Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk cautioned that Ukraine must not be sacrificed in a great-power deal between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping, comparing such meetings to the Munich and Yalta agreements. Yatsenyuk condemned the White House’s commercial diesel pact with Moscow and the Graham Act waiver, arguing that Middle East instability drives oil inflation rather than Ukrainian refinery strikes.
US President Donald Trump claimed that tariffs had previously ended five wars and suggested applying 200 percent duties to Ukraine and Russia, though he conceded the move would not work because the US does not import enough from either country.
The Khoryv capsized about 13 nautical miles off Romania’s coast, with nine crew members rescued and three still missing. The incident adds to a wave of attacks threatening Black Sea shipping and Ukraine’s export routes.
Oct 23 (Reuters) - The first Russian diesel bound for the US following a surprise agreement reached between Moscow and US President Donald Trump is aboard a tanker heading for New York, ship-tracking data showed on Friday. Trump announced the deal this month as part of his efforts to bring down soaring diesel prices ahead of November 3 US mid-term elections.
Trump also waived parts of a new US sanctions law against Russia and threatened Europe with a US diesel export ban unless countries released more from their emergency reserves to help ease prices. The Malta-flagged medium-sized tanker Agioi Fanendes was loaded with 40,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulphur diesel in Russia's Baltic port of Primorsk on October 22, according to LSEG shipping data.
It is expected to arrive in the United States on November 7. The identity of the buyer and seller were not immediately known. The cargo will be the first imported by the US since former President Joe Biden announced a ban on US imports of Russian oil and petroleum products in 2022. Trump announced on October 9 that Russia would immediately export 300,000 metric tons, or 2.25 million barrels, to the US and global markets, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons "immediately thereafter".
A Kremlin spokesperson on Friday confirmed a first ship under the deal had departed, but did not specify whether it was bound for the US market or elsewhere. "As far as I'm aware, there have already been reports from the Ministry of Energy that the first tanker has, in fact, set sail for its recipients, its buyers.
Further shipments will continue at a steady pace from here on," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on a daily conference call. The deal with the US involved Russia lifting a self-imposed ban on diesel exports. RUSSIA RESUMING GLOBAL EXPORTS Since the EU imposed a full embargo on imports of Russian oil products in February 2023 over the war in Ukraine, Russia has exported diesel mainly to Turkey and Brazil, as well as to African countries.
It also supplies Central Asia by rail. Shipping data from LSEG and Kpler published this week showed Russian diesel cargoes resuming voyages to their traditional destinations after Moscow lifted its own ban, with at least two tankers signalling trips to Turkey and Brazil. It was unclear where other tankers were destined for, with cargoes loaded in Primorsk signalling Gibraltar, the Atlantic Coast or Port-Said, LSEG data showed.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has said additional US shipments would follow as companies from the two countries work out the necessary contracts. Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who also heads Russia's sovereign wealth fund, said last week that the US Treasury had asked the fund to help sort out tricky payment issues relating to the agreement.
Novak has said that Russia would be able to increase its diesel exports to its usual levels of 3-3.5 million tons per month by year-end. (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Jason Neely) This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-tanker-carrying-40-000-062736177.html
The Kremlin says that a first tanker carrying Russian diesel to the United States has set sail under a new import agreement
This autumn, as Russia escalated its total-war-style strike campaign against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and economy, and relations between Kyiv and Washington hit an all-time low, the daily battles along Ukraine’s vast battlefield have faded into the background of the information space.Despite the reduced attention in
Lorries waiting at the border to export agricultural produce into the bloc have become a target for Moscow’s attacks
US president says Starshield military communications system is back, but declines to comment on whether he spoke to Musk on the matter. What we know on day 1,703Donald Trump has claimed that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk fully restored Ukraine’s Starlink access, restrictions on which have hampered Ukraine’s attack missions and air defence.
However, a senior European official told the Associated Press on Thursday that nothing has changed in the operation of the military-grade Starshield service. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had called Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of the system.
Trump on Thursday appeared to confirm that the service had been down, but claimed it was once again working at optimal speeds. “You know, whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn’t make any difference,” he said. “I guess the bottom line, he put it back.”Questions over who ordered interruptions to Starshield – which plunged relations between Kyiv and Washington to a new low – have ignited a blame game within the Trump administration and its allies.
Trump has denied being involved in the decision concerning the slowdown, while US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said that decisions regarding Ukraine’s access to Starlink were up to its parent company SpaceX and Musk, not the White House. Musk last week posted to X: “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government.
Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday – before Trump’s latest comments – that Starlink had not been fully restored.Russia pounded Kyiv with ballistic missiles overnight, after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin to discuss the resumption of peace talks.
