Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to visit Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, this Friday, responding to his offer of talks to try to resolve a spat over the end of Russian gas deliveries.
Ten European Union countries have called for the 27-nation bloc to ban imports of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, as Europe debates fresh sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will hold talks in Russia on 17 January after which they will sign a long-awaited comprehensive strategic partnership pact, said the Kremlin on Monday.
Zelensky on Slovakia’s Fico gas talks offer: ‘Come to Kyiv on Friday’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to visit Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, this Friday, responding to his offer of talks to try to resolve a spat over the end of Russian gas deliveries.
Russia’s gas flows to Europe ended at the start of the year following the expiration of a transit agreement between Kyiv and Moscow. Ukraine refused to extend the deal, seeking to stop energy revenue going to Moscow to fund its nearly three-year invasion.
Fico says the move has cost Slovakia, which borders Ukraine, through higher gas prices and the loss of fees to transit the gas further into Europe, and he is seeking to have the flows restored.
Fico said in an open letter to Zelensky, published by his office, that a meeting could take place in Slovakia near the Ukraine border to discuss technical solutions to the matter.
“Such a meeting will create a good basis for an open discussion on gas supplies to Slovakia and other countries through the Ukrainian territory,” said Fico.
Zelensky, who had earlier accused Fico of opening a “second energy front” against Ukraine on the orders of Russia, replied to the letter succinctly.
“Ok. Come to Kyiv on Friday,” he said on social media platform X.
On 22 December, Fico travelled to Moscow to meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin and to discuss the transit arrangements, sparking criticism from Ukraine.
Fico previously said a deal was close that would have seen gas deliveries via Ukraine continue by having it change ownership beforehand. But he claims Zelensky rejected extending any gas flows through Ukraine at the EU summit in December.
If the problem with gas transit is not resolved, Fico has threatened to cut emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine, reduce aid for Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia or use its veto right on EU decisions on Ukraine.
Fico argues Europe has suffered multibillion-euro losses from a rise in gas prices caused by the absence of around 13.5 billion cubic metres of gas that flowed through Ukraine last year.
Ten EU countries call for sanctions on Russian gas
Ten European Union countries have called for the 27-nation bloc to ban imports of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, as Europe debates fresh sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
The EU is preparing its 16th package of sanctions targeting Russia’s economy, ahead of the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The 10 countries, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia and Finland, want Europe to go further in targeting Russia’s fuel exports, to cut the revenues flowing to Moscow.
“As an end goal, it is necessary to ban the import of Russian gas and LNG at the earliest date possible,” the countries said in a joint paper seen by Reuters.
It was also signed by Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
“An alternative to the full ban could be to gradually reduce the use of Russian gas and LNG as has also already been set out in the RePowerEU Roadmap,” the document said, referring to the EU’s existing aim to end its use of Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
The EU has already sanctioned seaborne oil imports from Russia, but so far not banned gas imports from Moscow because some EU countries continue to rely on them.
The 10 countries said Russian LNG tankers should also be banned from docking inside the EU.
The European Commission is drafting a more detailed plan to wean countries off Russian energy. Sanctions — the most direct way to shut off Russian fuel imports — would require unanimous approval from all EU countries.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has previously opposed Russian energy sanctions, while Slovak’s Fico said last week he had secured Slovakia’s gas supply during a visit to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in December.
Putin and Iran’s Pezeshkian to sign strategic partnership pact
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will hold talks in Russia on 17 January after which they will sign a long-awaited comprehensive strategic partnership pact, said the Kremlin on Monday.
The two leaders will discuss options for further expanding ties between Moscow and Tehran, including in the trade and investment, transport and logistics, and humanitarian spheres, said the Kremlin.
Putin and Pezeshkian will also talk about regional and international issues, it added.
Moscow accuses Ukraine of ‘energy terrorism’
Russia said on Monday it had downed nine Ukrainian drones that tried to attack part of the infrastructure of the TurkStream gas pipeline, through which Russian gas flows to Turkey and Europe, and called the attack an “act of energy terrorism”.
The Russian defence ministry said the attack was aimed against a compressor station in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia, but the facility was working normally and there were no casualties.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Russia’s Tass news agency later on Monday as calling the attack an act of energy terrorism. He said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller had discussed the alleged incident with their Turkish counterparts.
Peskov called it a new link in a chain of actions that he said were dangerous for consumers and included explosions, the preparation of explosions, and sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline between Russia and Europe.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ukrainian officials have previously denied their country’s involvement in explosions which damaged the Nord Stream pipeline.
TurkStream and Blue Stream, which run under the Black Sea to Turkey, are Russia’s last routes for supplying pipeline gas to Europe, after Ukraine at the start of the year refused to renew a five-year transit deal that had allowed Russia to keep pumping gas across its territory despite the war between the two neighbours.
China, India seek new supplies as US sanctions tighten grip on Russian oil
Chinese and Indian refiners are seeking alternative fuel supplies as they adapt to severe new US sanctions on Russian producers and tankers that are designed to curb the revenues of the world’s second-largest oil exporter.
US President Joe Biden’s administration imposed its broadest package of sanctions so far targeting Russia’s oil and gas revenues on Friday to give Kyiv and Donald Trump’s incoming team leverage to reach a deal for peace in Ukraine.
The US Treasury imposed sanctions on Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, as well as on 183 vessels that form part of a shadow fleet that has allowed Russia to skirt sanctions to get its oil to global markets.
According to Morgan Stanley, which cited data from tanker tracker Vortexa, the tankers subject to the latest sanctions carried around 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024. That equates to around 1.4% of global oil demand.
