- A top adviser to Ukraine’s president told Reuters there was an urgent need to lower Russian oil prices as Moscow escalated its war.
- “Our government needs to cut off the blood money they are using to kill our people,” said Oleg Ustenko, Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief economic adviser.
- The Group of Seven is working on putting a price cap in line with the EU oil embargo planned for December.
A senior economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the need to impose a cap on Russian oil prices is becoming increasingly urgent as Moscow plans to deploy more troops to fight in Ukraine. Reuters in a report published on Wednesday.
“Russia is fighting a last-ditch fight, so we need to be more united, including on a policy of sanctions,” said Oleg Ustenko, Zelensky’s chief economic adviser. “We must cut off the regime’s blood money that they are using to kill our people.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this on Wednesday Russia will deploy more troops For the war in Ukraine. Moscow, whose army has suffered numerous setbacks during the offensive, plans to call up up to 300,000 reservists. Putin also hinted at Russia’s nuclear arsenal, saying the country would use all its resources to “protect our people.”
The Group of seven industrialized democracies Earlier this month, Russia agreed to impose a price cap on oil to reduce Moscow’s revenues. No announcement yet on what the cap will be.
“We are moving quite quickly with the prize cap mechanism, the negotiations are almost finalised,” Ustenko told Reuters.
The G7 aims to introduce the price cap by December 5, when the European Union will impose a partial ban on Russian oil imports. The idea is to ban services such as insurance for shippers carrying Russian oil above the price cap.
India and China have emerged as the top importers of Russian crude since the war broke out in late February. According to the Financial Times, the two countries bought $9 billion more Russian crude in the second quarter than in the first quarter.
Russia’s Urals oil blend traded at $71.05 a barrel on Wednesday, below international benchmark Brent crude at $87.74.
