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Russia bans 61 Americans, including Treasury Secretary Yellen; UK to send rocket systems

Russia bans 61 Americans, including Treasury Secretary Yellen; UK to send rocket systems
Bloomberg
By Bloomberg
6 Jun 2022
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Ukraine was in talks with the United Nations on potential ways to export grain from ports blocked by Russia’s military, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, but Kyiv remained sceptical towards a tentative deal between Turkey and Moscow to restart shipments.

India is in talks to boost crude imports from Rosneft as refiners in Asia’s second-biggest oil market have been enjoying a windfall from discounted Russian oil. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was prevented from visiting Serbia after that country’s neighbours banned his flight from their airspace. And Russia slapped back at what it called “constantly expanding sanctions” against its citizens by barring visits by Americans including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and BlackRock’s Larry Fink.

The UK plans to send rocket systems to Ukraine that will let it strike locations as far as 80km away, less than a week after the US said it would provide similar weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to strike new targets in Ukraine if longer-range missiles are delivered.  

Key developments  



Russia bans entry to 61 Americans, including Yellen and Fink  


Russia banned entry to the country “indefinitely” by 61 US nationals, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, to retaliate for “constantly expanding sanctions” against its citizens, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.

Executives covered by the symbolic travel ban include BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Delta Airlines CEO Edward Bastian, Fitch Group CEO Paul Taylor and Universal Pictures President Peter Cramer as well as Nasdaq and NYSE executives.

The Foreign Ministry said the “indefinite ban” targets leaders of the US defence industry, media platforms and rating agencies, aircraft- and ship-building companies and several State Department officials cited for spreading allegedly fake news about Russian cyberattacks, the country’s Foreign Ministry said on its website.

US goes after billionaire Abramovich’s planes 


The US obtained a warrant to seize two jets owned or controlled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

US magistrate Judge Sara Cave signed a warrant of seizure on Monday for a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and a Gulfstream G650ER, according to documents released by the office of Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams.

The Boeing has remained in Dubai since March, while the Gulfstream has been in Moscow since then, according to an FBI affidavit.

Earlier: Abramovich’s luxury jet among 100 planes cited over US rules

Zelensky cites intel saying Russia wants to occupy Zaporizhzhia  


Zelensky said that “the most dangerous situation” of the war at present is in Zaporizhzhia, a region west of Donetsk that is partly occupied by Russian forces.

“We understand, and we see from intercepted calls, that the enemy wants to occupy Zaporizhzhia,” Zelensky told journalists at a press conference in Kyiv. Ukrainian forces are still fighting in Sievierodonetsk, although they are outnumbered by Russian personnel and heavy weapons, he said.

Russia’s crude oil revenues take a hit even as exports swell 


Russia is earning less from its oil exports, even as seaborne crude shipments surge to a six-week high. That’s because of the big discounts that Moscow is having to offer Asian buyers to snap up barrels shunned by Europe, which translate into a drop in export duties. Read more here.

Ukraine in talks with UN to export grain, president says  


Ukraine is in talks with the United Nations on ways to arrange grain exports, Zelensky said, adding that he has discussed the situation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

As much as 25 million tonnes of grain are blocked from export in Ukraine’s ports, and that may rise to 75 million tonnes by autumn, Zelensky said. Ukraine rejected an offer to use Belarus’s rail links, he said, adding that Kyiv wasn’t invited to talks between Russia and Turkey.

While Ukraine wants guarantees from “countries which we can trust and which will have accords with Russia”, the best guarantee for safe exports will be weapons Ukraine can use to strike Russian ships if they attack Ukrainian ports, Zelensky said.





 

 



 

Latvia bans 80 Russian TV channels until war ends 


Latvia banned the remaining 80 Russian-registered TV channels operating there from broadcasting until Russia ends its war in Ukraine and returns Crimea to Kyiv’s control, the Leta news service reported, citing Ivars Abolins, the chairman of the National Electronic Mass Media Council.

The Baltic country, which neighbours Russia and has a large Russian-speaking minority, is one of Europe’s harshest critics of the war in Ukraine. Abolins said Monday that Latvia had given a broadcasting licence to TV Rain, an independent Russian TV channel that was banned by Moscow in March.

