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Three tankers carrying Russian diesel are on their way to North America, Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said on Friday . In a statement quoted by Russian news agencies, Novak said the cargoes were part of a deal that could see Russian companies supply 500,000 metric tonnes to US and world markets in October. “The first three fuel tankers are already on their way to the eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean, with significant support from the RDIF (Russian Direct Investment Fund),” Novak said.
Under a deal announced this month by US president Donald Trump, Russia agreed to supply diesel to global markets in an effort to lower fuel prices in return for Trump temporarily lifting US sanctions on Russian fuel. Reuters reported that the Malta-flagged medium-sized tanker Agioi Fanendes, loaded with ultra-low sulphur diesel, is expected to arrive in the US on 7 November. The White House has said that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky , where a deepening humanitarian crisis has left thousands of civilians struggling to survive.
In a statement on Friday, the White House said both sides had agreed to halt all military operations in the city from 27 October to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and preparations for the evacuation of civilians. Residents of the southern Ukrainian city, which has been under Russian occupation since February 2022, have described increasingly desperate conditions amid severe shortages of food, water and electricity. An estimated 2,000 people remain in the city, with some reportedly forced to survive on weeds, boiled grass, bread and meagre rations.
Both Russian and Ukrainian officials said all sides were close to agreeing to a ceasefire. The Oleshky ceasefire comes as the US is trying to organise new talks aimed at ending the war . Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the US have agreed to technical-level meetings in the first half of November in Abu Dhabi.
A US official later said the three countries may hold their next talks in a couple weeks in Abu Dhabi or Switzerland. Zelenskyy said he hoped a meeting of the countries’ leaders would follow. The peace efforts follow a rift between Washington and Kyiv in recent weeks and a series of moves by Trump seen as favouring Russia, including limitations being placed on the Starlink communication system that Ukraine uses to protect against incoming attacks.
Trump said on Friday that if Ukraine still faced a problem accessing the system, he would straighten it out and, if necessary, speak about the matter to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. As the UK government prepares next week for the first budget under Andy Burnham’s leadership, EU leaders have pressed the new prime minister at a summit in Brussels to contribute more to Ukraine’s defence effort . EU officials say Canada and Japan also should do more to support Ukraine .
The UN nuclear watchdog IAEA said Fiday that repairs to key power infrastructure near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had been completed under a temporary ceasefire it brokered. The repairs strengthened the plant’s connection to its sole remaining external power line, known as Ferosplavna-1, reducing the risk of another loss of off-site electricity at Europe’s largest nuclear power station.
Source: The Guardian