Many of them have been used to ship oil to India and China as Western sanctions and a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven countries in 2022 shifted trade in Russian oil from Europe to Asia. In addition, some tankers have shipped oil from Iran, which is also under sanctions.
Oil prices have jumped. Global benchmark Brent crude rose on Monday above $81 a barrel to its highest since August and the premium of prompt crude to that for delivery six months later has risen to its highest since April, implying traders expect supplies to remain tight.
The Kremlin said the sanctions risked destabilising global markets, and Moscow would seek to counter them.
Washington also imposed sanctions on top Russian ship insurer Ingosstrakh and another insurance provider Alphastrakhovanie.
It was unclear what would happen to the vessels whose insurance was unknown in the event of any environmental disaster and what mechanisms would be in place for clean-up costs or for insurance claims.
China has reiterated its opposition to unilateral US sanctions.
Analysts said the new sanctions were likely to reduce Russian oil exports in the short term, but Russia could adapt by using the vessels in its shadow fleet that are still not under sanctions.
Analysts also said the true size of Russia’s shadow fleet was unknown, but it was estimated to comprise close to 600 tankers.
Since the new sanctions, at least 65 oil tankers have dropped anchor at multiple locations, including off the coasts of China and Russia, ship tracking data showed.
Five of those were stationary off Chinese ports and a further seven dropped anchor off Singapore, with others halting near Russia in the Baltic Sea and the Far East.
The severity of the new measures has for now driven Chinese refiners back to sellers of oil that is not restricted, pushing up the spot markets for some regional crudes, as well as adding upward momentum to the global oil market.
Chinese refiner Yulong Petrochemical has previously bought Russian ESPO Blend crude, but over the weekend bought four million barrels of Abu Dhabi’s Upper Zakum crude loading in February and March from Totsa, the trading arm of French energy major TotalEnergies traders said.
In recent weeks, it has also purchased Angolan and Brazilian crude, said traders, and is in talks to buy more oil from West Africa as well as Canada.
China’s Unipec on Friday also booked four very large crude carriers, which can carry up to two million barrels of crude, from the Middle East, figures from data intelligence firm Kpler showed.
Currently, more than 60% of Russia’s seaborne oil exports go to India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer.
Although Indian refiners have stopped dealing with oil tankers and entities under US sanctions, the country does not expect disruption to Russian crude supplies during a two-month transition period, said a government source on Monday.
India will allow Russian oil cargoes booked before 10 January to discharge at ports, the source said, adding that Russia could also offer deeper discounts to India to meet a $60 a barrel price cap imposed by Group of Seven countries in 2022. Shipments below that level can use Western tankers and insurance.
Traders said Indian refiners, which bought spot Middle East crude last week before the sanctions were announced, were seeking more cargoes.
Trump call with Putin expected soon, says adviser
US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to have a call in the coming days or weeks, and it is unrealistic to aim to expel Russian soldiers from every inch of Ukrainian territory, a top Trump adviser said.
Trump, who will return as US president on 20 January, styles himself as a master dealmaker and has vowed to swiftly end the war in Ukraine, but has not set out how he might achieve that.
US Congressman Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser, told ABC on Sunday that the war had become a World War One-style “meat grinder of people and resources” with “World War Three consequences”, according to ABC.
“Everybody knows that this has to end somehow diplomatically,” Waltz, a Trump loyalist who also served in the National Guard as a colonel, told ABC.
“I just don’t think it’s realistic to say we’re going to expel every Russian from every inch of Ukrainian soil, even Crimea. President Trump has acknowledged that reality, and I think it’s been a huge step forward that the entire world is acknowledging that reality. Now let’s move forward.”
Asked specifically about contacts between Trump and Putin, Waltz said: “I do expect a call for, at least in the coming days and weeks. So, that would be a step and we’ll take it from there.”
Ukraine ‘ready to swap North Korean troops for Ukrainians held in Russia’
Zelensky said on Sunday Kyiv was ready to hand over captured North Korean soldiers to their leader Kim Jong-un if he could facilitate their exchange for Ukrainians held captive in Russia.
“In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others,” said Zelensky on the social media platform X.
Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine had taken two North Koreans prisoner in Russia’s Kursk region, the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers alive since their entry into the nearly three-year-old war last autumn.
Ukrainian and Western assessments say that some 11,000 troops from Russia’s ally North Korea have been deployed in the Kursk region to support Moscow’s forces. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
Zelensky has said Russian and North Korean forces had suffered heavy losses.
“Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong-un’s soldiers to him if he can organise their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia,” said Zelensky.
He posted a short video showing the interrogation of two men who are presented as North Korean soldiers. One of them was shown lying on a bed with bandaged hands, the other was sitting with a bandage on his jaw.
One of the men said through an interpreter that he did not know he was fighting against Ukraine and had been told he was on a training exercise.
Ukraine’s DTEK buys energy storage systems in bid to limit outages
Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK will buy storage systems with total capacity of 200 megawatts from a unit of renewable energy storage provider Fluence Energy to provide back-up for six power stations, said DTEK on Monday.
Ukraine is facing an energy crisis after Russia intensified bombardments of its energy sector, knocking out about half the country’s available generating capacity and causing blackouts nationwide.
DTEK expects the power storage plants, located in different sites across Ukraine, to be operational by October — before the harsh winter season — with storage capacities ranging between 20 and 50MW each.
In total they will supply the equivalent of two hours of power in about half the households in the capital Kyiv, said DTEK. DM