, passed through Russian territory was "in violation" of Ukraine's...

Rosatom, a Russian company, announced that a new U.N. nuclear monitoring mission arrived at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeast Ukraine on Saturday, following weeks of delays caused by military activities around the site. Rosatom, Russia's state-owned nuclear power company, was quoted by Russian media as saying that the team of the International Atomic Energy Agency reached the station for the first time solely through Russian territory. The agencies cited a Rosatom press release as saying "The rotation of IAEA observer has taken place." The 27th IAEA team is composed of three inspectors. Each side blamed the other...

As Washington and Kyiv negotiate to open Ukraine's natural resources to U.S. investments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says that the two countries need to discuss what will happen to the mineral deposits located in the areas captured by Russia. Talks on a mineral deal are underway. On Wednesday, Kyiv was presented with a new symphony. Donald Trump kick-start negotiations Ending Russia's almost three-year war in Ukraine Zelenskiy asked in an interview on NBC broadcast Sunday if minerals from areas occupied by Russia will be given to the Russian President Vladimir Putin His partners North Korea Zelenskiy told NBC's Meet the...

By Yurii Kovalenko CHORNOBYL (Ukraine), 14 February - A Russian drone attacked the confinement structures around the decommissioned Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant intended to prevent nuclear substances from being released, a senior official in the nuclear industry said on Friday. The International Atomic Energy Agency and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had reported earlier that radiation levels at the plant remained normal. Oleksandr Titarchuk told reporters that the barrier meant to stop the spread of radioactive materials no longer works as intended. We will do all we can to minimize the effects that you are seeing now. Tytarchuk stated that the...

Russia said that Kyiv's "provocation" to blackmail the West was an attempt by Kyiv, based on the claim made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the Russian drone struck the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Zelenskiy stated on Friday that the Russian drone caused significant damage to a radiation containment shelter in the plant. However, radiation levels were normal following the incident. This occurred as senior U.S. and European officials met at the Munich Security Conference for a discussion of the war in Ukraine. Maria Zakharova a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Zelenskiy that he orchestrated the alleged drone...

The Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, where Ukraine accuses Russia of hitting a radiation-containment structure on Friday is a defunct plant in Ukraine that was the site in April 1986 of the worst civil nuclear disaster in the history of mankind. Here are some facts and figures about the plant. The Soviet engineers who were operating the plant at the time of the explosion on April 26, 1986 made a human error. According to a United Nations' report, facility operators had violated safety regulations by turning off critical control systems in the Ukrainian plant’s reactor number 4. This allowed...