Russia News

Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler on Wednesday warned Russia and Ukraine against further attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea, saying Ankara reserved the right to take legal action against the strikes, in Turkey's most direct intervention to date.NATO member Turkey, which has maintained good ties with both Moscow and Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has repeatedly called on both sides to halt attacks in the Black Sea that have also struck…

Russian authorities have issued permits for vessels carrying grain for export to leave the Sea of Azov for the first time since July 10, when they closed maritime traffic in the area due to Ukrainian drone attacks, seven industry sources told Reuters.The sources said permits to pass through the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, would be issued for a period through November 15. Two of the sources said the vessels would be accompanied through the Black…

Urals crude prices at Russia's Baltic and Black Sea ports fell to their lowest levels in one and a half months this week, according to Reuters monitoring and LSEG data, as the dated Brent benchmark also weakened and freight costs stayed high.Free-on-board prices for Urals crude for loading at Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Novorossiysk this week fell to around $80 per barrel for the first time since early September.Increased supply in physical markets for prompt dates weakened the dated Brent benchmark.High freight costs also influenced Russian sellers' revenues, traders said.The availability of tanke

Russian diesel cargoes are returning to their traditional destinations after the US suspended sanctions and secured the lifting of an export ban, with at least two tankers signalling trips to Turkey and Brazil in recent days, according to shipping data from Kpler and LSEG.Russia lifted its self-imposed ban on October 9 on diesel exports, introduced to tackle domestic shortages triggered by Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries, after striking a deal with US President Donald Trump to supply diesel to global markets.The deal included a temporary lifting of US sanctions on Russian fuel supply…

Russia's largest liquefied natural gas producer Novatek is expanding its fleet serving Arctic projects through the acquisition of at least two Arc4 ice-class LNG carriers, registration and shipping data showed on Wednesday.Acquisition of the vessels is a significant development for Novatek, which is under Western sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine. Fleet constraints have hindered the development of its LNG projects, notably Arctic LNG 2.According to the shipping database Equasis and LSEG data…

Russian forces hit two ships delivering military and dual-use cargo to Ukraine's port city of Mykolaiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday, without mentioning any energy facilities following US President Donald Trump's announcement on Sunday of an energy ceasefire.Reuters could not independently verify the report.Following are the targets in Ukraine which Russia struck overnight and during the day on Tuesday, according to Russian defence ministry:In Kyiv and Kyiv region:A workshop at the Pulp Mill Print facility…

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia proposed a European Union ban on Friday on Russian grain exports through the bloc in a letter addressed to European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.The Baltic states are seeking to end shipments of Russian grain through their ports after Moscow stepped up the transits in response to attacks by Ukraine on its Black Sea ports, with Estonia last week announcing the first ban."The EU must not become a channel through which Russia compensates for the economic consequences of its own aggression," the letter read.Est

Intensifying attacks by Russia and Ukraine ahead of the winter are further endangering navigational safety in the Black Sea, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday, adding that world powers must not allow the region to be turned into a new front in the war.NATO member Turkey, which has maintained good ties with both Moscow and Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has repeatedly called on both sides to halt attacks in the Black Sea that have also struck Turkish-flagged and Turkish-owned commercial vessels.

Russia imported more than 176,000 tons of petroleum products from South Korean ports in July and August, easing the impact of a fuel crisis caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, Ukraine's top sanctions official said on Tuesday.The supplies from South Korea made up 31% of Russian fuel imports in August, according to the official, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, citing what he said were reports that tankers, including ones under Western sanctions, were used for the deliveries."These…

Russia has warned NATO it would be ready to resort to nuclear weapons if the Western alliance attempted to cut off Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave that borders the Baltic Sea.In a document sent to NATO and seen by Reuters, Moscow accused the alliance of a "dangerous and reckless course" that entailed "high risks of the outbreak of a direct armed conflict".The document said this included the possibility of "Russian strikes against decision-making centers in the alliance's member…

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Monday its forces had struck fuel and telecommunications infrastructure in Kyiv, as well as several cargo vessels that it alleged were supplying the Ukrainian military.The ministry said the Russian strikes hit three cargo vessels bound for Odesa and another cargo vessel in the port of Chornomorsk. A ship repair facility in the port of Izmail was also struck, it added.The ministry said several data centres in Kyiv were hit in overnight and daytime attacks.Reuters could not independently verify the ministry's reports.(Reuters)

The Russian defence ministry said on Friday its forces had carried out overnight drone strikes on Ukrainian defence industry facilities, logistics centres and vessels used by Ukraine's armed forces.The ministry said the strikes hit a drone assembly and storage site in the Kyiv region, logistics hubs in the Odesa region and port infrastructure in Reni on the Danube River.It also said Russian forces struck a cargo ship carrying military and dual-use goods to the port of Odesa.The ministry said later on Friday that its forces had struck another cargo vessel in the Odesa region that delivered mili

