Ukraine

U.S. Energy Sec. Chris Wright said that the United States would be willing to take over the running of Ukrainian power plants if it was necessary to bring about a ceasefire in the war-torn nation. According to a U.S. statement, U.S. president Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the U.S. might be able to help Ukraine run its nuclear power plants and even own them. Zelenskiy stated that Ukraine has started talks with the U.S. regarding its possible involvement in the restoration of Europe's biggest nuclear power plant in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Region, which has been closed since Russian...

The U.S. Treasury confirmed on Thursday that the license for a winding down of energy transactions between Russian financial institutions and American companies expired this week as planned under strict sanctions imposed during Joe Biden's final days in office. A Treasury spokesperson confirmed that General License 8L expires at 12:01 am EDT on the morning of Wednesday. The Biden administration issued the license on 10 January to clear any remaining transactions, as it had banned energy financing deals between Russian banks including Sberbank and VTB, along with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The Biden administration imposed the most...

After meeting her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Moldovan President Maia Sandu announced that the French Development Agency and Moldova signed a deal worth 30 million euros ($32.5million) on Monday. The agreement aims to improve energy efficiency in the post-Soviet country. Sandu said at a joint press conference that the agreement with Agence Francaise de Developpement would help "reduce energy wastage, lower costs and increase our energy independence". The pro-European Moldovan government accused Russia of creating a fake energy crisis in order to destabilize the country before parliamentary elections. This came after Russian gas producer Gazprom halted exports of its product...

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Shell is looking at the possibility of selling its chemical assets in Europe and America as part of a broader effort to focus the company on its most lucrative operations. Top executives from some of the largest U.S. Consulting firms meet with officials of the Trump Administration to defend their consulting agreements ahead of the deadline next week for government agencies justifying major consulting contracts. In a post on social media, U.S. president Donald Trump revealed the...

The Russian rouble, and its stocks, surged Thursday following a phone conversation between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. In the call the two leaders discussed how to end the Ukraine War. According to data on the over-the counter market, at 0745 GMT the rouble had risen 3% against the dollar and was trading at 90.90, its highest level since September 2024. During the trading session, the rouble briefly reached the highest level since September 11 at 89.90. The rouble has gained 20% against the dollar since the beginning of the year. The Moscow Exchange index (MOEX),...

The regional governor of Saratov, Russia, said that a Ukrainian drone attacked an "industrial facility" within the region. In a Telegram post, Roman Busargin (the governor of Saratov) said that preliminary information indicated there were no casualties. The Shot news telegram telegram channel was one of several unofficial Russian Telegram channels that reported fires and explosions near an oil refinery located in Saratov in Russia's South. Social media posts and videos showed thick smoke clouds in the night sky. We could not independently confirm the reports. Ukraine has not yet responded. Kyiv has said many times that its air strikes...

The governor of Krasnodar said that a drone attack from Ukraine overnight caused a fire to break out at an oil storage depot in the southern Russian region. 55 firefighters were battling the blaze. In recent days, a series of drone strikes by Ukraine against Russia's energy infrastructure has sparked fires at a major refinery in Volgograd and at the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant. Veniamin Kodratyev said, "The fire is contained and there are no injuries," on Telegram, as a team of 19 firefighters tried to extinguish flames. Kondratyev didn't specify which depot was burning or the extent of damage....

The oil prices fell on Wednesday, as market concerns about a Sino-U.S. new trade war and rising U.S. stockpiles offset President Donald Trump’s renewed push to end Iranian crude exports. Brent crude futures fell 39 cents or 0.51% to $75.81 per barrel at 0427 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a crude oil produced in the United States, lost 26 cents or 0.36% to $72.44. Oil traded across a range on Tuesday, with WTI dropping at one point to its lowest level since December 31, after China announced tariffs against U.S. imports for oil, natural gas liquefied and coal as...

