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A second round of talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US officials on a US-drafted plan to end the nearly four-year Ukraine war will begin on Wednesday, instead of on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.Zelensky did not give a reason for the delay.The announcement comes a day after one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's top envoys held surprise talks with US officials in Florida without Ukraine."The dates for the next trilateral meetings have been set -- February 4 and 5 in Abu Dhabi," Zelensky said in a post on X.Neither the Kremlin nor the United States have confirmed the new dates.The United States says it is close to brokering a deal to end the conflict -- Europe's deadliest since World War II -- but neither Moscow nor Kyiv have been able to find a compromise on the key issue of territory.Russia, which occupies around 20 percent of its neighbour, is pushing for full control of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region as part of any deal. It has threatened to take it by force if talks fail.Ukraine has warned ceding ground will embolden Moscow and that it will not sign a deal that fails to deter Russia from invading again. Many Ukrainians find the idea of surrendering territory that their soldiers have defended for years unconscionable.The first round of talks on the US plan, held in Abu Dhabi last Friday and Saturday, failed to yield a breakthrough.A day ahead of Zelensky's announcement, Russia's top economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with US officials in Florida for separate talks on the war.Among those US officials were President Donald Trump's peace envoy Steve Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House Senior Advisor Josh Gruenbaum."We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is working toward securing peace in Ukraine," Witkoff said, though neither side released details of what was discussed.Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a "special military operation" to prevent the expansion of NATO -- a war aim that Kyiv has called a pretext for an illegal land grab.The conflict has since resulted in a tidal wave of destruction that has left entire cities in ruins and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians dead.Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight and early Sunday killed at least two people and injured seven others, regional authorities said.Among the attacks was a drone strike on a maternity hospital in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia that injured two women undergoing a medical examination, the region's governor and rescuers said.Ukraine's defence minister on Sunday thanked Elon Musk after the US tycoon said efforts to stop Russia from using Starlink satellites for drone attacks seemed to have worked."The first steps are already delivering real results... Thank you for standing with us. You are a true champion of freedom and a true friend of the Ukrainian people," said Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. 

After running her stiff fingers along the keys, Ukrainian piano teacher Yevgenia retreated to her fort of mattresses and sheets to shelter from the cold reigning in her Kyiv flat.Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country would declare a "state of emergency" in its energy sector, battered by massive Russian strikes and buckling as temperatures dip as low as -20C.A Russian barrage of drones and missiles last week left half of the Ukrainian capital without heating, prompting mayor Vitali Klitschko to call on residents to temporarily leave the city if able to do so.Six days later, some 300 apartment buildings still lack heating and the capital is facing prolonged emergency rolling blackouts, imposed by the authorities to ration precious supplies.In Yevgenia's flat, the temperature was hovering at a chilly 12C.The heating in her building connected to city's electric grid gets cut off with every blackout, as backup batteries do not have the capacity to take over."We've been without power for 12 hours," she told AFP. "And that's not even the worst scenario."Every hour without power, the temperature in her living room dropped further."With each passing day, we're getting closer to zero."'To break people'Equipped with her flashlight and with her cat by her side, Yevgenia slipped into a pocket of warmth inside the apartment: a makeshift mattress castle.The temperature inside reached 24C."This idea came to me Thursday at midnight," said the 32-year-old, surprised at its effectiveness."I just wanted some kind of feeling, I don't know, of safety, of childhood."Russia has pummelled Ukraine's energy grid each winter since invading in February 2022, attacks Kyiv says are designed to hurt civilians."This is an attempt to break people," Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of Kyiv-based Energy Industry Research Study Center told AFP.He accused Russia of trying to drive major cities "into a man-made disaster, into an absolute crisis."Right now the situation is the most difficult of the entire war in terms of energy supply and heating in several major regions," he added.In Kyiv, the glow of car headlights and runners' headlamps dotted the otherwise frozen, blacked-out city streets after sunset.The sound of Russian attack drones mixed with the low hum of power generators.But residents dared not look up to check the threat from above, their gazes fixed on the path ahead to avoid slipping.People exercised by candlelight in gyms, got their hair cut by the light of headlamps, and scanned supermarket shelves using the light from their mobile phones.Without electricity in homes, fridges served as shelves and balconies as freezers.No 'disaster'The city has also set up large, heated tents where hot meals are distributed. But amid the crisis, politics has also been at play. Zelensky has blasted city officials for the response."Far too little has been done in the capital", he said in a video address on Wednesday.Mayor Klitschko, a political rival and former heavyweight boxing champion, has hit back.Such statements "diminish the selfless work of thousands of people," he said on Telegram, denouncing messages of "hate" directed at him.Zelensky has ordered an urgent increase in the volume of electricity imports to help put the lights back on.Yevgenia, meanwhile, was waiting for winter to end in her blanket fort, flanked by her phone, her power bank "and the kitty, of course.""The cat is priceless," she said. 

