UKRAINE UPDATES | Russia says it wants to keep diplomatic ties with West despite expulsions

April 06 2022 - 14:50

Oil rises as new Russia sanctions outweigh demand worries

Oil futures rose on Wednesday as the threat of new sanctions on Russia raised supply concerns, countering fears of weaker demand following a build in U.S. crude stockpiles and Shanghai's extended lockdown.

Brent crude futures were up 78 cents, or 0.7%, at $107.42 a barrel as of 1242 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed $1.10, or 1.1%, to $103.06 a barrel

The United States and its allies on Wednesday prepared new sanctions on Moscow over civilian killings in northern Ukraine, which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as "war crimes." Russia denied targeting civilians.

"With allegations ramping up and new Western sanctions against Russia in the pipeline, further Russian economic retaliation looks inevitable," said Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown

"These concerns have no doubt fed into the oil price trending higher, with volatility expected to continue as the geopolitical situation unfolds.

"Proposed EU sanctions, which the bloc's 27 member states must approve, would ban buying Russian coal and prevent Russian ships from entering EU ports.

The head of the EU's executive Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports.

Britain also urged G7 and NATO nations to agree a timetable to phase out oil and gas imports from Russia.

The growing supply concerns erased earlier price falls due to a stronger dollar, which makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies, and a surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles.

The dollar edged up to its highest level in nearly two years on Wednesday after jumping overnight on more hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official.

Demand worries also mounted after authorities in top oil importer China extended a lockdown in Shanghai to cover all of the financial centre's 26 million people.

Meanwhile, member states of the International Energy Agency (IEA) were still discussing how much oil they would together release from storage to cool markets, three sources told Reuters, adding that an announcement was expected in coming days.

Reuters 

April 06 2022 - 14:36

Hungary's Orban says he asked Putin to apply ceasefire in Ukraine

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday that he had talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin at length earlier in the day and asked him to apply a ceasefire in Ukraine, Orban told a news conference.

Orban said he had invited Putin for peace talks in Hungary, to be held with the Ukrainian and French presidents as well as the German chancellor. He said that Putin's response was "positive" but that Putin said this would have conditions.

Reuters 

April 06 2022 - 14:30

Germany must supply arms to Ukraine that can be used - Scholz

Germany can only supply arms to Ukraine that the country's army will know how to use, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday.

"These are very old inventories that were used by the NVA (army of former Communist East Germany), which have the advantage that they can be used particularly well in Ukraine because they have experience with this equipment," Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

"We have to supply equipment that can be used."

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Germany said it would supply Strela missiles, among other arms, to Ukraine, staging a historic reversal of its policy of not sending weapons to conflict zones.

Reuters 

April 06 2022 - 14:00

India BPCL buys 2 million barrels of Russian Urals for May loading -sources

India's Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd has bought 2 million barrels of Russian Urals for May loading from trader Trafigura, two sources familiar with the purchase said.

Refiners in India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, have been snapping up Russian oil through spot deals since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, taking advantage of deep discounts as other buyers back away.

BPCL and Trafigura did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The state-run refiner regularly buys Russian Urals for its 310,000 barrels per day (bpd) Kochi refinery in southern India.

With BPCL's purchase, India has so far booked at least 16 million barrels of Russian oil since Feb. 24, similar to imports in all of 2021, according to Reuters calculations.

The Urals discount to dated Brent has hit a record for the post-Soviet era as some buyers shunned Russian oil . Unlike several Western countries, India has not banned Russian oil imports.

India's foreign minister S. Jaishankar said on Wednesday the government was working to stabilise economic transactions with Russia, a day after India condemned killings of civilians in Ukraine and called for an independent probe.

Jaishankar told lawmakers in Parliament that Russia continued to be a critical economic partner and efforts were underway to "stabilise economic transactions between India and Russia.

"India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week said India would buy Russian oil if available at a discount.

"India's overall interest is what is kept in mind ... I would put my country's national interest first, and I would keep my country's energy security first," she said. 

