Russia Ukraine News Highlights | Russia trades accusations with Ukraine on drifting Black Sea mines

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Britain announced sanctions on 14 more Russian entities and people on Thursday, including state media organisations behind RT and Sputnik and some senior figures, saying it was targeting those who push out President Vladimir Putin's "fake news and narratives".

Britain is acting in concert with its Western allies to try to cripple Russia's economy as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine, and has already sanctioned more than 1,000 individuals and businesses.

Among those sanctioned on Thursday were RT's managing director, Alexey Nikolov, Sergey Brilev, a prominent news anchor at the state-owned Rossiya Television and Radio network, and Sputnik Editor-in-Chief Anton Anisimov. (Reuters)

Russia accused Ukraine on Thursday of laying hundreds of mines near its coast and said some were drifting into open waters of the Black Sea and creating dangers for merchant shipping, a day after Kyiv said Moscow was responsible for planting mines.

The Black Sea is a major shipping route for grain, oil and oil products. Its waters are shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey as well as Ukraine and Russia, which have been at war since President Vladimir Putin invaded his southern neighbour on Feb. 24.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that Russia was planting naval mines in the Black Sea as "uncontrolled drifting ammunition", turning them "into a de facto weapon of indiscriminate action". (Reuters)

Russia said on Thursday it had greatly expanded the number of European Union officials, lawmakers, public figures and journalists barred from Russia for allegedly being responsible for sanctions and stoking anti-Russian feelings. "The restrictions apply to the top leadership of the European Union, including a number of European commissioners and heads of EU military structures, as well as the vast majority of members of the European Parliament who promote anti-Russian policies," Russia's foreign ministry said. (Reuters)

Gold on Thursday was headed for its best quarter since the coronavirus pandemic-led surge in mid-2020 as concerns over soaring consumer prices and the Ukraine crisis bolstered bullion's safe-haven appeal.

Spot gold XAU= was up 0.4% at $1,941.11 per ounce by 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT). For the month, bullion was up nearly 1.8%.

U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.3% to $1,945.40.

"The geopolitical situation has been dragging for a month now and inflation data continues to rise. So the overall sentiment in this market right now is people looking for safety," RJO Futures senior market strategist Bob Haberkorn said. (Reuters)

Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom on Thursday said many of the Russian forces occupying the Chernobyl nuclear plant had left and were headed for the Belarusian border, leaving just a few on the territory of the defunct plant.

"The occupiers, who seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other facilities in the exclusion zone, have set off in two columns towards the Ukrainian border," it said in a statement.It said Russian forces had also retreated from the nearby town of Slavutych, where Ukrainian workers at Chernobyl live. (Reuters)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in India on March 31 on a two-day official visit. The timing has raised questions from the West, as it comes amid the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. India has so far maintained a neutral position, asking both sides to resolve the dispute through dialogue.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned "unfriendly nations" that gas supplies would be halted from November 1 if payment would not be made in rubles, Bloomberg reported.

Greenpeace activists on Thursday blocked two oil tankers off the coast of Denmark from transferring 100,000 tonnes of Russian oil, in what the organization said was an attempt to stop funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In kayaks and rhib boats, the activists placed themselves between the oil tankers Seaoath and Pertamina Prime near Frederikshavn, Denmark, preventing the ship-to-ship oil transfer. The Seaoath had arrived from Russia carrying 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude oil and was attempting to transfer the oil to the larger Pertamina Prime tanker, according to Greenpeace and Refinitiv ship tracking data. (Reuters)

Russian forces in Ukraine are not withdrawing but regrouping, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, commenting on Moscow's announcements about a scaling down of military operations around Kyiv. "According to our intelligence, Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning. Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. "At the same time, Russia maintains pressure on Kyiv and other cities. So we can expect additional offensive actions, bringing even more suffering." (Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi that conditions were not mature yet for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Draghi told a news conference on Thursday when asked about a telephone call with Putin the previous day. Draghi also said that Putin told him that current gas contracts remained in force and that European firms will continue to pay in euros and dollars. "What I understood, but I may be wrong, is that the conversion of the payment.... is an internal matter of the Russian Federation," Draghi said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi that conditions were not mature yet for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Draghi told a news conference on Thursday when asked about a telephone call with Putin the previous day. Draghi also said that Putin told him that current gas contracts remained in force and that European firms will continue to pay in euros and dollars."What I understood, but I may be wrong, is that the conversion of the payment.... is an internal matter of the Russian Federation," Draghi said.