Kyiv residents huddled against bitter winter cold inside their unheated apartments Saturday as engineers struggled to restore power, water and heat knocked out in the latest salvo of Russian strikes.Russia has regularly conducted intense bombardments of Ukraine's energy system since it invaded its neighbour in 2022.The war's fourth winter could be the coldest and darkest yet, with the accumulated damage to the grid bringing utilities to the brink, and temperatures already below -10° Celsius (14°F) and set to plunge further this week.Saturday Kyiv's heat, power and water, hit hard by a strike two nights earlier, were shut down again as engineers tried to repair the ruined power grid.Galina Turchin, a 71-year-old pensioner living on Kyiv's badly affected eastern bank, had a window covered by plastic sheeting after it was blown out when drone debris hit another part of her building during the last overnight attack.She said she had not cooked food for two days, eating whatever had been left in their kitchen before the power, water and heat went out, and would now try to cook on a gas camping stove."We hope they will give us heat. If not power, then at least heat," she said, standing wrapped in layers of jumpers in her kitchen.The city administration said around noon local time (1000 GMT) Saturday that the state grid operator Ukrenergo had ordered the city's power system to be shut down, and that the water and heating systems, as well as electrified public transport, would also stop working as a result.Less than an hour later, Ukrenergo said engineers had managed to remedy the immediate issue, which had been caused by damage from previous Russian strikes, and that power was coming back online in parts of Kyiv.Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the heating system, which in Ukrainian cities is centralised and pumps hot water to homes in pipes, was also coming back on, and that she expected heat supply to be fully restored.However, she said that the power situation in the capital was still difficult, as the grid was badly damaged and people were using more electric heaters because of the cold.On Friday, with about half of Kyiv's apartment blocks left without heating after the latest Russian missile and drone attack, Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents who had a warm place to go to temporarily leave the city.Turchin, the pensioner in her cold apartment, said she had a village cottage in another region but it was unheated and would take three days to warm up with logs."The neighbour wrote. She said it was already -17° (Celsius) there last night." 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday pressed ‌allies for ironclad security ‍guarantees against any renewed Russian attack while also seeking progress on EU membership talks and tougher sanctions on Moscow.Zelenskiy ⁠met Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia ⁠as Cyprus took over the European Union's rotating presidency, which runs for six months."We are ‍working to make as much progress as possible during this period on opening negotiating clusters and on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union,” Zelenskiy said after the meeting, in a statement posted on X.Ukraine applied to join the EU days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, seeking to anchor itself politically and economically to the West. It has been pushing to make progress on its bid, despite ‌the challenges of the war and opposition from EU member Hungary to a fast-track process for Kyiv."The President and I talked about strengthening sanctions against Russia, which must remain in place as long ‍as Russia’s aggression and occupation continue," ⁠Zelenskiy said.The two leaders ‌also discussed reinforcing Ukraine's air defence and the production and supply of drones. "We hope that support for Ukraine will remain strong," he said.Zelenskiy later met with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.Wednesday's meetings, he said, would provide an opportunity to discuss details of a meeting in Paris on Tuesday, where the United States backed a broad coalition of Ukraine's allies in promising to provide security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire to support the country if Russia attacks again.Zelenskiy, who is seeking solid post-war security guarantees to deter Russia from attacking again, told reporters he had not received a clear ​answer from Ukraine's partners of ‌what their response to such an attack would be."As long as we don't have such security guarantees, legally binding, supported by ⁠parliaments, supported by the United States ‍Congress, this question cannot be answered," Zelenskiy said in a Whatsapp group chat.Cyprus, which traditionally had close political and cultural ties with Russia, has fully backed sanctions on Moscow. Many on the island draw parallels between Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Turkey's invasion of north