Reuters 

April 06 2022 - 13:59

UK launches review of steel tariff quotas for imports from Russia, Belarus

Britain launched a review of steel tariff quotas for imports from Russia and Belarus on Wednesday to address the risk of a shortage of steel into the UK as a result of sanctions against the two countries over the invasion of Ukraine.

"Reallocating quotas should help keep steel prices down for construction and other domestic industries," Trade Remedies Authority head Oliver Griffiths said in a statement.

Reuters

April 06 2022 - 13:00

Eighty-nine killed in Ukraine's capital since start of war, says city council

Eighty-nine people, including four children, have been killed in Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the city council said in a statement on Wednesday.

A further 398 people have been wounded and 167 residential buildings damaged by Russian strikes, it said, warning residents to continue to follow air raid warnings despite a recent pull-back of Russian forces from the Kyiv region.

"It has become safer in Kyiv, but the threat of air strikes remains," it said. Russia denies targeting civilians. 

Reuters

April 06 2022 - 12:30

How war in Ukraine ends matters, says EU foreign policy chief

The European Union wants the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible, but how that happens is important too, its chief diplomat said on Wednesday, calling for the bloc to send more arms to Kyiv.

“We want it to end as soon as possible, but not in any way,” Josep Borrell told European Parliament.

“Because if we're going to have a destroyed country that has been dismembered territorially and neutralised, with millions of people in exile, and millions of people dead, then no, we don't want this war to end like this,” he said.

April 06 2022 - 12:10

India says trying to stabilise economic transactions with Russia

India's foreign minister said on Wednesday the government is working to stabilise economic transactions with Russia, a day after India condemned killings of civilians in Ukraine and called for an independent probe. 

S.Jaishankar told lawmakers in the Parliament that Russia continues to be a critical economic partner and efforts were under way to “stabilise economic transactions between India and Russia.”

Russia is India's main supplier of defence hardware but overall annual trade is small, averaging about $9 billion in the past few years, mainly fertiliser and some oil.

April 06 2022 - 11:50

Russian border guards came under fire on Ukraine border, schools evacuated

A Russian regional official said on Wednesday that frontier guards in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine had come under fire, while schools in nearby Belgorod were evacuated after a bomb threat, according to the city's mayor.

Moscow, which sent thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24 in what it called a “special military operation”, has accused Ukraine of targeting Russian assets across the border.

“Yesterday... they tried to fire mortars at the position of our border guards in the Sudzhansky district,” said Roman Starovoit, the governor of the Kursk region.

April 06 2022 - 11:23

Ukraine's foreign minister says gas and oil embargo needed to stop Putin

 Ukraine's foreign minister welcomed new European Union sanctions planned against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, but said an embargo on Russian gas and oil was needed "to stop" President Vladimir Putin.

"I appreciate the strengthening of the 5th EU sanctions package: bans on Russian coal, vessels accessing EU ports, and road transport operators," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

"But it will take a gas/oil embargo and de-SWIFTing of all Russian banks to stop Putin. Difficult times require difficult decisions."

Reuters

April 06 2022 - 11:16

Russia says it wants to keep diplomatic ties with West despite expulsions

Russia wants to maintain diplomatic relations with Western countries despite a series of expulsions of its diplomats, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Wednesday.

Several European countries including France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy have expelled large numbers of Russian diplomats in recent days.

The moves coincide with outrage across Europe over reports of the discovery of mass graves and of civilian killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha following the retreat of Russian forces conducting what Moscow calls its "special operation" in Ukraine.

Grushko told Interfax that Russia, which has pledged to respond to the expulsions, was assessing the decisions by European countries.

"Nevertheless our position remains absolutely the same: we advocate for diplomatic channels to remain open."Grushko said European countries disrupting the work of Russian diplomats were damaging their own interests and warned against any potential action against the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic seaboard.

"I really hope that common sense in Europe will not allow any games to be started around Kaliningrad," TASS quoted him as saying. "I think many understand that this would be playing with fire."Grushko said Russia had "no contact with NATO".

"There is nothing to discuss with NATO," TASS quoted him as saying.

Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbour's military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.

Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions in an effort to force Russia to withdraw its forces.

