Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on June 24 that his country has hit more than 30 Russian oil processing and storage facilities. The Ukrainian military has stepped up attacks on Russian oil infrastructure this year, seeking to disrupt oil supplies to the Russian army and curb Moscow’s revenues to finance its war against Ukraine.

“More than 30 oil refineries, terminals, and oil depots of the terrorist state have been hit,” Mr. Zelenskyy told officers of Special Operations Centre “A” of the State Security Service (SBU) involved in attacks. He did not provide any additional details or give a time period. A video of his address was shared on his account on X.

Ukraine has been using its long-range drones, developed both by military intelligence and the SBU, for the strikes.

“For SBU drones, a distance of 1,500 km is no longer a problem,” Mr. Zelenskyy said, apparently referring to a May 9 strike when a major oil processing plant in the Bashkiria region was hit.

In the most recent attack on June 21, drones hit four refineries, including the Ilsky refinery, one of the main fuel producers in southern Russia.

Washington:

Two senior US treasury officials are in India to urge New Delhi to maintain the implementation of the oil price cap aimed at limiting profits to Russia, while also promoting stable global energy markets, according to an official announcement.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Anna Morris and PDO Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Eric Van Nostrand are travelling to New Delhi and Mumbai from April 2-5 to meet with government and private sector counterparts, the Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday.

“They will discuss key bilateral issues, including cooperation on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, other illicit finance issues, and continued implementation of the price cap, which seeks to further limit the profits Russia receives to fund its illegal invasion while promoting stable global energy markets,” it said.

Following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the G7 nations, the European Union, and Australia jointly implemented a price cap. This cap prohibits the utilisation of Western maritime services, including insurance, flagging, and transportation, for tankers transporting Russian oil priced at or above USD 60 per barrel.

In 2023, Russia had emerged as India’s top oil supplier. India has strong economic and defence ties with Russia and has refrained from criticising Moscow over its war with Ukraine.

Morris and Nostrand will deliver remarks on the price cap and participate in a Q&A hosted by the Ananta Aspen Centre in New Delhi on Thursday.

As Morris and Nostrand noted in a blog post last month, the second phase of the price cap continues to achieve its twin goals: restricting Russia’s oil profits, while supporting energy market stability, the statement said.

“The price at which Russia sells its oil has declined markedly since the second phase began; the shift reflects the effects of reduced oil prices globally over this period, but also a significant widening in the discount Russia earns relative to other global oil suppliers,” it said.

Energy market participants, analysts, and even Russian President Vladimir Putin’s own oil czar have linked the rising discount on Russian oil to the Coalition’s increased enforcement activities reflected in the second phase of the price cap – clear evidence that this second phase is working, the statement said.

“The price cap is helping maintain a steady supply of energy to global consumers and businesses, and providing key importers like India with more leverage to drive steeper bargains. At the same time, the price cap, along with key sanctions enforcement measures, is reducing Putin’s profits from selling that oil,” it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Houston:

More than 250,000 barrels per day of US crude is set to arrive in India next month, the highest in more than a year, ship tracking data showed, amid tighter enforcement of sanctions on Russian crude.

India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, is looking to diversify its oil supplies as fresh US sanctions on Moscow threaten to dent Russian oil sales to India, the biggest buyer of Russian seaborne crude.

About 7.6 million barrels of oil, or 256,000 barrels per day (bpd), were headed to India on three very large crude carriers and three Suezmax vessels, according to ship tracking firm Kpler.

The ships, which were largely headed to India’s west coast, were chartered by Reliance Industries, Vitol, Equinor, and Sinokor, among others, according to data from financial firm LSEG.

India was the top buyer of Russian oil last year after other groups retreated from purchases following Western sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Last month, the US tightened efforts to reduce Russia’s oil trade adding sanctions on state-owned shipping firm Sovcomflot and 14 crude oil tankers involved in Russian oil transportation.

Reliance, operator of the world’s biggest refining complex, will not buy Russian oil loaded on tankers operated by Sovcomflot after recent US sanctions, sources told Reuters last week.

More Indian refiners plan to shun Sovcomflot vessels, which may weigh on imports of Russian oil and leave Russia with fewer outlets for its flagship product, sources said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)