Cyprus in 1974 after a brief coup engineered by the military then ruling Greece."Cyprus reaffirms its ​steadfast commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. As a country that still lives with the consequences of illegal invasion and ongoing military occupation, we fully understand what is at stake," Christodoulides wrote in a post on X after meeting Zelenskiy."Ukraine will be a central priority of our Presidency, and will work to ensure sustained support at all levels," he said.A ceremony later in Nicosia marking the start of its six-month term will include Middle Eastern leaders, including Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, highlighting the ambition of the eastern Mediterranean ⁠island to serve as a bridge between Europe and the region. 

A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow Monday morning as officials reported "slow progress" in talks with the United States on how to end the war in Ukraine.Top negotiators from both Russia and Ukraine were in Miami over the weekend for separate meetings with US officials seeking to break the deadlock on a deal to end almost four years of fighting, triggered by Moscow's all-out offensive on its neighbour in 2022.Kyiv has not commented on the blast, the latest in a string of similar incidents, but Russian investigators said they suspected it was "linked" to "Ukrainian special forces".The attack had the hallmarks of other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed or are widely believed to have been orchestrated by Ukraine.The ⁠bomb exploded under the Kia Sorento car driven by Lieutenant-General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Russian General Staff's army operational training directorate, as he left a parking space at 6.55am Moscow time (0355 GMT).Russia's State Investigative Committee said Sarvarov had died from his injuries. It published video of the wrecked vehicle, with blood visible on the driver's seat and one of the doors blown off.Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for ⁠the committee, said investigators were gathering forensic evidence, questioning witnesses and reviewing security camera footage."Various versions for the killing are being examined, one of which involves the possible role of Ukrainian intelligence services in organising the crime," she said.AFP reporters at the scene saw a mangled white Kia SUV, its doors and back window blown out. The frame was twisted and charred from the blast.The scene had been cordoned off by security forces, and investigators were sifting through the debris. Eyewitnesses reported a loud bang."We absolutely didn't expect it. We thought we were safe, and then this happens right next to us," local resident, Tatiana, 74, told AFP."The windows rattled, you could tell it was an explosion," said Grigory, 70, who also declined to give his surname. "We need to treat it more calmly. It's the cost of war."Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it was "working through various lines of enquiry into the murder. One of them involves the possible organisation of the crime by Ukrainian special services”.Sarvarov fought in the Russian army's campaigns in the North Caucasus, including Chechnya in the 1990s, according to his official biography on the defence ministry's website.He had also been one of the figures overseeing Russian forces in Syria in 2015-16.The Kremlin said Putin had been informed about the killing, which came after three days of talks in Miami as the United States intensifies its efforts to broker an end to the nearly four-year war.Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and US special envoy Steve Witkoff hailed "progress" in the negotiations on Sunday.Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev also met with the US team, which included Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law.Witkoff had also called those meetings "productive and constructive”.However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said only "slow progress is being observed" in the talks, state media reported.An initial 28-point plan to end the war put forward by US President Donald Trump adhered to Moscow's core demands, triggering panic in Kyiv and European capitals.Ukraine and its allies have since been working to refine the plan, though Kyiv says it is still being asked to make massive concessions, such as giving up the entire eastern Donbas region to Russia.Moscow has bristled at Europe's involvement, as it tries to broker a deal exclusively with Trump.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed scepticism over whether Russia really wants to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands and decimated eastern and southern Ukraine.Since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has been blamed for several attacks targeting Russian military officials and pro-Kremlin figures in Russia and in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. 

