UK exempts diesel, jet fuel from Russian crude; EU criticizes US waiver

Britain on Tuesday exempted imports of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian crude but refined in third countries, widening a breach in the oil and gas sanctions cordon around Russia. The move comes after the United States extended a waiver that critics say allows the Kremlin to earn more revenue to fund its war in Ukraine.

Russian oil is shipped to India, Turkey and other nations for refining and re-export as their own product, complicating sanctions enforcement. The new British rules take effect Wednesday and are of indefinite duration, though they will be reviewed periodically and can be amended or revoked, the British government said in a notice. Higher fuel costs have contributed to broader cost-of-living pressures in Britain.

An EU official on Tuesday criticized the latest US waiver of sanctions on Russian oil, announced via Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “From the EU point of view, we do not think that this is a time to ease pressure on Russia,” said EU Economics Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis. “In fact, Russia is the one which is gaining from the war in Iran and the increase in fossil fuel prices … Secretary Bessent was reassuring us that this is a temporary measure, but we know that it’s already a second extension of the measure which initially was meant to last only 30 days.”

Britain on Tuesday also issued a license for maritime transport of liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Sakhalin-2 and Yamal projects and related services — including shipping, financing and brokering — under Russia sanctions rules, running until Jan. 1, 2027.

The United States warned Russia against attacking Latvia after the Kremlin’s UN ambassador threatened it with “retaliation” over Ukrainian drones. Baltic countries denounced as lies claims by Vasily Nebenzya that Ukraine was planning to launch drones from Baltic nations. A Romanian F-16 NATO jet shot down a drone over Estonia on Tuesday, in what appeared to be the latest case of Russian electronic jamming diverting long-range Ukrainian drones into NATO territory, according to Shaun Walker.

Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence and disinformation service said Tuesday that Ukraine planned to launch drone attacks against Russia from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. At the UN, Nebenzya threatened Latvia by saying “the membership of NATO will not protect you from retaliation.” US Ambassador Tammy Bruce responded: “There is no place for threats against a council member. The United States keeps all of its NATO commitments.”

Latvia’s UN representative Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes sounded more dismissive. “Lies and aggressive disinformation and threats are a sign of despair and weakness, and we have seen similar lies addressed against other members of this council in the previous meetings, so I’m very honoured to have the attention drawn to my country today.” Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs posted: “Russia is lying about Latvia allowing any country to use Latvian airspace and territory to launch attacks against Russia or any other country.” Officials from Estonia and Lithuania also denied such plans.

A funeral was held in Kyiv on Tuesday for Liubava Yakovlieva, 12, and her sister Vira, 17, who were killed when a Russian missile tore through their Kyiv apartment building on May 14. Twenty-four people were killed in total. The girls’ mother, Tetiana, sat beside the coffins, the family’s sole surviving member. The father, Yevhen, was killed on the frontline as a soldier three years ago.

“This is an unnatural order of things, when parents bury their children,” said Efrem Khomiak, the priest presiding at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, where Kyiv mourns its soldiers and prominent dead. “This funeral, this grief, this tragedy, it is not only your family’s. It belongs to all of Ukraine. Because we are all bound together in this war.”

Ukrainian forces struck a Russian refinery and an oil pumping station over the past 48 hours, Ukraine’s General Staff said Tuesday. Russia attacked Ukraine with 209 drones over the previous night, killing five civilians and wounding 24 others, officials said. Five people were injured after Russia hit the southeastern city of Dnipro, said regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha.

Industrial areas around Nevinnomyssk in Russia’s southern Stavropol region were under drone attack Wednesday morning, said Governor Vladimir Vladimirov. The area is home to Nevinnomyssky Azot, a large chemical plant that has been a target of drone attacks from Ukraine before.