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 An increase in the rate of export duty charged on crude oil shipped out of Russia in July has helped the Kremlin to ride out a slump in revenue inflow in the first full week of the month. Duty rates increased by 23% between June and July, delivering an additional $1.42 a barrel to the Kremlin on every cargo shipment leaving the country. That boost helped Russia shrug off a 15% drop in crude shipments in the week to July

Ukraine is already working with the European Union on the seventh package of sanctions against Russia and is not giving anyone a pause in this process, said the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba. He also noted that he considers the decisions of Canada and the United States an excellent impetus for the European Union. “We are already working with them on the seventh package. However, we know countries that are expressing some sanction fatigue and asking to take a

The leaders of the Group of Seven, met recently at a summit in Bavaria, Germany, and reached a unanimous consensus on the need to limit the price of Russian oil. Still, this mechanism needs to be worked out in detail, stated White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. However, he noted, this issue is challenging to implement, and discussions around it continue. He also explained that in terms of implementing this decision, there are many questions about how to deal

 Three Ukrainian ports operating on the Danube handled almost 1.3 million tons of cargo in May. According to Deputy Head of the Seaports Administration Dmytro Barinov, “In total, there are 18 ports in Ukraine, five of them were temporarily occupied in 2014, another four were occupied after the start of the war and six more ports are blocked from the sea. However, Ukraine still has three ports along the Danube – Reni, Izmail, and Ust-Dunaisk. In March, together they transshipped

The Russian hacker group Killnet claimed responsibility for cyberattacks on Lithuanian websites in response to Vilnius banning the passage of goods sanctioned by the European Union across its territory and into the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, an isolated but strategically significant region on the Baltic coast. Due to cyberattacks on several public institutions, there have been temporary service disruptions. Now, hackers have attacked the entire Lithuanian online accounting department. Also, several Lithuanian public institutions have experienced cyberattacks, said the Lithuanian

 On its own initiative and at its own expense, Ukraine has purchased 2,900 RGW 90 Matador anti-tank missile systems from the German company Dynamit Nobel Defence (DND), reported Welt. The German anti-tank missile systems arrived in Ukraine in two shipments – 2,300 and 576 units. In addition, Ukraine signed a contract with DND for 5,100 anti-tank missile systems in March. It is noted that since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Germany has provided Ukraine with mostly light weapons

 US weapons will help Ukraine regain Russian-occupied territory, including Crimea and the Donbas, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told CNN in Brussels. The defense minister said the first step will be to stabilize the situation on the ground to prevent further losses against Russian forces. The second stage, he said, is to push Russian forces back to their positions before the invasion on February 24. Only in the third stage would there be discussions with Ukraine’s partners on “how

According to a study by CREA, the EU remains the largest buyer of Russian gas and oil, 61% of Russia’s fossil fuel exports, amounting to €57B. Among individual countries, the largest importer was China with €12.6B, in second place – Germany with €12.1B, in third place – Italy with €7.8B. Imports fell slightly in May, by about 15% compared to the time before the invasion, as many countries and firms avoided energy supplies from Russia. Declining demand and lower prices

“We are doing all we can, but this issue can be resolved only by unblocking Ukrainian ports because 80% of agricultural exports go through them,” said Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba. Ukraine appealed to all interested partners to focus their efforts on finding a balanced solution that will lift the Russian seaport blockade while at the same time providing clear security guarantees for the Ukrainian Black Sea coast and relevant humanitarian corridors. Kuleba also noted its appreciation for

 On May 30, Zelenskyy called on the EU to approve the sixth package of sanctions against Russia and stop depending on Russia in an address to the European Council. “Why do you depend on Russia and their pressure, not vice versa? Russia must depend on you. Why can she still earn almost a billion euros a day by selling energy?” asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian President also calls for granting Ukraine EU candidate status in June and not to look

 US President Joe Biden said he doesn’t plan to ship any missiles to Ukraine that could strike Russian territory. The Biden administration has been preparing to step up the kind of weaponry it offers Ukraine by sending advanced, long-range rocket systems that are now the top request from Ukrainian officials. The administration is leaning toward sending the MLRS as part of more significant military and security assistance package to Ukraine, which could be announced next week. According to the US

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States has rejected Russia’s proposals to lift sanctions in exchange for allowing access to Ukrainian ports. “Of course, we will not lift sanctions in response to empty promises. We have heard empty promises from the Russian Federation before. I think we have reason to be skeptical when we hear different promises and proposals from Russia,” Price said. He called it appalling that Russia seeks to use food and energy as weapons.

 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions from the West have sent oil prices skyrocketing, lifting gasoline and diesel prices in the US to unprecedented levels, reported CNN. Natural gas prices have also climbed around the world. After the West imposed strict penalties on Russia, Putin warned that “unfriendly” nations would need to pay for crucial Russian natural gas shipments in rubles instead of euros. Following payment disputes, Russia has turned off the flow of gas to Finland, Bulgaria,

 Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine as a failure and said Putin should not win. “He has already missed all his strategic goals. The capture of all of Ukraine by Russia seems more distant than at the beginning of the war,” Olaf Scholz said. According to the German Chancellor, Putin also underestimated the unity and strength of NATO, the EU, and the G7. The chancellor called on Putin

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the launch of a new joint UK, EU, and US group to help support the efforts of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General to document war crimes and other atrocities committed in Ukraine. The new mechanism, called the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA), will “provide strategic advice and operational assistance to the War Crimes Units of the Ukrainian Persecutor General, the legally constituted authority responsible for prosecuting war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine,” Blinken

 During the World Economic Forum, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba noted that Ukraine is now in critical need of Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), and allies that could provide them are waiting for a political signal from Washington. He noted that the situation with the supply of weapons from partners is much better than a month ago and the leading role of the US in coordinating this assistance through meetings at the Ramstein Air Force base in Germany. He explained

 Charles Michel is confident that any issues over the proposed ban on Russian oil imports will be resolved by the next council meeting on May 30. Addressing a news conference alongside Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson in Stockholm on Wednesday, Michel said that although he was “still confident” that the bloc would be able to resolve any issues, it would require a lot of dialogue. The Swedish prime minister publicly declared the country’s desire “to go further” with sanctions against

 Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks called on its partners to increase support for Ukraine so that they do not have to defend themselves. “Ukraine is currently fighting our war, and if it loses, we will have the next one. We will pay for it ourselves,” Pabriks said. The Minister thanked the countries that are supporting Ukraine significantly, the United States, Great Britain, Poland, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, and the Scandinavian countries. At the same time, the politician noted

The Minister of Defense of the United Kingdom, Ben Wallace, rejected the idea of ​​easing sanctions against Russia in exchange for a grain export corridor through Ukraine, reported Reuters. Earlier on Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Rudenko said that Russia was ready to provide a humanitarian corridor allowing food carriers from Ukraine to depart in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions. “Ukrainian grain is for everyone, such as Libya and Yemen. People all over the world rely on

 German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine immediately, Spiegel reports. “Respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, stop fighting,” Steinmeier said. “Mr. Putin, stop the suffering and destruction in Ukraine! Withdraw your troops! And do not refuse direct and serious talks with President Zelenskyy!” he declared. According to Steinmeier, Putin’s war of aggression affects not only the people of Ukraine. Because millions of tons of grain are blocked in Ukrainian seaports, world grain prices have