Tens of thousands of people were left without power and heating in southern Ukraine after Russian attacks on the frontline city of Kherson and Ukraine’s largest seaport, Odesa, authorities and a top energy provider said Thursday. Russia has sharply increased its attacks on Ukraine’s energy and utilities sector as winter approaches, plunging swathes of cities and regions into darkness. State oil and gas firm Naftogaz said a heat and power plant in the southern city of Kherson had been “almost completely destroyed.” Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the attack left 40,500 customers without heat. “This is a purely civilian facility providing heat to residents,” Naftogaz CEO Sergii Korteskyi wrote on X. “Such targeted bombing is terrorism.” Kherson, a frontline city that was for several months occupied by Russian forces after Moscow’s invasion in February 2022, comes under Russian missile, drone and artillery attack on an almost daily basis. Separately, Ukrainian energy company DTEK said Thursday that Russia attacked its energy facility in the southern Odesa region overnight, leaving 51,800 households without power. In Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces are grinding forward in the battlefield, attacks left about 60,000 residents without power, Kyiv’s energy ministry said. 

The European Commission proposed Wednesday an unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets or international borrowing to raise €90bn ($105bn) for Ukraine to cover its struggling military and basic services against Russia's war.The European Union's executive body has declared it favours a "reparations loan" using Russian state assets immobilised in the EU due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But Belgium, which holds most of the assets, has voiced a range of concerns that it said had not been satisfactorily addressed by the proposals."We are proposing to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s financing needs for the next two years. That’s €90bn euros. The remainder would be for international partners to cover," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters."Since pressure is the only language the Kremlin responds to, we can also dial it up," she said. "We have to increase the costs of war for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's aggression and today's proposal gives us the means to do this."She said the proposal to EU member states had taken into account almost all the concerns raised by Belgium, whose Brussels-based financial institution Euroclear is the main holder of the assets.The proposal would now also cover other financial institutions in the EU that hold Russian assets, von der Leyen said. EU officials said France, Germany, Sweden and Cyprus also held such assets.Russia has warned the EU and Belgium against using its assets, which it says would be an act of theft. The Commission says the scheme does not amount to confiscation as the money would be in the form of a loan — although Ukraine would only have to redeem it if Russia pays reparations.The complexities around the scheme increased after a US-backed 28-point plan to end the war in Ukraine proposed that some of the assets be used in a joint American-Russian investment vehicle.But von der Leyen said she had informed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent of her plan to move forward with the reparations loan and it had been "positively received".Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the EU was also seeking to persuade other international partners to provide support in the first quarter of next year as the EU money would probably not be available until the second quarter.The Commission said the EU could proceed with the scheme if 15 out of 27 member countries, representing at least 65% of the bloc's population, voted in favour.EU officials said this would also apply to ensure Russia's sanctioned assets remain immobilised, an essential part of the reparations loans, under EU law allowing financial assistance in instances of "severe difficulties". Sanctions roll-overs normally require unanimity.The other option — borrowing on international markets using the EU budget — would also normally require unanimity among EU countries — a potentially difficult hurdle as Hungary's Russia-friendly government has opposed previous funding for Ukraine.European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told a European Parliament hearing that using a reparations loan would be a stretch from a legal and financial standpoint though it would "hopefully" respect international law and financial stability.Hours earlier, before the Commission's legal proposals were presented, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot declared that they fell short of Belgium's requirements."We have the frustrating feeling of not having been heard. Our concerns are being downplayed," Prevot told reporters at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels."The texts the Commission will table today do not address our concerns in a satisfactory manner."The issue is likely to come to a head at an EU leaders summit on December 18, when the Commission said it hoped to clinch a firm commitment by member states.Belgium has demanded that other EU countries guarantee they will cover all legal costs arising from any Russian lawsuits against the scheme. It also wants them to guarantee they would help provide money quickly to pay Russia back if a court ever ruled Moscow must be refunded.Thirdly, it has demanded that other countries holding Russian frozen assets also make those funds available to Ukraine. 

