Page 20 - Russia

Massive power outages in Moldova after Russian strikes in Ukraine

Moldova reported massive power outages across the country on Tuesday after Russian military strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure downed a key power line that supplies the small nation, an official said. Following Russia's bombardment against the Ukrainian energy system in the last hour, one of the power lines that ensures the transport of electricity for our country has been disconnected, Infrastructure Minister Andrei Spinu said in a statement. This has led to massive power outages across the country. Spinu noted that the downed power lines were not damaged, but were automatically disconnected as a safety measure and added that the supplier, Moldelectrica, is working to restore power. Moldovan citizens would be updated on the matter, he said. Moldova isn't a member of the European Union.

ONGC Videsh set to retake its 20% stake in Russia's Sakhalin-1 oil fields

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has submitted an application to Russian authorities to retake a 20 per cent stake in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas fields in the far east region of the country, the company said. Russian President Vladimir Putin last month disbanded Exxon Neftegaz - a regional subsidiary of US super major ExxonMobil - as operator of the Sakhalin-1 and transferred the project and all of its assets and equipment to a new operator. The other former foreign shareholders in the project - Japan's Sodeco consortium and ONGC Videsh - have to apply to the Russian government to regain their shareholdings in the project. "ONGC Videsh Board in its meeting held on October 18, 2022, has approved submission of its consent to claim the company's right in Sakhalin-1," ONGC said in its notes to a stock exchange filing on July-September quarter earnings. It "expects retention of its interest in the project and is not expecting any .

9 Russian banks open vostro accounts for trade in Rupee after RBI approval

As many as nine special vostro accounts have been opened with two Indian banks after permission from the Reserve Bank of India to facilitate overseas trade in rupee, a top government official said on Tuesday. Sberbank and VTB Bank -- the largest and second-largest banks of Russia, respectively -- are the first foreign lenders to receive the approval after the RBI announced the guidelines on overseas trade in the rupee in July. Another Russian bank Gazprom - which does not have its bank in India - has also opened this account with Kolkata-based Uco Bank. "Nine accounts have been opened. One in Uco Bank, one in Sber, one in VTB and 6 with IndusInd Bank. These six are different Russian banks," Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters here. The move to open the special vostro account clears the deck for settlement of payments in rupee for trade between India and Russia, enabling cross-border trade in the Indian currency, which the RBI is keen to promote. The RBI has allowed th

G-20: Biden to press world leaders to hold tough on Russia over Ukraine war

President Joe Biden was set to try to cajole the world's largest economies to further isolate Russia diplomatically and economically over its invasion of Ukraine despite a souring global outlook that has tested other nations' resolve. In meetings Tuesday at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia, the U.S. leader is to continue a global tour pressing nations to stand up to Russia and defend Ukraine's sovereignty in both symbolic and substantive ways. The effort comes as global inflation and slowing economies have put new pressures on countries that imposed penalties on Russia for the nine-month war that has sent food and energy prices soaring. In opening the summit, Indonesian President Joko Widodo impressed on the gathering what's at stake. If the war does not end, it will be difficult for the world to move forward, Widodo said. We should not divide the world into parts. We must not allow the world to fall into another cold war. A senior U.S. administration official, speaking on the

India abstains on UNGA resolution calling for Russian reparation to Ukraine

India abstained in the UN General Assembly on a draft resolution calling for Russia to be held accountable for violations of international law by its invasion of Ukraine and requiring Moscow to pay reparations to Kyiv for damages, loss and injury resulting from the war. The draft resolution, 'Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine', introduced by Ukraine was adopted Monday in the 193-member UN General Assembly by a recorded vote of 94 in favour, 14 against and 73 abstentions, including by India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Those voting against the resolution were Belarus, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Russia and Syria. India, in its explanation of vote after the draft was adopted, questioned whether a reparation process would contribute towards efforts at resolving the conflict and cautioned against precedents being set through such resolutions. "We need to objectively consider ...

UNGA approves resolution calling for Russian reparations to Ukraine

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution Monday calling for Russia to be held accountable for violating international law by invading Ukraine including by paying reparations. The vote in the 193-member world body was 94-14 with 73 abstentions. It was the lowest level of support of the five Ukraine-related resolutions adopted by the General Assembly since Russia's February 24 invasion of its smaller neighbour. The resolution recognizes the need to establish an international mechanism for reparation for damage, loss or injury' arising from Russia's wrongful acts against Ukraine. It recommends that the assembly's member nations, in cooperation with Ukraine, create an international register to document claims and information on damage, loss or injury to Ukrainians and the government caused by Russia. Russia's veto power in the 15-member Security Council has blocked the U.N.'s most powerful body from taking any action since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion. But there a

All eyes on Russia as G20 leaders gather in Bali to discuss global crises

PM Modi to emphasis India's priorities as country takes over G20's annual presidency at the end of the meet

Russian forces committed more than 400 war crimes in Kherson: Zelensky

"The atrocities the Russian army has left behind in Kherson Oblast (region) are the same as (atrocities committed) in other parts of our country that it was able to occupy."

