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President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced that Russia would ban the supply of oil to Western countries that have imposed a price cap.
The G7 including the UK, the European Union and Australia agreed this month to a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil effective from Dec 5 over the war in Ukraine.
The cap is close to the current price for Russian oil but well beneath the windfall price Russia was able to sell for this year and that helped offset the impact of financial sanctions on Moscow.
Britain, the EU, the United States and others have already banned the import of Russian oil.
But Russia’s far-reaching ban would force countries still buying oil from the country to source it elsewhere.
Russia is the world’s second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, and a major disruption to its sales would have far-reaching consequences for global energy supplies. It has already threatened to cut supplies in 2023, which would push up the price of non-Russian oil and potentially bring pain to consumers.
Cheap Russian gas and oil
The war in Ukraine has brought significant volatility to global energy markets, sending prices soaring and European countries scrambling to wean themselves off cheap Russian oil and gas.
The decree, published on a government portal and the Kremlin website, was presented as a direct response to “actions that are unfriendly and contradictory to international law by the United States and foreign states and international organisations joining them.
“Deliveries of Russian oil and oil products to foreign entities and individuals are banned, on the condition that in the said, referring specifically to the US and other countries that have imposed the price cap.
“The established ban applies to all stages of supply up to the end buyer.”
Overrule the ban in special cases
The decree, which includes a clause that allows Putin to overrule the ban in special cases, said: “This…comes into force on Feb 1, 2023, and applies until July 1, 2023.”
Crude oil exports will be banned from Feb 1 but the date for the oil products ban will be determined by the Russian government and could come later.
The price cap, unseen even in the times of the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union, is aimed at crippling Russian state coffers and Moscow’s military efforts in Ukraine.
Some analysts have said that the cap will have little immediate impact on the oil revenues that Moscow is earning.
Russia has been promising to respond to the cap for weeks, and the eventual decree largely established what officials had already said publicly.
The G7 price cap allows non-EU countries to continue importing seaborne Russian crude oil, but it will prohibit shipping, insurance and re-insurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian crude around the globe, unless it is being sold for less than the price cap.
EU countries have separately implemented an embargo that prohibits them from purchasing seaborne Russian oil.
05:03 PM
Today’s main events
That’s all for today’s live blog. Here’s a round-up of today’s main events:
- President Putin banned oil exports to countries that impose the price cap enforced by the West
- An air raid alert was put in place across Ukraine after military jets were seen taking off from Belarus
- Ukraine’s Patriot missile defence system will be operational within six months after US hatched plan to rush it into service
- Fighting has been raging in the east around Bakhmut in particular, but Russia has made few advances in the past 48 hours according to UK intelligence.
- The funeral of a Ukrainian game designer who worked on the STALKER series set in Chernobyl was held in Kyiv after he died while fighting in Bakhmut.
- Sanctions and oil cap have seen the Russian rouble fall by 3% against the US dollar
- Russian sausage magnate who had been critical of the war dies after hotel window fall
- The UK has received 2,000 pet refugees from Ukraine since the war began
04:32 PM
Italian Prime Minister reaffirms support for Ukraine
Italy’s government on Tuesday pledged its support for Kyiv and reiterated its commitment to achieving a “just peace” for Ukraine, it said in a statement following a phone call between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“(Prime Minister) Meloni renewed the Italian government’s full support for Kyiv in the political, military, economic and humanitarian fields, to repair energy infrastructure and (to work) for the future reconstruction of Ukraine”, the statement said.
04:31 PM
Putin bans oil exports to countries which impose price cap
President Putin has signed a decree which bans the supply of oil and oil products to nations that imposed a price cap on Russian oil.
The ban will come into force on February 1 and last for five months until July.
03:47 PM
Ukrainian GDP to fall by a third amid strikes on energy infrastructure
Russian attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine imperil the country’s economy, the national bank has said.
The Kyiv Independent, a Ukrainian newspaper, reported that the country’s GDP is set to fall by a third amid missile strikes and reduced demand for banking services during the war.
03:41 PM
Video from Bakhmut ‘just like movies’ as fighting rages
A video purporting to be taken during fighting in Bakhmut is circulating on social media.