Bearish oil traders scarred by past geopolitical price spikes are increasingly favouring safer ways to position for a looming glut.With the fresh uncertainty surrounding Russian supply, traders are shifting toward spreads, the price differences between two futures contracts, and options, which grant the holder the right but not the obligation to buy or sell oil at a set price. Those relatively less risky strategies compared to wagering on outright futures allow traders to bet on lower prices en route to a widely telegraphed oversupply of crude next year.They also serve to limit losses in the event new sanctions against Moscow, a major oil producer, prove more disruptive than feared.The activity highlights a tug-of-war between the competing narratives.There’s supply risk in oil-rich countries from Russia to Venezuela, where the political regime has met the ire of the Trump administration. Yet traders remain captivated by growing supply from both outside and within the Opec+ alliance, with the International Energy Agency predicting a record surplus for 2026. Over 1bn barrels are currently sailing across the world’s oceans with many looking for homes.“We’re stuck in a holding pattern,” said Rebecca Babin of CIBC Private Wealth said. “This isn’t a market without risk — it’s a market without clarity or conviction.”Some of the largest holdings in one-month calendar spread options, a niche type of option contract used for expressing views on over or under-supply, are on weaker near-term spreads. The cost of buying bearish put options has risen over the past few days, a sign of increasing expectations for a price drop amid ongoing peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Even so, open interest in calls and puts has remained roughly balanced across both Brent and WTI, reflecting a market that’s hedging in both directions.Read More: US Warship Cuts Path of Russian Tanker Headed to VenezuelaThe conflicting pulls are causing an industry-wide sense of déjà vu: past geopolitical shocks, such the Israel-Iran war in June, drove prices up without actually reducing supply and punished those with outright bearish bets.“We don’t need to predict the next $10 move in crude,” Cayler Capital, an oil-focused commodity trading adviser run by Brent Belote, wrote in a letter to investors seen by Bloomberg. “We need to survive the next $3 fake-out and capture the $1.50 dislocation no one else wants to trade.”In another part of the letter, Belote categorises fundamentals as “fine” and sentiment as “confused.”Wagers are growing in one-month calendar spread contracts at levels from -$0.25 to -$1 a barrel per month. The sentiment isn’t overwhelmingly bearish, though, with sizeable open interest at $0.75, which would profit from a return to tighter supply conditions. The premium that front-month WTI futures command over the next contract, known as the prompt spread, is currently trading at 22 cents.WTI calendar spread option open interest by strike, as of November 24That hasn’t eliminated the need for cautious positioning amid mounting evidence that the latest batch of US sanctions against Russian oil giants Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC are rewiring trade flows: Moscow’s oil sold at the cheapest level in over two-and-a-half years last week, and even that discount wasn’t enough to win back Asian buyers.Options markets are “pricing a quieter 2026 but maintaining a risk premium for episodic spikes,” JPMorgan analysts, including head of commodities research Natasha Kaneva, wrote in a note.The bank expects a “very gradual drift lower” in prices and recommends Brent put spreads and ratio put spreads. 