Russia’s aerial attacks hit 12 regions of Ukraine, killing at least four people and wounding scores of others, including five children, Zelenskyy said on social media Thursday. Two women, aged 50 and 60, were killed and dozens of other people were wounded in a Russian strike on a market in Lozova, in Ukraine’s northeeastern Kharkiv region, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the regional military administration.
Another person was killed in other strikes on Kharkiv.Downing Street has rejected the description of Putin as a “humanitarian” made by Witkoff after meeting the Russian president. When asked about the US envoy’s comments, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “We certainly do not recognise that characterisation, and President Putin has killed thousands of people, both innocent Ukrainians and his own Russian people, who he has sent to their deaths on the frontline.”
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha chided Witkoff for flattering Putin, saying on social media the latest “brutal” Russian attacks demonstrate “what Russian ‘humanism’ truly sounds like.”Nato member Denmark said on Thursday it has agreed to buy its first long-range precision missiles as it seeks to bolster its security to deter Russian aggression in Europe, drawing condemnation from Moscow.
Defence minister Jeppe Bruus said the new missile systems would boost Denmark’s capabilities and enable strikes “behind enemy lines” if attacked. “We’re in a serious and deteriorating security situation and that is why we are building up the defence and strengthening our combat power,” he said.
The Russian embassy in Copenhagen said Denmark’s missile policy aimed at confrontation with Moscow and warned of “inevitable disastrous consequences”.Romania will accelerate development of surveillance capabilities and equipment to counter mines and drones in the Black Sea after a series of drone attacks on commercial ships off its coast, its top defence council said on Thursday.
At least seven cargo ships have been hit near the coasts of Nato members Romania and Bulgaria in the past two weeks, with 30 sailors reported dead or missing.No deals should be made to buy gas from Russia as long as Moscow’s war in Ukraine continues, Finland’s prime minister Petteri Orpo said in Kyiv on Thursday.
The EU banned Russian pipeline gas under short-term contracts from 17 June, and will apply it to long-term contracts from 1 November next year. Senior Russian political and energy officials meanwhile have urged the EU to reconsider plans to ban imports of Russian LNG, arguing the bloc’s low storage levels had put Europe in a precarious position.
“I hope there is still time to reconsider these decisions,” Leonid Mikhelson, the head of Novatek, Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas producer, told an economic forum in Istanbul on Thursday. “Europe should support its industry, in my view. There is still time.” Continue reading...
Ukraine promised to sell surplus weapons abroad 12 months ago. Its arms makers now ask why a fee of up to 30% still blocks the deals.
A federal judge on Thursday ordered President Trump to sit for a deposition by Dec. 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over an edit of one of his speeches that the president's lawyers say was misleading.Why it matters: The order will likely force Trump to answer questions under oath in a legal battle he started.Driving the news: Judge Enjoliqué Lett ordered Trump to appear by Dec.
11, after lawyers for the BBC argued that Trump is improperly delaying his appearance. In a filing published Wednesday, Trump's counsel said the president could appear between January 11 and January 22, 2027, and argued that his presidential duties prevent him from sitting for the deposition before then.They also allege the BBC is "wrong to claim that President Trump is avoiding his deposition in this action."The president was originally scheduled to appear for the deposition on Oct.
16. However, his lawyers said, that appearance was canceled because Trump had to attend to "matters that have significantly impacted the United States' national security and economy," including the wars in Iran and Ukraine and the White House Accord on Super Intelligence.The other side: BBC attorneys say the president was campaigning in Georgia on Oct.
16, as reflected in a White House press pool report that includes his travel plans. The BBC argues the president chose political activity over appearing for the original deposition date.According to Trump's daily schedule, he attended an intelligence briefing and had executive time before departing for a rally in Georgia and then attended an RNC event in Palm Beach, Florida, that evening.The White House referred Axios to Trump's personal counsel.
Trump's attorneys didn't immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. The BBC's attorneys told Axios they "have nothing to add."Catch up quick: The defamation suit stems from a documentary the BBC aired that spliced together clips from Trump's speech on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the riots at the U.S.
Capitol.The president claimed the edit was defamatory and demanded the BBC make amends by providing financial compensation, in addition to an apology and a retraction. The BBC later said in a correction note that the clips "unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action."Two top leaders at BBC later resigned over the backlash.Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Ukraine is heading into 2027 with a rising fiscal gap. Growth forecasts have been cut, inflation is rising, and the need for external financing seems to just keep going up. The economy is being squeezed by a labor market drained by mobilization and emigration, energy infrastructure has been decimated, and