It shows a helicopter flying low ahead of a military convoy and dropping bombs on an unknown target.
Bakhmut has become strategically important for Russia and UK intelligence suggests Moscow is putting vast resources into its attempted capture.
The video has not been verified by the Telegraph.
03:17 PM
Ukrainian spooks seize £40bn of iron ore from Putin ally
Ukrainian intelligence officials have reportedly taken control of a batch of 1660,000 tonnes of iron ore at ports around Ukraine.
The commodity is believed to have been owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.
The Security Service of Ukraine said in a statement: “The security service continues to identify and block the assets of representatives of pro-Kremlin corporations involved in financing the war against Ukraine.”
It added: “It has been established that the found batch of iron ore belongs to the company of the Russian oligarch, who is in the inner circle of the highest military-political leadership of the Kremlin, Alisher Usmanov.”
03:02 PM
UK receives 2,000 pet refugees from Ukraine
More than 2,000 pets have arrived in the UK from Ukraine this year alongside their refugee owners.
They included an African hedgehog, a degu and cockatiels, according to a Freedom of Information request to the Animal and Plant Healthy Agency.
The vast majority of pets brought into the country were cats and dogs.
You can read the full story here.
02:14 PM
Fierce fighting continues in eastern Ukraine
Fighting has continued to rage in the east as Russian forces are attempting to seize the city of Bakhmut.
Bakhmut lies in the Donbas region between Luhansk and Donetsk and has been the location for persistent attacks by Russian forces over the past few days.
We have been sent pictures of smoke billowing from buildings in Bakhmut after attacks earlier today.
01:13 PM
WIONMilitary jets taking off from Belarus
More on the news of a few moments ago of air raid alerts across the whole country.
The Kyiv Independent reports that monitoring groups in Belarus observed military jets taking off from an airfield in the country.
It may have been this that triggered the alert.
01:09 PM
Air raid alert for the whole of Ukraine
An air raid alert has been declared across the whole of Ukraine this afternoon.
The warning comes as fighting has mostly been concentrated around Bakhmut and a few other towns in eastern Ukraine.
Yesterday Russian officials warned that that Kyiv must accept Moscow’s demands which include handing over large parts of Ukraine to Russia.
The news was first reported by Nexta, the eastern European press agency.
12:13 PM
Funeral held for Ukrainian serviceman and game designer
The funeral of Volodymyr Yezhov, a fallen Ukrainian serviceman, has taken place in Kyiv.
Before enlisting to fight, Mr Yezhov was reportedly a developer at Ukrainian video game studio GSC Game World.
Among the titles he is said to have worked on is STALKER, a series of horror survival games set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and first released in 2007.
His funeral took place on Tuesday and tributes were paid to him online.
11:51 AM
Work ongoing to reconnect power, but millions without energy
Repair work is ongoing to restore power to large parts of Ukraine, local media has reported.
Russian attacks have targeted energy infrastructure, leaving nine million without power according to President Zelensky.
A Ukrainian news agency reported that at least one power plant has been reconnected.
11:47 AM
Zelensky in rallying call to Ukrainians
President Zelensky has posted a rallying call for Ukrainians to keep showing courage on his Telegram account.
He wrote: “In this battle, we have one powerful and effective weapon. The hammer and sword of our spirit and consciousness. Courage and bravery. Virtues that incline us to do good deeds and overcome evil.
“The main act of courage is endurance and bringing one’s work to the end in spite of everything. The truth illuminates our path. We know it. We protect it. Our truth is a struggle for freedom. Freedom comes at a high price. But slavery costs even more.”
11:04 AM
Scottish fighter back on the front line after Christmas break
Adam Ennis, a Scottish garage owner who joined the international legion in March, has told BBC Scotland that he has returned to the frontline after having a rare day off for Christmas.
He said he felt lucky to have had the day off while his comrades slept rough in Ukrainian trenches.
He has seen action in at least two major fronts, according to the BBC, and has no plans to come home any time soon saying his “heart is invested in this war effort”.
He had no combat training except for a cadet scheme he was a part of at school before enlisting.
Mr Ennis, who goes by the name Braveheart in Ukraine, is documenting his experience on his Instagram page, @i_am_braveheart_ukraine
10:48 AM
Video shows woman dragged from bus in Russia for criticising war
A video has emerged which appears to show an elderly woman being forcibly removed from a bus in Russia for criticising the war.