Poland said Wednesday it would close the last Russian consulate in its territory and deploy thousands of soldiers to protect infrastructure in response to a railway explosion it blames on Moscow. Poland, a major ally in Kyiv's fight against Russia's invasion, says two Ukrainians collaborating with Moscow perpetrated the weekend blast on the Warsaw-Lublin line, which connects Warsaw to the Ukrainian border.Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at a news conference that the first response would be to close Russia's last operating consulate in the northern city of Gdansk. Warsaw has previously closed Russian consulates in Krakow and Poznan over sabotage acts. "It was not only an act of sabotage but also an act of state terrorism," Sikorski told lawmakers.Moscow denies responsibility for sabotage, citing "Russophobia", and said it would likewise limit Poland's diplomatic and consular presence in Russia. Sikorski said he would ask other EU nations to limit Russian diplomats' travel in the 25-nation Schengen free-travel area. There has been a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks in Poland and other European nations since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said up to 10,000 soldiers will be deployed to help protect critical infrastructure such as railways. The Polish army chief of staff, Wieslaw Kukula, speaking to reporters alongside the defence minister, warned that the upcoming long winter nights and Christmas period could be perceived by Poland's enemies as a good time for sabotage.A special app is planned for citizens to report suspicious situations. Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesperson for Poland's minister in charge of intelligence services, said that in addition to the two main Ukrainian suspects who have fled to Belarus, several other people had been detained over the railway blast. A spokesperson for Polish prosecutors, Przemyslaw Nowak, said a prosecutor signed a decision to charge in absentia the two Ukrainian men — named as Oleksandr K and Yevhenii I — for sabotage on November 15 and 16 on orders of Russian intelligence.Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about the threat and agreed on cooperation between special services and state railways, plus the need to identify collaborators. The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the attack highlighted risks to European rail infrastructure essential to move military equipment and troops fast.

Greece signed a deal with Ukraine Sunday to supply US-origin liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the war-battered country whose energy infrastructure has been crippled by Russian strikes.The agreement came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Athens at the start of a European tour aimed at shoring up his country's defences and energy supply, as it enters another gruelling winter nearly four years into Russia's invasion.Exhausted and outnumbered Ukrainian troops are struggling to fend off Russian forces, and both sides have been attacking each other's energy infrastructure power stations and oil refineries as the war drags on with no sign of peace talks.Greece's national gas company DEPA Commercial and its Ukrainian counterpart Naftogaz announced the deal, which will run from December 2025 until March 2026, following a meeting between Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.The agreement "marks an essential step in strengthening regional energy cooperation and European energy security", according to a joint statement.The deal, signed at a ceremony attended by US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, will make it possible to "support Ukraine in the midst of a difficult winter", Mitsotakis and Zelensky said.Guilfoyle visited Zelensky at the Ukrainian embassy in Athens Sunday, the state-run ERTNEWS tv channel reported."Relations between our countries are taking on a crucial new dimension: that of a new secure energy artery, stretching from south to north, from Greece to Ukraine," Mitsotakis said.He called the deal a "decisive step toward definitive energy independence from Russian gas" — a key goal for Europe, which has struggled to wean itself off imports.Most European Union countries recently approved a ban on imports of Russian natural gas by the end of 2027, a decision aimed at hitting Russia's funding for the war.Mitsotakis also pledged Greek support for Ukraine's postwar reconstruction and to deepening defence cooperation, according to a joint declaration.They plan on "enhancing security in the maritime domain, including cooperation on the development and deployment of maritime (sea) UAVs, joint exercises and training related to unmanned maritime systems, and enhanced information-sharing on maritime threats."The Ukrainian president expressed gratitude to US President Donald Trump "for the fact that we will be able to receive natural gas not only from Greece, but also (US gas) via Greece".Zelensky, who is to visit France and Spain on his tour, called the agreement a "significant part of the comprehensive energy package we have prepared for this winter".The approaching winter poses "a huge challenge... for the Ukrainian people", he said."Practically every night now, the Russians are striking our infrastructure, especially our energy infrastructure," he said."Most of Ukraine's power plants, our gas production facilities and our thermal power plants have become targets."Zelensky's first visit to Greece since 2023 follows the recent announcement of major energy projects in Greece, supported by the United States.Greek authorities plan to cooperate with US companies to increase the flow of American liquefied natural gas to Greek terminals.Greece is "the natural gateway for American liquefied natural gas to replace Russian gas in the region," Mitsotakis said at a conference this month in Athens hosted by the United States.The recent launch of a Trans-Adriatic pipeline connecting Greece and Bulgaria has enabled the country to contribute to a "vertical" corridor delivering gas towards Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia.The opening of storage infrastructure at the port of Alexandroupolis, near the Greek-Turkish border and where American LNG arrives, has also helped undermine Russia's market in the region.