Read more: Putin’s crackdown pushes independent Russian media into crypto

Serbian leader decries derailing of Lavrov visit 


Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who was supposed to host Lavrov this week in Belgrade, said he was displeased how neighbouring countries prevented the visit by banning Lavrov’s flight from their airspace.

Still, Lavrov will soon meet his Serbian counterpart, Nikola Selaković, at an undisclosed location and time, Vučić said. In Moscow, Lavrov called the move by Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro to block him from their airspace “unprecedented.”

Lavrov is a great and proven friend” of Serbia, Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin said in separate comments in Belgrade. “Serbia is proud of not being part of the anti-Russia hysteria,” Vulin said.

Russian car sales at record low as sanctions sting 


Russian car sales plunged by 84% in May, as sanctions and international isolation brought an industry that had once been a showcase for foreign investment to a near standstill.

Fewer than 25,000 vehicles were sold last month, according to the Association of European Businesses, the lowest since at least 2006 and less than a tenth of the monthly levels seen in peak months in the past.

Read more: Russian car sales collapse as isolation hits once-hot industry

India in talks to increase oil imports from Rosneft  


India is looking to boost Russian oil imports, with state-owned refiners eager to take more heavily discounted supplies from Rosneft after Europe enacted a partial ban.

State processors are collectively working on securing new six-month supply contracts for Russian crude to India, according to people with knowledge of the companies’ procurement plans. They are in talks with Rosneft, Russia’s state-owned oil champion, with the seller set to handle shipping and insurance matters, they said.

China and India have snapped up millions of barrels of Russian crude to take advantage of hefty discounts as sanctions by the US, UK and European Union have caused most Western buyers to stop buying oil from the country.

Read more: India in talks to increase Russian oil imports From Rosneft

Ukraine sceptical of Turkey-Russia deal to ship grain 


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has offered military help to clear mines off the coast of Odesa and escort grain ships but Ukraine has yet to endorse the plan, worried that removing defences could leave the vital port open to Russian attack, people familiar with the deal said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t yet public.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to hold talks in Ankara on the plan on Wednesday. It remains unclear whether Ukraine will send a representative. “By commenting in advance on reaching the deal, Russia is seeking to shift responsibility to Ukraine” for disrupting supplies, Ukraine’s deputy economy minister, Taras Kachka said. 

The Kremlin’s invasion has cut off shipments of grain and other farm products from Ukraine, threatening millions of people in its traditional markets with food shortages. Moscow has denied responsibility for the disruption but demanded relief from US and European sanctions limiting its exports of fertiliser and agricultural products.

Read more: Ukraine cautious as Turkey, Russia push Black Sea grain deal

Ukraine says Russian general killed 


Russian Major-General Roman Kutuzov was killed, Ukraine’s army said on its Facebook page. Earlier, Meduza reported Kutuzov died in fighting in the Luhansk region, citing a journalist for a Russian state-run television station. Russia’s Defence Ministry hasn’t commented.





 

 



 

UK to send rocket systems  


The UK is to send multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) to Ukraine, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced. The move has been coordinated closely with the US decision to send the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System variant of MLRS to Ukraine, where forces have requested longer-range precision weapons.

“As Russia’s tactics change, so must our support to Ukraine,” Wallace said. “These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against the brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities.”

The M270 weapons system, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, can strike targets up to 80km away with high accuracy, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Defence. The UK will also supply M31A1 munitions “at scale”.

Russia seeks buyers for plundered grain - New York Times  


The US has told more than a dozen countries that Putin’s government is trying to sell plundered wheat from Ukraine to drought-stricken African nations, The New York Times reported, citing a diplomatic cable.

The paper said that in mid-May, the US sent a notification to 14 countries, mostly in Africa, of Russian cargo vessels leaving ports near Ukraine laden with what the cable said was “stolen Ukrainian grain”.

Ukraine has accused Russia of looting grain in occupied areas and selling it abroad, and local traders have said Russian troops have confiscated grain, equipment and fertilisers in occupied areas in the country’s southeast. DM

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