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Friday, May 1, 2026

Russia News

01 May 2026

Ukrainian Drones Hit Tuapse Port Again, Environmental Crisis Deepens

Source: social media

Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapse on Friday for the fourth time in 16 days as authorities struggled to cope with a mounting environmental disaster from toxic black smoke clouds and oil leaking into the sea.Ukraine's SBU security service said drones had again struck the sea port and refinerythat make Tuapse an important hub for Russian oil exports.Reuters could not confirm the latest strike on the refinery, which has been hit and set ablaze at least twice…

30 Apr 2026

Russian-Stolen Grain Vessel Will Not Unload in Israel

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A vessel carrying grain that Ukraine says was stolen from areas occupied by Russia will not unload in Israel, Ukraine said on Thursday, after Kyiv requested Israel to seize the cargo.Ukraine's prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on the Telegram app that the vessel, Panormitis, left Israel's territorial waters and departed into neutral waters following "a range of procedural measures taken by Ukraine"."On the basis of the materials provided by the Ukrainian side within the framework of international legal cooperation…

29 Apr 2026

Russia Adds Four LNG Carriers to Fleet

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Russia has added four LNG carriers to its fleet, LSEG ship-tracking data and the Russian ship register showed on Wednesday, which could help the country to increase its market share ahead of an EU ban on Russian gas imports.The European Union in January gave its final approval to a ban on Russian gas imports by late 2027.The bloc has also imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its war on Ukraine. The sanctions have limited Russia's access to the vessels it needs to gain a…

29 Apr 2026

Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Pumping Station

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Ukraine struck what it said was an oil pumping station 1,500 km (900 miles) into Russia near the Ural Mountains with drones overnight, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv would keep increasing the range of its strikes.Kyiv has stepped up its attacks inside Russia in recent weeks, aiming to knock out oil refineries, depots and ports and cripple Moscow's biggest source of funding for its war in Ukraine, as global prices have risen due to the Iran war.Zelenskiy said Ukraine's security service had reported a successful strike deep inside Russia…

28 Apr 2026

Russian Superyacht Crosses Strait of Hormuz

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A superyacht owned by Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov was able to transit the blockaded Strait of Hormuz after undergoing maintenance in Dubai because neither Iran nor the United States objected, a source close to Mordashov said on Tuesday.It has been unclear how the multi-deck pleasure vessel, worth over $500 million, gained permission to sail on Saturday through the commercially important waterway at the heart of the U.S.-Iran conflict, where traffic has been severely restricted since February.Sailing under a Russian flag…

21 Apr 2026

Operations Paused at Tuapse Oil Refinery After Drone Attack

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Russia's Tuapse oil refinery, which sells most of its products for export, halted operations following a Ukrainian drone attack on April 16, two industry sources said on Tuesday.Ukraine has increased attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure as the U.S., which had brokered peace talks to stop the conflict with Russia, has shifted its focus on the war in Iran. The U.S. has also eased some sanctions on Russian oil to help reduce the impact of supply disruption in the Gulf.According to Russian officials…

15 Apr 2026

US-Sanctioned Russian LNG Makes Its Way to India

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A cargo of liquefied natural gas from Russia's Portovaya plant on the Baltic Sea that is under U.S. sanctions is on its way to India, LSEG shipping data showed on Wednesday.If it reaches its destination, it would be the first such delivery to India since U.S. President Donald Trump last year said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him India would stop buying Russian energy.India has never publicly confirmed any such pledge and has said its buying decisions are guided by price, supply security and consumer interests.

13 Apr 2026

Rosneft Diverts Oil From Novorossiysk After Drone Attack

Adobe Stock/Alexandr Blinov

Rosneft is diverting oil supplies to the Tuapse refinery from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after the terminal, which handles roughly 14% of Russia's crude exports, was heavily damaged in a drone attack, three sources said on Monday.A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a large fire at the Sheskharis oil terminal in the Novorossiysk port last week, damaging two of its main berths and forcing oil exports from the port to halt, according to the sources, who were familiar with the…

10 Apr 2026

US Considers Extending Russian Oil Waiver as Prices Spike During Iran Conflict

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President Donald Trump's administration is likely to extend as soon as Friday a waiver allowing countries to buy some sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.The U.S.

09 Apr 2026

UK Deploys Military to Deter Russian Submarine Attacks on Subsea Cables

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Britain deployed military vessels to prevent any attacks on cables and pipelines by Russian submarines which spent more than a month in and around British waters earlier this year, its defence minister John Healey said on Thursday.Britain accused Russia of using the distraction of events in the Middle East to try to conduct the covert operation in the High North maritime region, home to key shipping routes and critical infrastructure such as undersea cables.Healey said British forces and allies including Norway tracked and deterred malign activity by the Russian vessels…

06 Apr 2026

Novatek Establishes Company to Build Vessels, Floating Facilities Amid Global Tanker Shortage

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Russia's largest producer of liquefied natural gas Novatek has set up a company to build its own vessels and floating facilities, according to the state's registry of authorised companies, amid a shortage of gas tankers due to sanctions.Ilya Lushchikov, who is also head of Novatek's Murmansk LNG project, is in charge of the new company, called Severny Inzhiniring, or Northern Engineering, which was set up on March 25, according to the registry.Novatek did not reply to a request for comment.Western sanctions imposed in 2022 significantly limited the availability for Russia of ice-class tankers

06 Apr 2026

Russian Grain Vessel Found After Drone Attack, Towed to Shore

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A Russian ship carrying wheat that was believed to have sunk in the Sea of Azov after a Ukrainian drone attack has been found and towed to shore, while the death toll from the attack has risen to three, state news agency TASS said on Monday.Analysts said the April 5 attack on the ship added to risks to global food security and agricultural trade stemming from the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.Russian media said the vessel was carrying wheat from the Port of Azov, near the city of Rostov…