A Russian attack hit Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, killing four people and prompting power cuts in several regions, Ukrainian authorities said Saturday.Moscow has in recent months escalated attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine, damaging natural gas facilities which produce the main fuel for heating in the country.Experts have said Ukraine risks heating outages ahead of the winter months.“Russian strikes once again targeted people’s everyday life. They deprived communities of power, water, and heating, destroyed critical infrastructure, and damaged railway networks,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.Russia launched 458 drones and 45 missiles at Ukraine overnight, said the Ukrainian air force, adding that it had downed 406 drones and nine missiles.“In Dnipro, a Russian drone struck directly at a residential building; as of now, it is known that three people have died in the city. Sadly, there is also a fatality in Kharkiv,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.Attacks forced emergency power cuts in the capital Kyiv and in the northern city of Kharkiv, authorities and energy company DTEK said.They also interrupted water supplies in Kharkiv, where the mayor said there was a “noticeable shortage of electricity.”There was no electricity, water, and partial heating in Kremenchuk, in the eastern Poltava region, the administration said.There were also significant train delays, Restoration Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said, accusing Russia of stepping up its attacks on locomotive depots.“We are working to eliminate the consequences throughout the country. The focus is on the rapid restoration of heat, light and water,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.The attack was the ninth massive attack on gas infrastructure since early October, energy company Naftogaz said.Russia has targeted Ukraine’s power and heating grid throughout its almost four-year invasion, destroying a large part of the key civilian infrastructure.As with previous waves of attacks, Russia’s defence ministry said it struck “enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and gas and energy facilities that support their operation.”The attacks on energy infrastructure have raised concerns of heating outages in Ukraine as the war enters its fourth winter.Kyiv’s School of Economics estimated in a report that the attacks shut down half of Ukraine’s natural gas production. Ukraine’s top energy expert, Oleksandr Kharchenko, told a media briefing Wednesday that if Kyiv’s two power and heating plants went offline for more than three days when temperatures fall below minus 10 degrees Celsius, the capital would face a “technological disaster”.Ukraine has in turn stepped up strikes on Russian oil depots and refineries in recent months, seeking to cut off Moscow’s vital energy exports and trigger fuel shortages across the country.On Friday evening, drone attacks on energy infrastructure in southern Russia’s Volgograd region caused power cuts there too, governor Andrei Botcharov said on Telegram.

OilCrude prices recovered from a midday dip on Friday on hopes Hungary can use Russian crude oil as US President Donald Trump met Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the White House.Brent crude futures settled at $63.63 while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.75. For the week, both benchmarks fell by around 2%.Hungary has maintained its reliance on Russian energy since the start of the 2022 conflict in Ukraine, prompting criticism from several European Union and Nato allies.Private reports also pointed to a weakening US labour market. US Labor Department employment reports are not being issued because of the government shutdown.Meanwhile, Opec+ decided on Sunday to increase output slightly in December. However, the group also paused further increases for the first quarter of next year, wary of a supply glut.GasAsian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices were flat this week, as ample supplies and soft demand kept a lid on gains.The average LNG price for December delivery into northeast Asia held at $11.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), industry sources estimated.**media[378974]**Spot charter rates have continued to rise, which has been the primary driver behind a wider spread between Asian and European prices, with Asian prices having to hold a larger premium to continue attracting the same flows, analysts said.In Europe, the Dutch TTF price settled at $10.57 per mmBtu, recording a weekly gain of 1.0%. Gas inventories in Europe have remained around 83%, as gas demand is still weak due to weather conditions, but LNG imports have remained high.This article was supplied by the Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development.