April 21 2022 - 13:00
Lukoil's Alekperov, supporter of Russia-OPEC ties, resigns
Vagit Alekperov, a former Soviet deputy oil minister and a supporter of close ties between Russia and OPEC, has resigned as president of Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil and from its board, the company said on Thursday.
Lukoil did not say why Alekperov, 71, resigned or who would take over. Britain imposed an asset freeze and travel ban on Alekperov last week as part of sanctions over Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
A source familiar with matter said Alekperov, ranked by Forbes as Russia's 10th richest man with a fortune of $10.5 billion, decided to leave after he was sanctioned in order to protect the company's operations. Another company source said the board would elect a new head of the company.
Several Russian businessmen, including billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov, have left senior management positions or given up control of their companies after being sanctioned.
Azeri-born Alekperov has been a staunch supporter of cooperation between Russia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Moscow has played a major role in the informal group, known as OPEC+, in deciding production policy.
Like some other Russian businesses, Lukoil said last month it was concerned by "tragic events in Ukraine" and has called for an end to the conflict.
Lukoil, whose name derives from West Siberian oil towns of Langepas, Urai and Kogalym, increased its oil production last year to about 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) - a level that is just below the output of countries like Qatar and Kazakhstan.
One of its biggest assets is West Qurna-2 oilfield in Iraq, which produces more than 400,000 bpd.
The company was founded in 1993 when Alekperov, who had been appointed deputy minister of the oil and gas industry of the Soviet Union in 1990, became its president and chairman.
In 2018, he said he was thinking about who would replace him. "It will not be any of my close relatives," he said.
Lukoil said on Thursday that Alekperov owned 3.12% of shares in the company as of March 31 and was a beneficiary, including through family trusts or mutual funds, of another 5.43% of shares in the firm.
Reuters
UKRAINE WRAP | Russian central bank softens fx currency controls for all export focused companies
April 21 2022 - 19:53
Russian central bank softens fx currency controls for all export focused companies
The Russian central bank said on Thursday it had decided to extend measures to ease forex currency control measures for all Russian export-focused companies.
The mandatory sales of foreign currency earned by these companies remain in place, however the currency they receive after April 19 can now be sold within 60 days instead of the previous three days, the central bank said.
On Tuesday, the regulator decided to ease forex currency control measures for Russian export-focused companies outside the commodities and energy sectors.
-Reuters
April 21 2022 - 17:45
Ethiopians queue to join Russian army in Ukraine on rumours of cash payouts
The queues formed early each morning outside the Russian embassy in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. Drawn by rumours on social media, young men and old, many with their military records in hand, arrived with hopes of fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
What began as a trickle of volunteers swelled over two weeks to scores, two neighbourhood residents told Reuters.
On Tuesday, Reuters reporters saw several hundred men registering with Ethiopian security guards outside the embassy. The guards recorded their names and asked for proof of military service.
April 21 2022 - 14:55
More than 7.7 million people displaced in Ukraine - IOM
More than 600,000 additional people were internally displaced in Ukraine in the first 17 days of April, the International Organization for Migration said on Thursday, pushing the total number since the start of the war above 7.7 million, or 17% of the population.
The new assessment conducted between April 11 and 17 showed that women represent at least 60% of those on the run. More than half of internally displaced persons -- mainly in the east of Ukraine -- reported a lack of some food products, it added in a report.
More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, UN data show.
Reuters
April 21 2022 - 14:37
Ukraine receives 19 prisoners of war from Russia, deputy PM says
Russia handed over to Ukraine 10 soldiers, including two officers, and nine civilians in an exchange of prisoners of war, Iryna Vereshchuk, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister said on Thursday.
"This time there were wounded among those released and ... now they will be able to receive full treatment and undergo rehabilitation," she said in Telegram messaging app.
Reuters
April 21 2022 - 14:00
Japan, New Zealand to keep pressure on Russia
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will keep pressure on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, they said on Thursday.
Ardern met Kishida on Thursday in Tokyo in her first overseas trip since New Zealand reopened borders it closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
The two leaders "will continue to raise the costs for the architects of Russia's illegal and unjustified aggression" against Ukraine, they said in a joint statement, calling for Moscow's immediate withdrawal from Ukraine.
Both countries have imposed sanctions for what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine. Japan said earlier it would increase a loan to Ukraine threefold and provide drones and hazmat suits.
As part of strengthening security ties, the two countries will begin negotiations on an information-sharing agreement.
"This will support ...support peace, stability and security in the Pacific and wider Indo-Pacific region," Ardern told reporters.
Reuters
April 21 2022 - 13:00
Lukoil's Alekperov, supporter of Russia-OPEC ties, resigns
Vagit Alekperov, a former Soviet deputy oil minister and a supporter of close ties between Russia and OPEC, has resigned as president of Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil and from its board, the company said on Thursday.
Lukoil did not say why Alekperov, 71, resigned or who would take over. Britain imposed an asset freeze and travel ban on Alekperov last week as part of sanctions over Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
A source familiar with matter said Alekperov, ranked by Forbes as Russia's 10th richest man with a fortune of $10.5 billion, decided to leave after he was sanctioned in order to protect the company's operations. Another company source said the board would elect a new head of the company.
Several Russian businessmen, including billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov, have left senior management positions or given up control of their companies after being sanctioned.
Azeri-born Alekperov has been a staunch supporter of cooperation between Russia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Moscow has played a major role in the informal group, known as OPEC+, in deciding production policy.
Like some other Russian businesses, Lukoil said last month it was concerned by "tragic events in Ukraine" and has called for an end to the conflict.
