Page 61 - Russia Ukraine Conflict

India is new major player in Russian oil market once dominated by China

Six vessels hauling Russian crude known as ESPO were headed to refiners in the South Asian nation in August, according to traders and shipbrokers

Russia's halt on gas supplies tightens energy screws on Europe

European governments fear Moscow could extend the outage in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed after it invaded Ukraine and have accused Russia of using energy supplies as a "weapon of war"

EU complicates travel rules for Russians, but baulks at visa ban

The EU was too divided to agree at this stage on a blanket ban, and also left unclear what measures Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland could take to restrict access to Russian visitors

Inflation hits 9.1% in countries using euro currency as fuel prices soar

Inflation in the European countries using the euro currency hit another record in August, fuelled by soaring energy prices mainly driven by Russia's war in Ukraine. Annual inflation in the eurozone's 19 countries rose to 9.1% in August, up from 8.9% in July, according to the latest figures released Wednesday by the European Union statistics agency. Inflation is at the highest levels since record-keeping for the euro began in 1997. Energy prices surged 38.3%, while food prices rose 10.6%. Prices for goods were up 5% and the cost of services rose 3.8%.

France ready for Gazprom's 'pretext' to switch off gas, says minister

Russia's Gazprom announced that from Thursday it would fully suspend gas deliveries to Engie, a French utility, citing a dispute over payments

UN monitors head to Ukraine nuclear plant amid concerns over radiation leak

A team of international nuclear inspectors was heading Wednesday to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant caught in the middle of the fighting in southern Ukraine amid international concern of a potential accident or radiation leak. Rafael Grossi, the head of the the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he hoped to establish a permanent mission in Ukraine to monitor Europe's largest nuclear plant. These operations are very complex operations. We are going to a war zone. We are going to occupied territory. And this requires explicit guarantees from not only from the Russians, but also from the Republic of Ukraine, Grossi said in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv before the monitoring the mission's departure. We have been able to secure that. ... So now we are moving. The power plant has been occupied by Russian forces and operated by Ukrainian workers since the early days of the 6-month-old war. The site was recently temporarily cut off from the electrical grid because of fire damag

Volunteer sniper embodies Ukraine's versatile military amid unending crisis

Before taking a shot, Ukrainian sniper Andriy buries his face in a foldout mat, breathing slowly and deliberately. I need to be completely relaxed, to find a place where I will not move the rifle when I pull the trigger, he says. I don't think about anything. It's a kind of vacuum. In a semicircle around his head are boxes of bullets, printouts of charts, a heavy-duty stapler and a roll of tape. Strapped to his wrist is a monitor, which is the shape of a jewellery box. It's a ballistics calculator to factor in the wind and other surrounding conditions. Bees persistently circling his head and scope are ignored. After a long pause, he says the word shot in Ukrainian. Crack! A sound not unlike a starting gun used at sporting events produces a reflexive jolt in people unaccustomed to war. Six months ago, the noise might have startled Andriy, who had moved to Western Europe to pursue a career in engineering. Andriy comes from Bucha, a district near Kyiv's airport that was hammered d

French PM calls on companies to prepare energy plan amid energy crisis

Pannier-Runacher said that France was ahead of its goals, and that the gas reserves would be 100 per cent filled by Nov. 1

How the Indian military can be weaned off its dependence on Russian weapons

Shifting toward buying more Western weapons systems and lessening its dependence on Russia, for instance, would bolster India's autonomy

Renewed shelling at Ukrainian nuclear plant as UN body prepares visit

Photos were also published on Telegram by Vladimir Rogov, the Moscow-appointed military governor of the Zaporizhzhya region

New Russian offensive strikes Ukraine, nuclear power plant still in focus

Several projectiles also hit the nearby city of Enerhodar, with Russia and Ukraine blaming each other for the artillery fire

Russia, Ukraine trade claims of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant attacks

