Kyiv takes over five strategic companies from oligarchs; Scholz says refugees 'a major challenge for Germany'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Iran must be punished for what he called its “complicity in Russian terror”. During a Sunday evening address, he accused the regime in Tehran of helping to prolong the war and exacerbate its impact on food and energy supplies.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Zelensky in a telephone call that she will this week propose a financial aid package of as much as €18-billion to help cover Ukraine’s needs into next year.

Key developments

• Impounded Russian superyachts are costing millions to maintain


• Ukraine wields wartime powers to seize firms tied to oligarchs


• European gas prices drop as warm weather contains heating demand


• Ukraine crop shipments top 10 million tonnes, but inspections slow


• Biden’s big oil feud ignites just as world needs US crude

On the ground

Ukrainian forces repelled attacks over the past day near eight settlements in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. The country’s southern operational command said that three Russian munitions depots and a UAV control station were destroyed.

Russian troops shelled the Nikopol district in the Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, local authorities said on Telegram. The UK Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update that “Russia’s continued lack of air superiority is likely exacerbated by poor training, loss of experienced crews, and heightened risks of conducting close air support” and that “this is unlikely to change in the next few months.”

India bought 25% of Ukrainian sunflower oil in October 

India purchased 25% of the sunflower oil exported from Ukraine in October, Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka said on Facebook. “This is an example of how important the grain corridor is for India,” he said.

About 10.07 million tonnes of grain and foodstuffs have departed Ukrainian ports since the corridor began operating in early August, the Joint Coordination Centre that facilitates the Ukraine grain-export deal said late on Sunday.

Kachka said the volume of Ukrainian agriculture exports last month amounted to 9.2 million tonnes, which is the second-largest such monthly figure since the beginning of the Russian invasion. The value of exports in October reached $3.8-billion.

 

Zelensky meets Howard Buffett  

Zelensky held a meeting with Howard Buffett, where the US businessman and philanthropist expressed a willingness to buy energy equipment and generators for Ukrainian pumping stations, hospitals and mobile heating points, according to a statement on the president’s website.

Ukrainian regions and cities, including Kyiv, have experienced power cuts after Russian forces targeted energy infrastructure in an escalation of its attacks.

Zelensky also discussed with Buffett his potential participation in a fund for Ukraine’s recovery, which the government is working on, as well as in private projects.

Ukraine’s authorities take over five companies 

Ukraine’s authorities have taken temporary control of five strategically important companies to help the economy, defence and the armed forces, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, told reporters in Kyiv.

The National Securities and Stock Market Commission issued an order on Sunday for securing shares in engine maker Motor Sich and oil producer Ukrnafta, which is backed by billionaire Igor Kolomoisky. The authorities also targeted truck maker Avtokraz, industrial company Zaporizhtransformator and an oil-refining company, Ukrtatnafta.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said his government was acting in accordance with emergency legislation passed in response to the Kremlin’s February 24 invasion.

Putin mentor’s daughter returns to Russia 

The celebrity-journalist daughter of President Vladimir Putin’s political mentor has returned to Russia, less than a fortnight since she fled for Europe after police detained a close associate and raided her home as part of a criminal case for alleged extortion, state media reported.

Ksenia Sobchak, a socialite, TV presenter and former presidential candidate who has publicly questioned the invasion of Ukraine, crossed the border into Russia from the Baltic nation of Latvia, RIA Novosti reported. Putin has often described her father, Anatoly Sobchak, the former mayor of St Petersburg and democratic reformer, as a major influence on him when they worked together in the 1990s after the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Hungary won’t back EU joint funds for Ukraine  

Hungary would block any European Union effort to jointly raise funds to help Ukraine, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto indicated, amid a dispute with the bloc over rule of law that is blocking Budapest’s access to recovery funds.

Read more: EU gears up for Hungary showdown this month in rule-of-law spat

Hungary has provided support for Ukraine on a bilateral basis and will continue to do so, but it opposes doing this jointly with other EU member states, Szijjarto said on Monday at a conference in Sofia.

Equinor steps up security around North Sea platforms 

Equinor stepped up protective measures around its offshore installations after explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipeline system and an increase in drone activity around the company’s facilities, according to CEO Anders Opedal.

“It was kind of a stark reminder that someone has an intent and the capabilities actually to do this,” Opedal said in a Bloomberg interview on the sidelines of the UN climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Ukraine takes delivery of more air defence systems 

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleskii Reznikov thanked the US, Spain and Norway for delivering Nasams and Aspide air defence systems, which he said would make the skies over the country safer.

“We will continue to shoot down the enemy targets attacking us,” Reznikov said in a tweet.

 

Nuclear watchdog assesses impact of possible dam blast 

Ukraine’s nuclear watchdog said it was “urgently” assessing the potential impact on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant of any blast damage to the Kakhovska hydroelectric facility and dam that the government in Kyiv has accused Russia of mining.

The report for regulator Energoatom is due no later than Wednesday, according to a statement on Telegram. Any damage could cause a significant drop in the level of the Kakhovka reservoir, which supplies water for cooling the Zaporizhzhia plant.

Russian-occupied Kherson suffers power issues 

The southern city of Kherson and the surrounding areas were experiencing problems with electricity supply and communications, according to a Ukrainian official for the Russian-occupied region.

Yuriy Sobolevskiy, the deputy chairman of the Kherson Regional Council, said in a television interview that forced evacuations were continuing. He also accused Russia of spreading false information about Ukraine apparently planning to blow up a nearby dam, and said Russian forces were laying mines in city infrastructure and looting museums and medical facilities.

Refugees ‘a major challenge for Germany’ - Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees now registered in Germany are posing a major challenge for cities and municipalities.

Read more: German unemployment edges higher as more refugees join workforce

In a speech in Berlin, Scholz also referred to an agreement last week with the premiers of Germany’s 16 states to provide an additional €1.5-billion in federal funds this year and next to help cope with the influx.

Georgia shows strong recovery - IMF 

Georgia’s economy has recovered robustly from the Covid-19 pandemic, while adverse spillovers from Russia’s war in Ukraine have had less impact than expected, according to James John, head of mission for the International Monetary Fund.

Economic growth is projected at 10% in 2022, and inflation at 10.5%, with both expected to slow next year, according to an IMF statement. Tourism revenue, a surge in immigration and financial inflows triggered by the war, as well as a rise in transit trade, have lifted growth and fiscal revenues.

Turkey, Asia buying banned Russian coal

Europe’s hard ban on Russian coal imports, which came into effect on 10 August, has pushed rejected Russian coal cargoes to Turkey, India, China and Africa.

These coal cargoes are being sold at a significant discount compared to similar-grade coal from other countries. In September, Turkey imported Russian thermal coal at $199 per metric ton, 23% lower than similar-grade coal from Colombia, its next largest supplier.

Impounded Russian superyachts costing millions 

Seizing superyachts belonging to Russian oligarchs has been a public relations success for Western governments, but the legal and financial implications are complex.

When the Ukraine war began, Western governments rushed to seize Russian oligarchs’ yachts. But the idle boats have become a burden for some taxpayers.

The vessels cost millions of dollars a year to maintain and some US and European taxpayers are footing the bill.

US, Russia ‘discussed avoiding escalation’

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Russian counterparts have held talks in recent months on guarding against the risk of escalation and warning Moscow against using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US and allied officials. A settlement of the war in Ukraine wasn’t an aim of the discussions, according to the report. DM