The Moldovan opposition leader, Alexandr Stoianoglo who lost the presidential vote held in November, announced on Friday that he would lead a coalition consisting of three parties against the pro-Western majority ruling at the parliament elections this year. Last year, the former prosecutor general was closer than anyone expected to unseating pro Western President Maia Sandu. She lost in a runoff after campaigning on a balanced foreign policies that looked to Russia and West. He was backed by a pro-Moscow party. The election is expected to be a close one and could result in Sandu's pro Western PAS party losing...

The leader of Moldova's. separatist Transdniestria area, gripped by power and heating. cuts, said on Friday that gas reserves would be exhausted within. days and prompted the central federal government to end synthetic delays. and offer new products. However Moldova's prime minister said the option could be. solved only if Russian gas manufacturer Gazprom resumed. shipments to Moldova, or if the pro-Russian separatist region. agreed to pay for gas secured on European markets. Transdniestria, which split from Moldova as the Soviet Union. was collapsing, had actually long gotten Russian gas passing through. Ukraine, however authorities in Kyiv, secured a nearly...

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday stated he will demand Saudi Arabia and OPEC lower the expense of oil and will ask Riyadh to increase a scheduled U.S. investment bundle to $1 trillion from an initial reported $600. billion. His remarks come one day after Trump and Saudi Arabian Crown. Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed what the White House called. the kingdom's global financial ambitions along with. trade concerns. Previously on Thursday, the Saudi State news agency stated. the kingdom wants to put $600 billion into expanded investment. and trade with the U.S. over the next 4 years. But I'll...

President Vladimir Putin has grown progressively worried about distortions in Russia's. wartime economy, simply as Donald Trump pushes for an end to the. Ukraine conflict, five sources with knowledge of the circumstance. told Reuters. Russia's economy, driven by exports of oil, gas and. minerals, grew robustly over the previous two years in spite of numerous. rounds of Western sanctions enforced after its invasion of. Ukraine in 2022. However domestic activity has actually ended up being strained in recent months. by labour lacks and high interest rates introduced to tackle. inflation, which has accelerated under record military costs. That has actually...

Donald Trump, President of the United States, said that the United States would sign a mineral and natural resource deal with Ukraine soon and that his efforts in achieving a peace agreement for the country are going "pretty good" following his discussions this week with Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Trump made these comments during a White House reception after signing an executive order to increase U.S. mineral production. "We are doing well in regard to Ukraine and Russia." We are signing a rare earths deal with Ukraine very soon. Trump spoke of his recent discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin...

Donald Trump, President of the United States, said that the United States would sign a mineral and natural resource deal with Ukraine soon and that he was "pretty happy" with his efforts to reach a peace agreement for the country after his discussions this week with Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Trump made these comments during a White House reception after signing an executive order to increase U.S. mineral production. He said: "We are also signing agreements at various locations around the world to unlock rare minerals, earths and other resources." "But Ukraine in particular, we are doing well when it...

Ferrexpo, a miner with a focus on Ukraine, announced a loss of $2 million due to an impairment charge. It also said that it had sent a formal warning to Ukraine regarding its efforts to nationalise Poltava Mining and Processing Plant, the company's biggest mine. Shares of the company fell as much as 14.8 percent. Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine War in February 2022, they have dropped by 67%. The company reported a loss of $50 million for 2024, due to an impairment charge of $72 million caused by a decrease in the carrying value and cash flow. Ferrexpo...

Kirill Dmitriev (CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, RDIF) said that the Russian sovereign wealth fund was interested in developing rare earth deposits within the country, and wanted to partner with U.S. firms. Dmitriev was a member of the Russian negotiating team in talks with U.S. officials at Saudi Arabia's Economic Cooperation Conference in February. He focused on economic matters. Dmitriev, a Russian reporter, said that "Russian reserves of rare-earth metals are several times greater than the amount found in Ukraine." In recent months, the U.S. president Donald Trump has been focusing on rare earths and critical metals that...

Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said that Russian air defences had repelled a drone attack flying towards Moscow. No injuries were reported in either the capital, or an earlier attack against an oil complex located in one region in southern Russia. Sobyanin, on his Telegram official channel, said that emergency services were working on the site of the debris fall. Sobyanin didn't mention Ukraine. But Kyiv has launched an ongoing series of drone attacks against Russia, since President Vladimir Putin dispatched tens-of-thousands of troops to Ukraine over three years ago. Most of these attacks have targeted energy and other...

The Ukrainian Steel Producers' Union reported on Saturday that despite the loss in eastern Ukraine of its key coking coal mining facility in Pokrovsk, the steel sector still maintained growth in 2025's first two months. Metinvest, the Ukrainian steelmaker, has suspended operations in Ukraine's sole coking coal mine. The company cited a deteriorating situation due to Russian advances. Data showed that the raw steel production rose 9.9% between January and February 2025, to 1,18 million metric tonnes. Since the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022 leading steel mills have been destroyed. Ukraine, once a major exporter and producer of steel,...

A study released on Thursday showed that Germany has enough lithium reserves for its own needs over several decades. Berlin is trying to increase its production of electric vehicles and reduce its dependence on imports. According to the German Raw Materials Agency, Germany's lithium consumption could reach up to 0.17 millions metric tons annually by 2030. The German automotive industry imports lithium from Australia, Argentina Chile and China in order to meet its battery production requirements. Researchers and companies are exploring ways to extract the lithium byproduct from geothermal energy in Germany's Upper Rhine Valley, to increase domestic supply as...

U.S. president Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was grateful for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's willingness sign a mineral deal with the United States, and to come to the table with him to negotiate a lasting peace in Kyiv’s war against Russia. In an address to Congress, Trump claimed that Zelenskiy had made the statement in a previous day's letter. Zelenskiy had posted earlier on X that Ukraine was prepared to sign the agreement and talk peace. He also called a controversial Oval Office Meeting last week, which was then put on hold, "regrettable." Four people who were familiar with...

After reports that the next likely government in Germany was considering a major fiscal overhaul for Europe's largest economy, Europe's defense stocks surged on Monday. Shares of defence contractors such as Thyssenkrupp Hensoldt Renk Rheinmetall BAE Systems, Leonardo, and Hensoldt rose by double-digits percentages after news broke that the conservatives, who won the elections, and the Social Democrats, centre-left, were considering debt-financed infrastructure and defence funds worth under one trillion euros. No party has confirmed officially that a special defence fund worth 400 billion euro ($417 billion), and infrastructure funds worth up to 500 billion euro, which would total 20%...

A small team of eco-consultants dropped sensors into the ground to measure the water level in the snow-covered fields of central Ukraine. This is where the largest lithium deposits in the country are found. The small Ukrainian mining company UkrLithiumMining that has the license contracted the environmental survey years before any mining operations on the undeveloped site. This shows how much more work needs to be done for a mineral deal between Ukraine, the United States and other countries before it generates any significant revenue. The President Donald Trump views the minerals deal, which he will clinch with President Volodymyr...

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy will meet today with the U.S. president Donald Trump to sign an important minerals deal to ensure continued U.S. support in the war against Russia. It started out as a rare-earths deal, but someone soon realized that Ukraine actually doesn't have much of these 17 esoteric elements. The draft text of the proposed Reconstruction Investment Fund simply refers to "deposits" of hydrocarbons, minerals, oil, and gas. Mortgages of Ukrainian security for its mineral wealth come with a long overdue payback. The clue lies in the word "deposits". Finding deposits of minerals is easy. Mining them...

CRH projected core profit growth between 6% and 12% by 2025, after the largest building material producer in Europe and the United States posted 12% growth in 2024 due to strong non-residential and infrastructure activity. The Irish-based U.S. listed firm stated that it does not expect any slowdown in these two segments in North America where it earns about 75% its profit. Similar trends are evident in Europe, as well as some signs of residential improvement. CRH has benefited from an increase in capital expenditure in the U.S. that is still affecting projects. Jim Mintern, the new CEO of CRH,...