Russia and Ukraine traded claims of rocket and artillery strikes at or near Europe's largest nuclear power plant on Sunday, intensifying fears that the fighting could cause a massive radiation leak. Russian forces took control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant soon after the war began and hold adjacent territory along the left bank of the wide Dnieper River. Ukraine controls the right bank, including the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets, each about 10 km (six miles) from the facility. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Sunday that Ukrainian forces had attacked the plant twice over the past day, and that shells fell near buildings storing reactor fuel and radioactive waste. "One projectile fell in the area of the sixth power unit, and the other five in front of the sixth unit pumping station, which provides cooling for this reactor, Konashenkov said, adding that radiation levels were normal. In another apparent attack Sunday, Russian forces shot down an ar

Global military expense rise may hit trade

Even before Russia attacked Ukraine in February this year, the major powers had started increasing their military spending

Ukraine on edge as Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, region's towns shelled

Moscow reports more shelling near Russia-held plant; no new information from Ukraine nuclear operator * IAEA awaits clearance to visit Zaporizhzhia plant

Ukraine conflict increases food insecurity among developing nations

United Nations recently voiced concern over the global repercussions of the Ukraine conflict, saying that it has increased the risk of food insecurity among developing countries.

Ending Russia's Ukraine invasion critical for food crisis, fuel prices: US

US Deputy Secretary of Treasury Wally Adeyemo discussed with Indian policymakers ways to jointly deal with global challenges like food insecurity and high energy prices, asserting that ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine was critical to address these issues. Adeyemo held meetings on Friday with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Principal Secretary to the prime minister PK Mishra, Finance Secretary Ajay Seth, Foreign Secretary Vijay Kwatra and Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain. The US official's visit to India from August 24 to 26 came amid rising disquiet among Western powers over New Deli's increasing procurement of crude oil from Russia. A readout by the US Department of Treasury said Adeyemo shared with his counterparts the United States' views on ways to "put downward pressure" on energy prices for consumers and businesses in India, the US, and globally. It said he also underscored the importance of further deepening the already strong US-India relationship, including through

UK PM Boris Johnson slams Russia's 'cultural vandalism' in Ukraine

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has condemned Russia's "cultural vandalism" in Ukraine, saying invading forces are trying to erase Ukrainian culture in areas they have taken over

Ukraine train system attacks by Russia may be war crimes, say experts

Russia's attack on a Ukrainian train station that killed more than 20 people this week is the latest in a series of strikes on the country's railway system that some international legal scholars say may be war crimes. While Russia claimed that it had targeted the train because it was carrying Ukrainian troops and equipment on Wednesday, an Associated Press reporter on the ground said there was no visible indication that Ukrainian troops were among the dead, who included children. If civilians were the target, experts said Thursday, the attack could be considered a war crime. A train station is generally a civilian object and should not be a target of attack, said Jennifer Trahan, a clinical professor at New York University's Centre for Global Affairs. Wednesday's attack in Chaplyne, a small village in southeastern Ukraine, was one of the deadliest in months on the country's extensive railway system. In the nearly six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the AP and the PBS series ..

Russia blocks final document at nuclear treaty conference with UN

Russia late Friday blocked agreement on the final document of a four-week review of the UN treaty considered the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament which criticized its military takeover of Europe's largest nuclear plant soon after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, an act that has raised fears of a nuclear accident. Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department, told the delayed final meeting of the conference reviewing the 50-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that "unfortunately there is no consensus on this document." He insisted that many countries not just Russia didn't agree with "a whole host of issues" in the 36-page last draft. The document needed approval by all 191 countries that are parties to the treaty aimed at curbing the spread of nuclear weapons and ultimately achieving a world without them. Argentine Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen, president of the conference, said the final draft represented

Nuke plant could be on brink of disaster: Zelenksyy as reactors shut down

Zelenskyy has warned of a potential disaster at the besieged Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, after a power outage forced an emergency shutdown of two of the plant's reactors