Russia’s oil exports jumped above 4 million barrels a day last week, offering no sign that Moscow has delivered on its threat to cut output, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
(Bloomberg) — Russia’s oil exports jumped above 4 million barrels a day last week, offering no sign that Moscow has delivered on its threat to cut output, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
President Vladimir Putin’s government is likely to resume purchases of foreign currency for its reserves as soon as this month as rising oil earnings stabilize public finances despite US and European efforts to squeeze Kremlin income.
In Ukraine’s east, forces under Kyiv’s command have pushed back Russian troops from positions in the embattled city of Bakhmut, according to the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces. Ukrainian officials have signaled that a much-anticipated counteroffensive is imminent.
Key Developments
- Russia Seen Buying Yuan Soon as Sanctions, Oil-Cap Hit Eases
- Russia’s Seaborne Crude Flows Climb With No Sign of Output Cut
- McCarthy Says He Supports Aid to Ukraine, Urges Russia to Leave
- Russian Gold Is in Hands of Obscure Firms as JPMorgan, HSBC Exit
- US Visit to Brazil Intended to Balance Lula’s Tilt Toward China
(All times CET)
Second Train Derailed by Explosive in Russia in Two Days (9:47 p.m.)
A cargo train was derailed by an explosive device on a rail link near the Russian city of Bryansk, a regional capital near the Ukrainian border, according to local governor Alexander Bogomaz.
A device “has blown up near station Snezhetskaya. No one was hurt. A train and several coaches were derailed,” the governor said on his Telegram channel. Interfax, citing a Russian Railways statement, said later that that a locomotive and about 20 cars derailed.
On Monday another train was derailed by an explosion in the Bryansk region.
Senate’s McConnell Slams Biden for ‘Dithering’ (5:03 p.m.)
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said “the Biden administration has dithered” with “slow and halting” decisions to provide Ukraine what it needs, including long-range weapons and now fighter jets.
He praised House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for voicing his support for arms to Ukraine during a visit to Israel. Although some hard-line members of McCarthy’s Republican caucus have opposed more aid to Ukraine, McConnell described the GOP as “the party of American strength at home and abroad.”
Tinder Owner Match to Exit Russia by June (4:35 p.m.)
Match Group Inc. said all of its dating services, including Tinder, will complete their exit from Russia next month, citing the country’s human rights record.
“Our brands are taking steps to restrict access to their services in Russia and will complete their withdrawal from the Russian market by June 30,” the company said in its annual Impact Report.
More than 1,000 companies have curtailed operations in Russia since the invasion began last year, according to a tally maintained by the Yale School of Management.
Denmark to Send Up to 1,200 Soldiers to Latvia (4:12 p.m.)
Denmark pledged to deploy as many as 1,200 troops in Latvia under a NATO mission. The battalion will be sent from the middle of 2024 and the soldiers will spend four to six months of the year in the Baltic country and the rest in Denmark, but ready to relocate at a short notice, the Danish defense ministry said in a statement.
Russia Has Enough Ammunition, Minister Says (2:01 p.m.)
Russia’s defense minister said the military has enough ammunition to fight Ukraine’s army, just days after the top mercenary commander had warned of a shortage of munitions at the front.
“Sufficient ammunition has already been delivered to the Armed Forces this year to inflict effective fire damage on the enemy,” Sergei Shoigu told commanders, according to a ministry statement. He also said production of high-precision weapons must be doubled.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group, threatened recently to pull his forces from Bakhmut, blaming an acute shortage of shells and rising casualties.
Russia’s Seaborne Crude Flows Climb; No Sign of Output Cut (1:37 p.m.)
Two months into Moscow’s threatened oil output cut, there is no sign of a sustained drop in crude flows out of the country.
Russia’s exports jumped back above 4 million barrels a day in the week to April 28, a level it has surpassed only once before since its troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Flows were virtually unchanged on a four-week average basis.
EU’s Breton to Visit Ukraine in Integration Push (12:37 p.m.)
The European Union’s internal market chief Thierry Breton will visit Ukraine next week to gauge the progress on streamlining trade between the EU and Kyiv.
At a meeting with Sweden’s trade minister, Johan Forssell, Breton discussed the reorganization of Ukraine’s industrial ecosystem, aligning regulation and matchmaking events hosted for EU companies and counterparts from Ukraine.
“I will be in Ukraine next week to make sure that we advance on these topics,” Breton told reporters. “We are working extremely hard to make sure that Ukraine will be fully prepared to join the EU.”
(Previous versions of this story corrected the type of explosive in attack on a Russian train and a US estimate of Russian casualties.)
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