Ukraine war: Post Kherson success, Kyiv vows to keep pushing out Russia

Ukraine's president vowed to keep pushing Russian forces out of his country after they withdrew from Kherson, leaving behind devastation, hunger and booby traps in the southern Ukrainian city. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. Kherson residents hugged and kissed the arriving Ukrainian troops in rapturous scenes. We will see many more such greetings of Ukrainian soldiers liberating Russian-held territory, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address Saturday. He pledged to the people in Ukrainian cities and villages that are still under occupation, We don't forget anyone; we won't leave anyone. Ukraine's retaking of Kherson was a significant setback for the Kremlin and the latest in a series of battlefield embarrassments. It came some six weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed the Kherson region and three other provinces in southern and eastern Ukra

Turkey working on 'peace corridor' between Ukraine, Russia: Erdogan

"The West, especially the US, is attacking Russia almost without limits. Against all this, of course, Russia is putting up resistance," the semi-official Anadolu Agency quoted Erdogan as saying

LIVE: PM Narendra Modi conducts road show in Andhra Pradesh's Vizag

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UN, Russia hold talks on extending wartime grain deal to ease food crisis

Top Russian and U.N. officials held talks in Switzerland on Friday to try to iron out the extension of a deal allowing Ukrainian grain shipments and Russian food and fertiliser exports, with just over a week left before the wartime agreement meant to ease a global food crisis is set to expire. U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan, who has been in charge of the Russian side of the agreement, were meeting in Geneva with a Russian team led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin. This discussion, it is hoped, should advance progress made in facilitating the unimpeded export of food and fertilisers originating from the Russian Federation to the global markets, U.N. Geneva spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci told reporters. The deal is critical because Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food, especially to parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia where many people are already going hungry and food ...

India sends more vacuum gasoil to US as the West shuns Russian oil

India, the world's third-largest oil importer, has been ramping up Russian crude imports and increasing oil product exports to the West for higher margins.

UN, Russians to discuss extension of Ukraine export deal in Geneva

Senior U.N. and Russian officials planned to meet in Geneva on Friday for talks on extending the deal that returned Ukrainian grain to world markets and was supposed to eliminate obstacles for Russian exports of grain and fertilizer. The agreement expires Nov. 19, and Ukraine and Western nations are pressing for it to be extended. However, Russia's government has said it is undecided, expressing dissatisfaction with how the deal has worked for its side. U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan, who has been in charge of the Russian side of the agreement, were to meet with a Russian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin, the U.N. said Thursday. Separate agreements brokered by the United Nations and Turkey and signed by Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on July 22 were a rare example of tacit cooperation between the warring nations in the face of an escalating global food crisis following Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of its smaller .

Indian students who left Ukraine can continue education in Russia: Diplomat

Thousands of Indian medical students were left stranded with their future hanging on the cliff when Russia attacked Ukraine at the end of February 2022 and several were evacuated from Ukraine to India

Russia withdrawing troops, Ukrainian official fears 'city of death'

Russia said it began withdrawing troops from a strategic Ukrainian city Thursday, providing a potential turning point in the grinding war, while a Ukrainian official warned that Russian land mines could render Kherson a city of death. Kyiv acknowledged Moscow's forces had no choice but to flee Kherson but remained cautious, fearing an ambush. With Ukrainian officials tight-lipped with their assessments, reporters not present and spotty communications, it was difficult to know what was happening in the port city, where the residents who remained after tens of thousands fled were afraid to leave their homes. A forced pullout from Kherson - the only provincial capital Moscow had captured after invading Ukraine- would mark one of Russia's worst setbacks of the war. Recapturing the city could provide Ukraine a launching pad for supplies and troops to try to win back other lost territory in the south, including Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014. Ukrainian forces seem to be scoring more

Russian military claims pullout from occupied city; Ukraine sceptical

Russia's military said Wednesday it will withdraw from the only Ukrainian regional capital it captured, but Kyiv was sceptical and an analyst warned this could be a ruse to lure the country's forces into a deadly trap. A forced pullout from the city of Kherson would mark one of Russia's worst setbacks in the 8-month-old war. Ukrainian authorities cautioned against considering the announced plan to retreat from Kherson, a gateway to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, and nearby areas as a done deal. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the Russians were feigning a pullout from Kherson to lure the Ukrainian army into an entrenched battle in the strategic industrial port city. If confirmed, the withdrawal from Kherson in a region of the same name that Moscow illegally annexed in September would pile on another setback to Russia's early failed attempt to capture the capital, Kyiv, and the chaotic and hasty retreat from the administrative region around Ukraine's ...

Iranian, Russian security officials discuss Ukraine crisis, bilateral ties

Shamkhani noted that Iran welcomes and supports any initiative that leads to a ceasefire and peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and is ready to play a role in ending the conflicts

India, Russia vow to expand economic cooperation, including energy sector

India and Russia on Tuesday vowed to expand their economic engagement including New Delhi's import of petroleum products from its "time-tested" partner even as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasized on ending the Ukraine conflict in view of growing global concerns over energy and food security. After holding wide-ranging talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in Moscow, Jaishankar said India would be supportive of any initiative that "de-risks" the global economy and stabilises the global order at this stage. In his opening remarks at the meeting with Lavrov, Jaishankar described Indo-Russia relations as "exceptionally steady" and "time-tested" and said the objective is to fashion a contemporary, balanced, mutually beneficial, sustainable and long-term engagement between the two sides. It was Jaishankar's first visit to Moscow after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February and his talks with the Russian ...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy open to talks with Russia on Ukraine's terms

Ukraine's president has suggested he's open to peace talks with Russia, softening his earlier refusal to negotiate with Moscow while President Vladimir Putin is in power while sticking to Kyiv's demands. Volodymyr Zelenskyy's appeal to the international community late Monday to force Russia into real peace talks reflected a change in rhetoric for a man who signed a decree in late September stating the impossibility of holding talks with Putin. But since his preconditions appear to be non-starters for Moscow, it's hard to see how Zelenskyy's latest comments would advance any talks. Zelenskyy reiterated that his conditions for dialogue were the return of all of Ukraine's occupied lands, compensation for damage caused by the war and the prosecution of war crimes. Western weapons and aid have been key to Ukraine's ability to fight off Russia's invasion, which some initially expected would tear through the country with relative ease. But U.S. midterm elections Tuesday will define the ..