06 Apr 2026

Ukrainian Drones Attack Caspian Pipeline Consortium's Black Sea Terminal

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Russia on Monday said that Ukrainian drones attacked the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's Black Sea terminal, which handles 1.5% of global oil supply, damaging the single point mooring (SPM), loading infrastructure and four vast storage tanks.Separately, the Ukrainian military said it had struck oil loading facilities at the nearby Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk.The strikes could be among the most significant on Russia's Black Sea export facilities during the more than four-year-old war with Ukraine…

05 Apr 2026

Ukrainian Drones Sink Russian Cargo Vessel

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A cargo ship carrying wheat sank in the Sea of Azov after coming under attack from Ukrainian drones, a Russia-installed official said on Sunday, leaving one person dead and two missing.Vladimir Saldo, Moscow-installed leader of the Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine's Kherson region, said the attack occurred on Friday but crew members were unable to make known what had happened to them until Sunday."It became known that the reason for the sinking of the Volgo-Balt in the Sea of Azov was a terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime…

01 Apr 2026

Russian Seaborne Diesel Exports Fall 3% Between February and March

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Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports fell 3% in March from February to around 3.06 million metric tons as repeated drone attacks disrupted fuel loadings at key ports, data from market sources and LSEG showed.Ultra-low-sulphur diesel shipments from the Baltic port of Primorsk, Russia's biggest outlet for diesel exports, fell to 1.713 million tons, down 2.6% from February, the sources said.The Russian Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga were repeatedly hit by Ukrainian drone attacks last week.On March 22, the two ports suspended oil and fuel loadings following drone attacks.

31 Mar 2026

Russian Oil Tanker Arrives in Cuba's Matanzas Port

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A Russia-flagged tanker carrying some 700,000 barrels of crude arrived in Cuba's Matanzas Bay at daybreak on Tuesday, according to a Reuters witness and shipping data, marking the first significant oil delivery since the Trump administration cut off the island's fuel supply.The Anatoly Kolodkin vessel, under U.S. sanctions, entered Cuban territorial waters late on Sunday not far from the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay. The U.S. said it was allowing the tanker to deliver fuel…

31 Mar 2026

25+ Sanctioned Russian Vessels Pass Through UK Waters Despite Threat to Detain

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More than two dozen ships sanctioned for being part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet have passed through UK waters since Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week authorised the military to detain vessels used by Moscow to export oil.The figures based on ship tracking data analysed by Reuters show that oil tankers sanctioned by Britain are continuing to travel along England's southern coast in the same numbers as before the announcement.British officials said almost a week ago that…

29 Mar 2026

Russia's Ust-Luga Port Damaged by More Ukrainian Drones

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Russia's Baltic Ust-Luga port, one of its largest petroleum export hubs, was damaged again on Sunday by a Ukrainian drone attack which sparked a blaze later brought under control, Russian officials said.It followed several Ukrainian drone strikes last week on Russia’s western energy corridor when facilities at the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk came under fire, igniting storage tanks and forcing a suspension of oil and oil product loadings.The regional governor of Leningrad said…

27 Mar 2026

Russian Oil Producers Threaten Force Majeure Over Baltic Port Attacks

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Russian oil producers have warned buyers they could declare force majeure on supplies from major Baltic Sea ports as Ukraine presses ahead with attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, two industry sources said on Friday.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters this week that Kyiv was using long-range strikes to maintain pressure on Russia after international oil sanctions on Moscow were eased due to global supply disruptions caused by the Iran war.Ukrainian drones on Friday targeted the port in Ust-Luga, where a fire caused by a previous strike on Wednesday was still raging, the

27 Mar 2026

Oil Tanker Loaded with Russian Fuel Arrives in Venezuelan Waters, Bound for Cuba

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A tanker carrying some 200,000 barrels of Russia-origin fuel originally bound for Cuba has arrived in Venezuelan waters, LSEG ship-monitoring data showed on Friday.The Hong Kong-flagged vessel Sea Horse, which this year loaded Russia-origin diesel through a ship-to-ship transfer, earlier this month rerouted from Cuba to Venezuela after remaining stuck in the Atlantic Ocean for weeks, a blow for the oil-thirsty island that has seen several power blackouts this month.It was unclear why the Sea Horse had been stranded at sea, or why it had changed course to Venezuela.The administration of U.S.

27 Mar 2026

Russia's Threatens to Divert LNG Cargo From Europe, Options Limited

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Russia's threat to halt liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries to Europe and divert cargoes to Asia would prove difficult to achieve because of its long-term contracts and need for more Arctic-class tankers, industry analysts said.President Vladimir Putin said in a TV interview early in March that Russia could stop gas supplies to Europe with immediate effect and seek longer-term commitments from other buyers.The impact of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has caused a surge in gas prices…

27 Mar 2026

Russia’s Lavrov Says US Seeking Control of Nord Stream Gas Pipelines

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the U.S. has been seeking control over the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, which were damaged by mysterious blast in September 2022.Explosions that destroyed the pipelines more than three years ago largely severed Russian gas transit to Europe, squeezing energy supplies on the continent although Russia had already largely stopped deliveries.Russia and Western countries have both said the incident was an act of sabotage.

26 Mar 2026

UK Authorizes Military to Board Russian Shadow Tankers in British Waters

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday he had authorised the military to board and detain Russian ships in British waters to disrupt a network of vessels that his government says enables Moscow to export oil despite Western sanctions.The decision comes as other European nations, including France, Belgium and Sweden, have stepped up efforts to detain Russia's so-called shadow fleet of tankers used by Moscow to fund its four-year war against Ukraine.Starmer said he approved…