Ukraine

On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on Russia's largest oil companies and accused Russia of not being committed to ending the conflict in Ukraine. This was as Moscow carried out a large-scale nuclear weapons training exercise. New sanctions were announced one day after the collapse of plans for a meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Trump told reporters that he cancelled the summit because "it just didn't feel right." The U.S. Treasury Department stated that Russia's largest oil companies Rosneft, and Lukoil were targeted to hinder Moscow's ability fund its war machine. This was...

The Kazakhstani economy minister announced on Wednesday that a price freeze would be in effect until "at least next spring". He said that this was due to the rising fuel prices in Russia - Kazakhstan's main trading partner and neighbour. Serik Jumangarin said to reporters in Astana: "What is important now for us is to wait. At least until next Spring." We must wait until the neighbouring countries stabilise." He said: "The situation has to do with the events that are unfolding because of the conflict between Russia, Ukraine and other countries. The petroleum prices in this country have been...

U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on Wednesday that the Trump administration expected Japan to stop importing Russian oil. Bessent, who spoke on X after the meeting on Wednesday, said: "Minister Kato & I discussed important issues pertaining the U.S. - Japan economic relationship as well as the Administration's expectations that Japan cease importing Russian Energy." Bessent met with Kato on the sidelines this week of the G7, G20 and annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund. When asked if Japan had been urged to stop buying Russian energy from Bessent, Kato replied that Japan...

In Washington, Ukraine's Prime Minister said that she would focus on Russian attacks against her country's power grid during talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later this week. "At each meeting in Washington, we raise the subject of defending Ukrainian Energy and supporting our resilience during the winter as well as ways to defend this," Prime Minister Yulia svyrydenko posted on Telegram. She said that the priority of her visit was "energy, sanctions, and new ways of cooperating with the USA to strengthen both of our countries". Zelenskiy met with Donald Trump, the U.S. president on Friday, to discuss Ukraine’s air...

The European Commission will make a proposal Accelerating the phase-out Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Union's executive branch, said Tuesday that she was concerned about Russian fossil imports after speaking with U.S. president Barack Obama. Donald Trump Von der Leyen stated that she spoke with Trump about a joint effort to increase economic pressure against Russia by taking additional measures. The U.S., and the European Union, import Russian energy and commodities worth billions of Euros, from liquefied gas to enriched Uranium. Von der Leyen posted a message on the social media platform X saying that "the Commission...

Andriy Hanotov, the chief of the general staff of Ukraine, was quoted on Sunday as saying that Ukraine could intentionally reduce the quality mobile communications when Russian drones attack to prevent the networks from being used to coordinate attacks. In the last few months, Russia, three and a half year into the conflict, has intensified drone attacks against Ukraine, improving its technology and increasing drone deployments to maximize damage to strategic targets. Hnatov said to Ukrainian online video channel Novyny Live that the issue is not one of a disruption in mobile communications but a limitation on communication quality, such...

Radiy Khabirov, the regional governor of Bashkortostan in Russia, said that a company producing oil will continue to produce despite an attack by drone on Saturday. Ukraine intensified its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure to weaken Moscow's military capability, while peace negotiations are still stuck. The attack caused a fire to break out at an oil refinery operated by Bashneft. Rosneft is Russia's biggest oil producer. Bashneft operates four major oil and petrochemical refineries in the area. Khabirov didn't specify the facility that was targeted. Both drones that were downed fell onto the property of the company. In the first...

Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, said that Slovakia will not support any more European Union sanctions towards Russia until it receives EU proposals aligning climate targets to carmakers' and heavy industries' needs. Fico demanded also that measures be taken to reduce electricity prices across the EU. The EU is currently debating the 19th package in its sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. EU diplomats said that a new package would likely include additional listings of Chinese companies and Russian banks, as well as vessels from Moscow's "shadow fleet" which evades sanctions. They also predicted a ban...

Donald Trump, U.S. president, said Sunday that he was ready to move into a second phase in sanctioning Russia. This is the closest he's come to implying he might be about to ramp up sanctions against Moscow and its oil purchasers over the war with Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly warned Moscow of further sanctions, but he withheld them while pursuing peace talks. Trump did not commit to a decision, nor did he specify what the second phase would entail. When asked by a White House reporter if he was ready to move on to the "second phase" of sanctions, Trump...

Aleksandar Vucic, the president of Serbia, said that Serbia is hoping for a better cooperation with Russia. Vucic, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, took part in the regional security summit held in Beijing. The Chinese hope to use this event as a counterweight to Western influence on global affairs. Vucic stated that "cooperation with Russia at the highest levels is very important for Serbia. This is especially true in the areas of energy and Russian supplies of gas," at the beginning of the meeting with Putin. Serbia is aspiring to be a member of the European Union. However, Russia,...

Ukraine's Prime Minister said that at least 14 people were injured in a Russian attack overnight on the northern Ukrainian region of Sumy. This included a family with 3 children. The strike occurred at a moment when President Donald Trump was making intense efforts to end the Russian war in Ukraine. Local prosecutors reported on Telegram that Russia had launched 15 drones early Wednesday morning in an attack on the Okhtyrka region. Yulia Shvyrydenko, the Prime Minister, wrote on X that the children who were injured in the attack in a residential area of the town were aged 5, 4...

Bartering is returning to Russia for the first since the chaos in the 1990s. Settlement problems caused by the conflict in Ukraine forced one Chinese company, at least, to exchange engines for steel and aluminum alloys. The economic and political chaos that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, was a result of spiraling inflation and chronic funding shortages. This forced businesses across the country to accept payment in kind. The barter system, however, caused even more economic chaos as a vast network of contingent deals was set up to buy everything from flour and sugar to electricity...

Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said that Russian missiles fired at night ignited fires in several districts and scattered debris, shattering glass and damaging cars. Klitschko, who posted on Telegram, said that emergency services were dispatched at several sites to clean up the debris left by the air weapons, but there had been no reports of casualties. Witnesses heard what sounded as if air defence units were in operation. It was not immediately known the size of the attack and the primary target. Klitschko claimed that the attack was carried out using ballistic missiles. Russia has not yet commented....

Officials said that a new Russian attack in the border region of Chernihiv, Ukraine, on Monday knocked power out to large areas of the northern part of the country. This included the main town near the decommissioned Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station. Chernihivoblenergo (the local power company) in the area said that the latest attack targeted an energy site but refused to identify it. Yuri Fomichev said that a part of Slavutych in Kyiv Region, located 45 km (28miles) west of Chernobyl, had lost electricity in the incident. The water supply system of the town was switched to reserve power, and...

On Tuesday, a Russian official announced that the restoration of external power to Zaporizhzhia's nuclear power plant in Russia will begin this week. The station has been operating on diesel generators since it was shut down for three weeks. In the first few weeks of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia Plant. Both sides have accused each other of military actions that led to the collapse of the external line on July 23, 2022. Mikhail Ulyanov is Russia's permanent representative at international organizations in Vienna. He told Russian state news agency RIA that "active...

Ukraine's Foreign Minister accused Russia of intentionally severing an external power line that connected the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, which is owned by Russia, to Moscow's grid. Andrii Sybiha, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, said that Moscow is testing a reconnection with Russia's grid. Ukraine has long been concerned that Moscow might try to redirect output from the plant to its grid. Russian officials, however, have denied that they intend to restart the power plant which was seized by Moscow forces during the first weeks of their February 2022 invasion. Despite the fact that it is currently without electricity, this plant has...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said that Russia deliberately waited until bad weather conditions existed before launching a massive attack on Ukraine's power system. He added that the bad weather conditions had reduced the effectiveness of Ukraine's air defences between 20 and 30 percent. Zelenskiy, a reporter in Kiev, said that the main assault took place in four areas. I believe the weather conditions have affected our ability to repel by about 20-30%. Overnight, Russian drones and rockets attacked Ukrainian energy facilities, plunging Kyiv in darkness, cutting off power and water for homes, and stopping a metro line across the...

The U.N. nuclear watchdog announced on Thursday that the process of restoring external power had begun at the Russian-owned Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeast Ukraine. This plant has been cut off from electricity for over two weeks. Rafael Grossi said that the process began after consulting with the authorities of Ukraine and Russia who are blaming each other for the destruction of external lines. In the first few weeks of the Kremlin invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces captured the largest nuclear plant in Europe with six reactors. Although the plant does not produce electricity, both sides...

The U.N. nuclear watchdog's head said that he is discussing with Russia and Ukraine proposals to restore power off-site to the Russian Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and to reduce the risk of meltdown. In the first weeks after Moscow invaded Ukraine, Russian forces seized Europe's biggest nuclear plant with six reactors. Since September 23, the facility has not been able to access external power. This is the 10th time that the line has failed. The plant does not produce electricity but the fuel in its nuclear reactors are cooled using emergency diesel generators. Rafael Grossi said that the external line...

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated on Tuesday that the situation at Zaporizhzhia's nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russia, had reached a critical stage. Russian shelling prevented the restoration of the power necessary to cool down the reactors and avoid a meltdown. Zelenskiy said in his video nightly address that one of the diesel-powered generators providing emergency electricity no longer worked seven days after external electrical lines were down. "This is the seventh. Never before has there been an emergency at the Zaporizhzhia Plant. Situation is critical. Zelenskiy stated that the Russian shelling had cut off the plant...

Rafael Grossi, chief of the U.N. Atomic Watchdog, said that Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been without power offsite for six days. Since the beginning of the conflict, the plant in southeast Ukraine was under Russian control. Both sides have accused each other of shelling the facility and compromising nuclear safety. Grossi, the director general of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), wrote on X about his meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sbiha and their exchange of views regarding the plant. He also said that the IAEA is working to restore power. UKRAINE WANT TEMPORARY IAEA STEP-IN FOR PLANT Oleh...

Belarus has proposed to build a nuclear plant in the eastern part of the country, which could provide electricity to parts of Ukraine controlled by Russia. President Alexander Lukashenko announced this on Friday. Lukashenko brought up the idea with Russian President Vladimir Putin during Kremlin discussions in Moscow. Lukashenko used the same language as Moscow to describe the territory of Ukraine that was captured by Russia. The offer highlighted the close relationship between Putin and Lukashenko even though U.S. president Donald Trump pursues an incentive-based strategy to encourage the Belarusian leaders to release political prisoners and improve relationships with the...

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced in a Thursday statement that a drone had been downed overnight and detonated around 800 metres (875 yards). This was about 875 meters from the South Ukraine nuclear plant of Ukraine. The IAEA stated that there were no reports of injuries. In a statement released by Rafael Grossi as Director General of the agency, the agency said that its team at the site, which monitors the plant, was informed 22 drones had been observed in the monitoring zone. This occurred late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. Some drones flew as close as 500...

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported on Tuesday that its team, based at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the southeast Ukraine, heard shelling near the plant and saw black smoke rising out of three locations nearby. IAEA released a statement saying that the team of the U.N. nuclear watchdog had been informed that several artillery shells were fired in an area 400 meters (437 yards), away from its offsite diesel fuel storage facility. The incident, which did not result in any injuries or damage to equipment, once again highlighted the dangers that nuclear security and safety face. IAEA...