The United States on Friday, less than two weeks until President Joe Biden leaves office, imposed its most extensive sanctions targeting Russia’s oil and gas revenues, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying the measures would cause a “serious blow” to Russia. “I will give you that,” he said. The U.S. Treasury has announced that it will designate more than 180 vessels, along with Russian oil giants Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, to fulfill “G7 commitments to reduce Russia’s energy revenues.” The British government also announced sanctions against both companies, saying their profits were “funding President (Vladimir) Putin’s military and promoting war” in Ukraine. “The less Russia receives from oil, the faster peace will be restored,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X. U.S. officials said Russia should lose billions of dollars a month if the sanctions are fully implemented.
Russia’s state news agency reported that Gazprom Neft denounced the sanctions as “groundless” and “illegal”, while Russian insurance company Ingostrov said sanctions would increase the risk of environmental disaster. Ta. Friday’s move is seen as an effort to give Kiev and the incoming U.S. administration of President Donald Trump leverage to reach a peace deal with Ukraine.
Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskiy met on Friday to discuss U.S. aid to Ukraine, new U.S. sanctions against Russia and strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses, Zelenskiy said. Ukraine’s president also thanked Biden in a social media post for U.S. support in the war between Ukraine and Russia and for “the important role the United States has played in uniting the international community.” The White House said Biden stressed the importance of continuing to support Kiev in the war. “It is now clear that President Putin’s war with Ukraine has been a disaster for Russia,” the newspaper said.
Ukraine attacked a Russian ammunition depot and drone storage facility with drone and missile strikes early Friday, according to Ukrainian SBU security officials. According to Agence France-Presse, it was a joint operation with the navy. Russian officials earlier said an industrial facility near the village of Chalchyr in the Rostov region bordering Ukraine was set ablaze by drone fire, without providing further details. Ukrainian sources said the drones overloaded Russia’s air defense systems and cleared the way for missiles to hit military installations.
Russia has accused Ukraine of a missile attack on a supermarket in Donetsk, a Russian-controlled city in eastern Ukraine. Denis Pushilin, head of regions in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, said on Telegram on Friday that he had “confirmed information” that four people were injured in the attack. He accused the Ukrainian military of launching US-supplied Himal missiles into the region during the morning rush hour. Russian state news agency RIA earlier cited investigators as saying two people were killed and two others injured. Ukraine’s General Staff did not mention the supermarket incident in a statement, but said it had carried out strikes in the Donetsk region this week and had taken all necessary measures to limit the risk to civilians.
Pushilin also said Ukrainian military shelling hit an apartment building in Svitlodarsk, further north in Donetsk region, killing two people and wounding eight others.
Ukraine announced that Kiev forces carried out a precision attack on a Russian command post in Svitlodarsk. Ukrainian public broadcaster Saspirine reported that one person was killed and another injured in Russian shelling in Pokrovsk, the main city of Donetsk region, prosecutors said.
Ukrainian police say they have identified dozens of suspects in the illegal smuggling of military-age men from the country after conducting hundreds of searches across the country. Photos of police dispatched to suspects’ homes and workplaces after law enforcement said it had launched nearly 600 raids across the country to block routes used by military-age men to avoid military service. was published. Police announced on Friday that “45 charge notices have been served to organizers and participants in illegal schemes to transport people across borders,” adding that this is just the first step in a broader effort. Ta. Kiev has been pushing for a major mobilization operation to build up its military for several months.
Two weeks after Azerbaijan blamed Russia for crashing a passenger plane, Russia’s aviation agency Rosaviasia called the European Union’s aviation agency “ridiculous” for warning that flying over Russia posed a “high risk” to commercial aircraft. he accused. The European Union’s aviation safety agency issued a new alert on Thursday, warning non-European airlines not to fly within airspace in western Russia due to the risk of being unintentionally targeted by air defense systems.
Thousands of protesters held banners and chanted slogans in the Slovak capital on Friday as Prime Minister Roberto Fico led the country to Russia after meeting with President Vladimir Putin last month amid a gas conflict with Ukraine. He accused her of dragging him in. Slovakia is in discussions with Ukraine over its decision to halt Russian gas transit through its territory from January 1. “Slovakia is Europe. We are not Russia,” one of the organizers said, waving Slovak and EU flags and holding a placard that read “Slovakia stands with Ukraine” and “Enough for Russia! ” he told the screaming crowd. and “It’s embarrassing!” Organizers estimate that 15,000 people protested in Bratislava, filling the central square.
Germany has accused a heavily laden tanker that drifted off its northern coast on Friday to have been part of a “shadow fleet” used by Russia to circumvent sanctions on oil exports. Foreign Minister Annalena Barbok criticized Russia’s use of “old oil tankers”, calling it a threat to European security. She spoke after the 274-metre Eventin, carrying around 100,000 tonnes of oil, was reported to have become “uncontrollable” after drifting in the Baltic Sea. Meanwhile, the German government is at odds over whether to approve 3 billion euros ($3.1 billion) in new military aid to Ukraine as Kiev tries to rally support ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday.
