Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s invitation to visit Pyongyang “at a convenient time,” the official Korean Central News agency reported. The pair on Wednesday held their first summit in four years for talks the US believed centered on Pyongyang sending arms to help Moscow attack Ukraine. Kim, travelling by luxury armored train, remains in Russia and may tour military equipment facilities in the coming days.
(Bloomberg) — Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s invitation to visit Pyongyang “at a convenient time,” the official Korean Central News agency reported. The pair on Wednesday held their first summit in four years for talks the US believed centered on Pyongyang sending arms to help Moscow attack Ukraine. Kim, travelling by luxury armored train, remains in Russia and may tour military equipment facilities in the coming days.
Ukraine’s air defense said it downed 17 of 22 Russian Shahed drones fired overnight at the nation’s south, north and center. Russia reported downing six drones near Bryansk north of the Ukrainian border and 11 others near Yevpatoria on the Crimean peninsula. Russian media, citing local emergency services, reported a natural gas pipeline caught fire near the Russian city of Saratov, hundreds of miles from Ukraine. There’s been no word on the cause.
Russian billionaires, squeezed by international sanctions and facing pressure from Putin to repatriate their wealth, have pulled assets worth tens of billions from Europe since the invasion of Ukraine. The shift breaks with a decades-old practice for Russian oligarchs.
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Markets
Oil climbed toward a 10-month high as the International Energy Agency added to warnings from OPEC and the US of a supply shortfall through the end of the year. The bullish outlooks added momentum to a rally that started in mid-June as Saudi Arabia and Russia curbed supply while US and Chinese demand proved relatively resilient.
Wheat prices rose on Wednesday, climing away from a two-year low as droughts threaten global crops and Ukrainian ports face continued Russian attacks.
Coming Up
- Kim Jong Un continues Russian visit with plans to go to Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Vladivostok
- Russian Grain Union two-day meeting opens in Sochi
- Belarus leader Lukashenko to meet with Putin on Friday
- Russian and Chinese foreign ministers plan talks on Monday in Moscow
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