Lukoil, whose name derives from West Siberian oil towns of Langepas, Urai and Kogalym, increased its oil production last year to about 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) - a level that is just below the output of countries like Qatar and Kazakhstan.
One of its biggest assets is West Qurna-2 oilfield in Iraq, which produces more than 400,000 bpd.
The company was founded in 1993 when Alekperov, who had been appointed deputy minister of the oil and gas industry of the Soviet Union in 1990, became its president and chairman.
In 2018, he said he was thinking about who would replace him. "It will not be any of my close relatives," he said.
Lukoil said on Thursday that Alekperov owned 3.12% of shares in the company as of March 31 and was a beneficiary, including through family trusts or mutual funds, of another 5.43% of shares in the firm.
Reuters
April 21 2022 - 11:41
Alekperov resigns as president of Russia's Lukoil
Vagit Alekperov has resigned as president and a director of Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil, the company said on Thursday.
The company did not disclose the reason behind the resignation of Alekperov, 71.
Reuters
April 21 2022 - 10:00
Russia says it hit 1,001 targets in Ukraine overnight
Russian missiles and artillery struck 1,001 military targets in Ukraine overnight, including 162 firing positions, the country's Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
Russian forces and Russian-backed separatists have also taken full control of the town of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine, the ministry said.
Reuters
April 21 2022 - 09:37
Ukraine seeks urgent talks in Mariupol
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations said they are seeking to isolate Russia from the global economy for its “unjustifiable” invasion of Ukraine and want to increase the costs on Moscow for its war.
April 21 2022 - 09:18
UK PM Johnson says Ukraine peace talks are doomed because of 'crocodile' Putin
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said any peace talks over Ukraine are likely to fail, as he compared holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiating with a crocodile.
Johnson said dealing with Putin was like “a crocodile when it's got your leg in its jaws” and said it was vital that the West continues arming Ukraine.
The prime minister was speaking as he headed to India, where he will encourage his counterpart Narendra Modi to end its neutrality over the war in Ukraine. He played down the likelihood that India would end its long-standing ties with Russia.
April 21 2022 - 08:58
US and China defence officials hold a rare call to discuss Ukraine, security issues
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a rare call on Wednesday with his counterpart in China, Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, to discuss the situation in Ukraine and other security issues, according to a US statement.
A Chinese statement confirmed the Ukraine discussion, saying Wei urged the US to refrain from using Ukraine to “smear” China. It also said Wei urged the US to stop military provocations at sea.
The conversation comes as the US continues to pressure China not to align with Russia as the Ukraine war drags on. President Xi Jinping’s government has refrained from joining in US and European sanctions on Russia, while calling for respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
April 21 2022 - 07:41
Ukraine’s Zelensky discusses 'threat of a global food crisis' with Ramaphosa
After weeks of waiting, President Cyril Ramaphosa has finally had his long-awaited phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Had a phone conversation with @CyrilRamaphosa. Told about our resistance to Russian aggression. Discussed the threat of a global food crisis, deepening relations with the Republic of SA and co-operation within international organisations,” tweeted Zelensky on Wednesday evening.
Ramaphosa, who has previously confirmed through Twitter that he has had telephonic conversations with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden, has yet to confirm the phone call.
April 21 2022 - 06:20
Top Putin ally says Russia will capture Mariupol on Thursday
A top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian forces will seize the last main stronghold of resistance in the besieged city of Mariupol on Thursday after Ukraine proposed talks on evacuating troops and civilians there.
Mariupol would be the biggest city to be seized by Russia since invading Ukraine eight weeks ago in an attack that has taken longer than some military analysts expected, seen over five million people flee abroad and turned cities to rubble.
"Before lunchtime, or after lunch, Azovstal will be completely under the control of the forces of the Russian Federation," Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia's republic of Chechnya, whose forces have been fighting in Ukraine, said of the steel plant.
Ukraine's defence ministry was not immediately available for comment.
A few dozen civilians managed to leave the strategically important southeastern port on Wednesday in a small bus convoy, according to Reuters witnesses, escaping the fiercest battle of the war.
April 21 2022 - 06:00
Biden to speak on Ukraine war amid expectation of new military aid
President Joe Biden will deliver an update on the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Thursday as he works to complete a new arms package for its military.
Biden is to address Americans from the White House Roosevelt Room at 9.45 a.m. and a source familiar with the planning said he is "expected to provide an update on our efforts to support Ukraine and the assistance we are providing.”
The new arms package was likely to be roughly the same size as an $800 million one announced last week but details were still being worked out, another U.S. official told Reuters earlier.
On Wednesday, Biden convened US military leaders in an annual White House gathering that took on special significance as the war enters a risky new phase.
Opening the meeting, Biden touted the toughness of the Ukrainian military and said that NATO's unity had shocked Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia has said it has entered a new stage of its operation and is methodically seeking to "liberate" the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Western allies anticipate Russia's campaign could last many months, grind to a stalemate and test the battlefield capabilities of Ukrainian fighters.
Russia says it launched what it calls a "special military operation" on Feb. 24 to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies reject that as a false pretext.
US forces are not fighting in Ukraine but are indirectly engaged, arming, training and financing its forces.
The US aid announced last week included artillery systems, artillery rounds, armored personnel carriers and unmanned coastal defense boats, broadening the scope of materiel sent to Kyiv to include new types of heavy equipment.
If this week's aid package is as large as expected, it would bring total U.S. military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in to well over $3 billion.
After Biden's announcement, he is to fly to the Pacific Northwest on a two-day trip to promote his domestic agenda.
Reuters