EU-Russia

Fighter jets for Ukraine likely to be Germany’s next standoff with allies

With Western-made battle tanks soon to be provided to Ukraine, discussions have moved on towards supplying Kyiv with modern aircraft, but for Germany, this could mean another standoff with its allies. Pressure has been building for weeks on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s...

EU eyes $100/barrel cap on Russian premium oil products

The European Commission is proposing that the EU set a $100 per barrel price cap on premium Russian oil products like diesel and a $45 per barrel cap on discounted products like fuel oil, European Union officials said on Thursday (26 January).

Zelenskyy urges international agriculture ministers to help with exports

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, via video message at a conference in Berlin on Saturday (21 January), called on 70 national agriculture ministers to support his country in exporting grain as they also unanimously condemned Russia's war of aggression.

Moldova’s Sandu asks allies for air defences, says Russia trying to destabilise country

Moldova has asked allies to strengthen its air defence capabilities as war rages in neighbouring Ukraine, although what the country calls Russian efforts to destabilise it have so far failed, President Maia Sandu said on Thursday (19 January).

Lavrov compares West’s approach to Russia with Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on 18 January that the US had assembled a coalition of European countries to solve "the Russian question" in the same way that Adolf Hitler had sought a "final solution" to eradicate Europe's Jews.

Germany’s second LNG terminal open for business

A private business venture has begun operating its floating terminal to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to help replace Russian gas in East Germany and make a tidy profit.

Greece, Malta lag behind in sanctioning Russian assets, EU finds

Greece and Malta lag behind their European Union peers in freezing Russian assets sanctioned over Moscow's war against Ukraine, according to an EU official and an internal document, as the bloc considers using the assets to help Kyiv.

Ukraine expects EU to include Russia’s Rosatom in next sanctions

Kyiv expects the European Union to include Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom in its next round of sanctions over the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Monday (9 January).

Russia makes punishable maps in breach of ‘new territorial realities’

Russia's government extended support to a legislative amendment that would classify maps that dispute the country's official "territorial integrity" as punishable extremist materials, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Sunday (8 January).

Ukraine clinches US, German armoured vehicles

Ukraine dismissed as a trick a unilateral order by Russia for a 36-hour ceasefire starting on 6 January and the leaders of the US and Germany said they were sending armoured fighting vehicles in a boost for the Kyiv government.

Ukraine, EU, US slap down Russia’s Orthodox Christmas ‘ceasefire’ proposal

Ukraine and its Western allies in the EU and US dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin's calls for a 36-hour Russian Orthodox Christmas ceasefire as a ploy on Thursday (5 January), unlikely to slow the war, which has entered its 11th month.

Russia blames its soldiers’ mobile phone use for deadly missile strike

Russia's defence ministry on Wednesday (4 January) blamed the illegal use of mobile phones by its soldiers for a deadly Ukrainian missile strike that it said killed 89 servicemen, raising the reported death toll significantly.

US concerned by China’s ties with Russia, State Department says after Putin-Xi call

The United States is concerned by China's alignment with Russia as Moscow continues its invasion of Ukraine, the US State Department said on Friday (30 December) after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a video meeting.

Russia steps up Kherson shelling, dismisses Zelenskyy’s peace plan

Ukraine's recently liberated southern city of Kherson suffered intense mortar and artillery attacks from Russian forces across the Dnipro river, while the Kremlin rejected a Ukrainian peace plan, demanding that Kyiv accept its annexation of four regions.

Forecast 2023: Putin’s Russia will look more like North Korea

The shut-off of the Russian economy will accelerate in 2023, as Moscow moves closer to the North Korean economic model. And Putin can complete his task of devising a regime where nobody can replace him, with oil it can’t sell and roubles it can’t use.

Moscow’s ultimatum: Ukraine fulfils its proposals of Russian army will decide

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gave Ukraine an ultimatum to fulfil Moscow's proposals, including surrendering territory Russia controls, or its army would decide the issue, a day after President Vladimir Putin said he was open to talks.

Ukrainian drone hits bomber base inside Russia, Ukraine’s cities attacked

Moscow said on Monday (26 December) its forces had shot down a Ukrainian drone close to a long-range bomber base deep inside Russia, while Ukraine said the Russians had unleashed heavy artillery barrages on its cities in the past 24 hours.

Russia says US Patriot missiles in Ukraine won’t stand in its way

Russia said that Ukraine acquiring Patriot missiles from the United States, announced during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington, would not help settle the conflict or prevent Moscow from achieving its goals.

Putin proposes 30% increase in size of armed forces

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (21 December) gave his backing to a plan to boost the size of the armed forces by more than 30% as he said Moscow needed to learn from and fix the problems it had suffered in Ukraine.

Brussels approves German state takeover of gas giant Uniper

The European Commission on Tuesday (20 December) conditionally approved the nationalisation of troubled German gas giant Uniper after it was pushed to the brink of collapse following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Three dead as blast shuts section of main Russia-Ukraine gas export pipeline

A blast ripped through a gas pipeline in central Russia, killing three people and disrupting some of the limited amount of Russian gas that is still reaching Europe, local officials said on Tuesday (20 December).

Hungary to call for discussion on Russia sanctions impact

EU leaders and the European Commission should evaluate the impact of the bloc's Russia sanctions on individual member states, particularly in the context of the ongoing energy crisis, according to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s chief adviser.

Ukraine watchful of borders as Putin heads to Belarus

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready for all possible defence scenarios against Moscow and its ally Belarus, as Russia's Vladimir Putin headed to Belarus and Russian troops stationed there prepared to conduct exercises.

EU breaks fertiliser deadlock, approves ninth Russia sanctions package

In an eleventh-hour decision, EU ambassadors on Thursday (15 December) agreed on a compromise ninth sanctions package on Russia in the margins of an EU summit in Brussels.