Russia plans to raise more than 200 billion roubles ($2.35 billion) from exporters to finance the construction of icebreakers for its Arctic sea route, according to a draft government decree published this week.Russia is seeking additional sources to finance the development of transport infrastructure as it grapples with a budget deficit and rising war costs. Here are some details about the plan, which was drawn up by the Transport Ministry.A shipbuilding fee of 20.07 roubles…

Russia has begun commercial oil exports from Rosneft's Vostok Oil, its vast Arctic development that Moscow is counting on to lift crude production following years of delays and sanctions.The launch comes as Russia looks for new sources of production growth after the US shale boom helped propel the US past Russia to become the world's largest crude producer.State-controlled Rosneft started loading crude in September onto specialised ice-class tankers at its newly built Bukhta Sever terminal on the Taimyr Peninsula…

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told leaders at the United Nations on Wednesday that Ukraine was ready for a maritime truce in the Black Sea based on proposals by Egypt, India and Turkey and said it was now up to Russia to respond.Zelenskiy spoke at Ukraine's Crimean Platform summit on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders and ahead of a Security Council meeting on Russia's war in Ukraine, which is now in its fifth year.Ukraine, which fears that Russia plans to pound power and heating facilities with missiles and drones this winter…

Prices for Russia's flagship Urals crude at its western ports jumped above $110 per barrel on Tuesday, the highest level since April 2026, according to Reuters calculations based on data from two traders.Higher oil prices boost Russia's budget revenues, which rely heavily on oil and gas income, although elevated freight rates are limiting gains for sellers.Urals crude loaded at Russia's ports of Primorsk URL-PRMSK and Novorossiysk URL-NVRSK was assessed at around $110 per barrel on a free on board (FOB) basis on Tuesday…

Norwegian authorities have seized a Russian cruise ship in the Arctic on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, which is seeking to enforce a $4.22 billion compensation award for assets that Moscow took when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.Officials said the vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was seized late on Wednesday in Barentsburg, a coal mining settlement that Russia operates on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the terms of a 1920 treaty.Russia called the arrest of the ship an act of piracy and said it had summoned the Norwegian ambassador to deliver a strong protest.

Norway announced on Wednesday that it had taken a Russian vessel at the request from Ukrainian state-owned Naftogaz to ensure the Russian Federation met its obligations.Since 2016, the Ukrainian company has taken legal action against Russia to seek compensation for Moscow expropriating Naftogaz's property during Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.In April 2023, a tribunal at The Hague ordered Russia to pay Naftogaz a total of $4.22 billion in compensation for assets it had seized in Crimea.

Ukrainian attacks on Russian naval vessels have caused significant but not critical damage, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.He said Ukraine had damaged around 100 vessels over a 40-day period, with the resulting damage equivalent to 1% of gross domestic product (GDP).(Reuters - Reporting by Maxim Rodionov in London, Dmitry Antonov and Ksenia Orlova in Moscow; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Russia hammered Ukrainian ports, industrial sites and retailers' distribution facilities with missiles and drones in an hours-long attack on Kyiv and other cities that was partly repelled, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.Commuters went to work in the capital to the boom of air defences firing at waves of drones after an overnight barrage that Ukraine's military said included an unspecified number of ballistic missiles and 258 drones."Overnight, Russia carried out a massive strike against Ukraine…

The Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that its forces had struck three cargo vessels carrying supplies for the Ukrainian military and a tanker at the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi.The ministry also said it had hit another cargo vessel in the nearby port of Odesa, as well as port infrastructure in Pivdennyi and Odesa and fuel storage facilities at the port of Chornomorsk.Reuters could not independently verify the ministry's claims.(Reporting by Reuters)

Freight rates for tanker shipments of Russia's flagship Urals crude from western ports to India, the grade's main market, have surged in August as strong demand for vessels and mounting security risks linked to carrying Russian oil drove up costs, three trade sources said.The rise in shipping costs is squeezing revenues of Russian oil exporters already grappling with Western sanctions and a difficult geopolitical environment.Freight markets have also been supported by disruption to global shipping routes stemming from conflict in the Middle East.

Russian Urals crude delivered to India has flipped to a premium against the dated Brent benchmark for the first time since May as stronger Asian demand coincides with tighter export availability, three trading sources said.Cargoes of Urals crude for October delivery were offered this week at premiums up to $1 a barrel to dated Brent, compared with discounts of $1 to $2 a barrel for September-arrival cargoes, the sources said.The rebound reflects a combination of rising buying…