The video shows a man dressed in black dragging the woman from her seat and throwing her out of the door of the bus.
It has been shared by Wartranslated, a Twitter account which translates information and footage relating to the war.
The Telegraph has not verified the footage.
10:42 AM
In pictures: life goes on during the war
10:34 AM
Russian tank destroyed by grenades dropped from drones
A video posted on social media appears to show a Russian tank being destroyed by Ukrainian drones.
The drones dropped RKG-3 HEAT grenades which had been adapted to be carried by aerial drones. The tank which was destroyed was a T-90M tank.
The video was posted by the Ukraine Weapons Tracker account on Twitter. The Telegraph has not independently verified the footage.
10:20 AM
Russia attacking Bakhmut and Svatove with little success
British intelligence has said Russian forces have initiated several small-scale assaults over the past 48 hours in Bakhmut, in the Donetsk Oblast region, and Svatove, in Luhansk.
Despite this little territory has changed hands, said the Ministry of Defence in its daily update.
It also said that elements of Russia’s Guards Tank Army deployed in Belarus are likely conducting training and is not combat ready.
10:16 AM
Russia should be expelled from the UN, says Ukrainian deputy speaker
A Ukrainian politician has called for the expulsion of Russia from the UN saying its membership is ‘illegitimate’ while it occupies foreign territories.
Oleksandr Korniyenko, the country’s deputy speaker, made the following statement on social media:
10:12 AM
Sanctions and oil cap taking toll on Russian economy
The Russian rouble fell to 70 against the US dollar as the weight of western sanctions continue to be felt.
The rouble lost about 8% against the dollar last week and is on course for a monthly decline after an oil embargo and price cap came into force.
Meanwhile, Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov warned that the country’s budget deficit could be wider than the planned 2% of GDP in 2023, largely due to the oil price cap.
However, the rouble remains the world’s best-performing major currency against the dollar this year, supported by capital controls and reduced imports.
09:57 AM
State-of-the-art missile defence system operational in six months
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, has said the country will do whatever it can to win the war in 2023 and called for a UN-brokered peace summit before the end of February.
President Putin has suggested in the recent days that Russia is ready for talks, but Moscow’s forces continue to attack Ukraine, casting doubt on this claim.
In an interview with AP, Mr Kuleba revealed the US Government had launched a special plan for a Patriot missile system to be rushed into service.
Ukrainian forces could be trained in its use in the US, further than previous plans to train in a third-party country like Germany.
09:52 AM
Mock executions staged by Russian occupying forces to deter Ukrainian saboteurs
Russian forces in occupied parts of Ukraine have resorted to staging mock executions in a bid to deter locals from supporting partisans, a top Ukrainian official has claimed.
Serhiy Gaiday, governor of the Luhansk region, on Monday quoted eyewitnesses describing a Russian operation to sow fear in the occupied territories, amid a wave of apparent attacks on Russian-installed officials blamed on Ukrainian saboteurs.
Policemen working for the occupation administration in the frontline town of Svatove on Friday reportedly took seven unidentified men, placed bags over their heads and forced them to kneel in front of the police station for two hours.
You can read the full story here.
09:48 AM
Zelensky: Battle at Donbas front ‘difficult and painful’
Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation at the front line in the Donbas region was “difficult and painful” and required all of the country’s “strength and concentration”.
“Bakhmut, Kreminna and other areas in Donbas … require a maximum of strength and concentration,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Monday.
“The situation there is difficult and painful. The occupiers are deploying all resources available to them – and these are considerable resources – to make some sort of advance.”
09:47 AM
Russian magnate Pavel Antov dies after window fall in India
A Russian sausage magnate and politician who briefly criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has died after falling from the third-floor window of a luxury hotel in India.
Pavel Antov was a member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party and a multi-millionaire, having founded one of Russia’s largest sausage makers.
He was reportedly on a trip to celebrate his upcoming 66th birthday when he was found lying in a pool of blood outside the Hotel Sai International in Rayagada, a district in the southern state of Odisha.
Source:Story by Sam Meadows,The Telegraph