Reuters 

April 06 2022 - 11:00

Germany's Lindner wants to give up Russian oil, gas but impossible immediately -Die Zeit

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner wants Europe's biggest economy to stop imports of Russian oil and gas as soon as possible, but it is not feasible immediately, he told Die Zeit weekly.

"If I followed my heart, there would be an immediate embargo on everything," Lindner was quoted as saying, adding there could be no normal economic relations with a Russia whose government was waging a criminal war against Ukraine.

"That is why Germany will give up Russian oil and gas," he said, adding, however, that such a move would risk German economic and social stability."We can't be responsible for that," he said. 

Reuters 

April 06 2022 - 10:50

Greece to ask 12 Russian diplomats to leave country- foreign ministry

Greece will ask 12 Russian diplomats to leave the country in reaction to the war in Ukraine, declaring them "personae non-gratae", the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The Greek foreign ministry's general secretary has informed the Russian ambassador of the decision. The Russian diplomats were not acting in accordance with international rules, a foreign ministry official said.

Reuters 

April 06 2022 - 08:40

NATO ministers meet; allies ready more sanctions

NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels as the U.S. and allies are coordinating on a new round of sanctions to punish the Kremlin for the alleged murders of civilians by its troops in Ukraine.

Russian forces continue to strike infrastructure targets in Ukraine, including fuel storage sites and grain silos, according to Ukrainian officials.

The city of Mariupol remains under siege and the humanitarian situation has deteriorated, with most of the 160,000 remaining residents lacking access to electricity or food, the U.K. Minister of Defense warned.

The Biden administration is sending another $100 million in military equipment to Ukraine, which is expected to include Javelin anti-tank missiles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the United Nations to do more to stop Moscow’s aggression, while China’s envoy to the United Nations expressed dismay at the killing of unarmed civilians without condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom President Xi Jinping has close ties, for the violence.

Russia has repeatedly denied the accusations of killing civilians, dismissing the documentation of the deaths. 

Reuters 

April 06 2022 - 08:13

Russia's Gazprom continues gas exports to Europe via Ukraine - Ifax

Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom continued to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine on Wednesday in line with requests from European consumers.

Requests stood at 108.4 million cubic metres for April 6, similar to volumes requested on the previous day, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the operator of Ukraine's gas pipelines.

Reuters 

April 06 2022 - 08:00

Hungary's foreign ministry summons Ukrainian ambassador

Hungary's foreign ministry has summoned Ukraine's ambassador over what it called his offensive statements on Hungary's stance regarding the war, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday.

"It is time for Ukrainian leaders to stop their insults directed at Hungary and acknowledge the will of the Hungarian people," Szijjarto said in a statement, referring to a landslide win by the ruling party in Sunday's elections.

Reuters

April 06 2022 - 07:25

US, allies ready new Russian sanctions after Bucha killings

The United States and its allies on Wednesday prepared new sanctions on Moscow over civilian killings which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as "war crimes", as heavy fighting and Russian airstrikes pounded the besieged port of Mariupol.

The southern city of Mariupol has been under attack by Russian forces and constantly bombarded since the early days of the invasion almost six weeks ago, trapping tens of thousands of residents without food, water or power.

"The humanitarian situation in the city is worsening," British military intelligence said on Wednesday.

"Most of the 160,000 remaining residents have no light, communication, medicine, heat or water. Russian forces have prevented humanitarian access, likely to pressure defenders to surrender."

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

April 06 2022 - 06:30

Britain says heavy fighting, Russian air strikes continue in Ukraine's Mariupol

Heavy fighting and Russian air strikes continue in the encircled Ukrainian city of Mariupol, British military intelligence said on Wednesday.

"The humanitarian situation in the city is worsening," the defence ministry said.

"Most of the 160,000 remaining residents have no light, communication, medicine, heat or water. Russian forces have prevented humanitarian access, likely to pressure defenders to surrender.

"Reuters could not immediately verify the report. 

Reuters 

April 06 2022 - 06:00

Ukraine's Zelenskiy tells UN Russia committed 'war crimes'

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy told the U.N. Security Council that Russia had committed the 'most serious war crimes' since World War Two and needed to be held accountable.