4 a.m.: Ukraine suspended from decision on EU membership
"As actively as we are fighting for a positive decision by the European Union on Ukraine's candidacy, we are fighting daily to obtain deliveries of modern weapons," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on Wednesday evening. participate virtually in the European Council summit in Brussels.
"We are expecting a key European decision in the evening," said the man who has been repeating for weeks that his former Soviet republic belongs to the "European family".
He was to continue Thursday his "telephone marathon" with European leaders to snatch a consensus in favor of yes.
He can count on the support of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who called on European leaders to "rise to the occasion" by acceding to kyiv's request.
The European executive also issued a favorable opinion on Ukraine's candidacy a few days ago and on Tuesday, France, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, indicated that a "total consensus" between the Twenty-Seven had emerged on this issue.
3:54 a.m .: Russia seeks new markets for its petroleum products
Russia is increasing its gasoline and naphtha exports to Africa and the Middle East, according to multiple sources and Refinitiv data, as sales to Europe slow.
The European Union has gradually reduced its imports of Russian oil and fuel since March due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and has decided to end these by 90% by the end of the year.
Although Asia has rapidly increased its purchases of Russian crude, it is essential for Russia to find new markets, in order to avoid a further drop in its exports and its oil production.
“Africa and the Middle East seem to be the main markets Russian oil producers could turn to, so we expect deliveries to these regions to increase in the second half of the year,” a trader specializing in Russian petroleum products told Reuters.
12:27 a.m .: two large agricultural terminals bombed in Mykolaiv
Two grain storage terminals were hit by Russian shelling on Wednesday in the port city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, their operators, trading houses Bunge and Viterra, told AFP.
The Evri port terminal, owned by Viterra and dedicated to vegetable oils, was "damaged by a missile attack", which left one person slightly injured, a spokesperson for the group said, adding that two silos were on fire and a third damaged.
This site, bought in 2020 by Glencore, parent company of Viterra, has a storage capacity of 160,000 tonnes.
As for Bunge, its facilities were "hit during the latest Russian attacks in the region", said a spokeswoman, adding that the strike did not cause any injuries and that the exact extent of the damage was not known. still known.
The terminal, which had been closed since the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, includes a storage site, ship loading and a vegetable oil production unit.
The ports of Mykolaiv and Odessa have been blocked since the beginning of the conflict, which has paralyzed the maritime transport of agricultural raw materials, the main export route for Ukraine until then.
With AFP and Reuters
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