US-Sanctioned Russian LNG Heads to Asia in Search for Buyers
The Iris and Voskhod vessels, which are carrying shipments from the Arctic LNG 2 plant in Siberia, began traveling to North Asia via the Northern Sea Route on Aug. 15 after being idled for weeks, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Two other tankers that recently loaded at the plant also started heading toward Asia last week.
Arctic LNG 2, led by Novatek PJSC, is instrumental to Russia's plans to triple LNG exports by 2030 — and tap new gas markets after a sharp drop in pipeline sales to major traditional buyers in Europe. The US has held back on further tightening measures against buyers of Russian energy exports including China as it seeks to broker a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, with Donald Trump saying face-to-face discussions with Vladimir Putin on Friday were 'extremely productive.'
Arctic LNG 2 produced eight cargoes last summer but was forced to shut in October as it failed to find buyers and as ice started its seasonal build-up around the facility. The plant, initially sanctioned by the Biden administration, resumed loading in June but no cargoes have docked at an import facility yet.
It isn't clear if the four vessels currently heading toward Asia will ultimately find buyers. About a dozen ships, including those that can navigate icy waters, have been marshaled to potentially service Arctic LNG 2, with some changing management companies several times to help obfuscate their actual owners.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
12 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Putin demands Donbas, no NATO or Western troops in Ukraine: Report
Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up all of the eastern Donbas region, renounce ambitions to join NATO, remain neutral and keep Western troops out of the country, three sources familiar with top-level Kremlin thinking told Reuters. The Russian president met Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday for the first Russia-US summit in more than four years and spent almost all of their three-hour closed meeting discussing what a compromise on Ukraine might look like, according to the sources who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Speaking afterwards beside Trump, Putin said the meeting would hopefully open up the road to peace in Ukraine - but neither leader gave specifics about what they discussed. In the most detailed Russian-based reporting to date on Putin's offer at the summit, Reuters was able to outline the contours of what the Kremlin would like to see in a possible peace deal to end a war that has killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people. In essence, the Russian sources said, Putin has compromised on territorial demands he laid out in June 2024, which required Kyiv to cede the entirety of the four provinces Moscow claims as part of Russia: Dontesk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine - which make up the Donbas - plus Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south. Kyiv rejected those terms as tantamount to surrender. In his new proposal, the Russian president has stuck to his demand that Ukraine completely withdraw from the parts of the Donbas it still controls, according to the three sources. In return, though, Moscow would halt the current front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, they added. Russia controls about 88 per cent of the Donbas and 73 per cent of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, according to US estimates and open-source data. Moscow is also willing to hand over the small parts of the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions of Ukraine it controls as part of a possible deal, the sources said. Putin is sticking, too, to his previous demands that Ukraine give up its NATO ambitions and for a legally binding pledge from the US-led military alliance that it will not expand further eastwards, as well as for limits on the Ukrainian army and an agreement that no Western troops will be deployed on the ground in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force, the sources said. Yet the two sides remain far apart, more than three years after Putin ordered thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine in a full-scale invasion that followed the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and prolonged fighting in the country's east between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. Ukraine's foreign ministry had no immediate comment on the proposals. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly dismissed the idea of withdrawing from internationally recognised Ukrainian land as part of a deal, and has said the industrial Donbas region serves as a fortress holding back Russian advances deeper into Ukraine. "If we're talking about simply withdrawing from the east, we cannot do that," he told reporters in comments released by Kyiv on Thursday. "It is a matter of our country's survival, involving the strongest defensive lines." Joining NATO, meanwhile, is a strategic objective enshrined in the country's constitution and one which Kyiv sees as its most reliable security guarantee. Zelenskiy said it was not up to Russia to decide on the alliance's membership. The White House and NATO didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the Russian proposals. Political scientist Samuel Charap, chair in Russia and Eurasia Policy at RAND, a US-based global policy think-tank, said any requirement for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donbas remained a non-starter for Kyiv, both politically and strategically. "Openness to 'peace' on terms categorically unacceptable to the other side could be more of a performance for Trump than a sign of a true willingness to compromise," he added. "The only way to test that proposition is to begin a serious process at the working level to hash out those details." TRUMP: PUTIN WANTS TO SEE IT ENDED Russian forces currently control a fifth of Ukraine, an area about the size of the American state of Ohio, according to US estimates and open-source maps. The three sources close to the Kremlin said the summit in the Alaskan city of Anchorage had ushered in the best chance for peace since the war began because there had been specific discussions about Russia's terms and Putin had shown a willingness to give ground. "Putin is ready for peace - for compromise. That is the message that was conveyed to Trump," one of the people said. The sources cautioned that it was unclear to Moscow whether Ukraine would be prepared to cede the remains of the Donbas, and that if it did not then the war would continue. Also unclear was whether or not the United States would give any recognition to Russian-held Ukrainian territory, they added. A fourth source said that though economic issues were secondary for Putin, he understood the economic vulnerability of Russia and the scale of the effort needed to go far further into Ukraine. Trump has said he wants to end the "bloodbath" of the war and be remembered as a "peacemaker president". He said on Monday he had begun arranging a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, to be followed by a trilateral summit with the US president. "I believe Vladimir Putin wants to see it ended," Trump said beside Zelenskiy in the Oval office. "I feel confident we are going to get it solved." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Putin was prepared to meet Zelenskiy but that all issues had to be worked through first and there was a question about Zelenskiy's authority to sign a peace deal. Putin has repeatedly raised doubts about Zelenskiy's legitimacy as his term in office was due to expire in May 2024 but the war means no new presidential election has yet been held. Kyiv says Zelenskiy remains the legitimate president. The leaders of Britain, France and Germany have said they are sceptical that Putin wants to end the war. SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR UKRAINE Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was instrumental in paving the way for the summit, and the latest drive for peace, according to two of the Russian sources. Witkoff met Putin in the Kremlin on August 6 with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. At the meeting, Putin conveyed clearly to Witkoff that he was ready to compromise and set out the contours of what he could accept for peace, according to two Russian sources. If Russia and Ukraine could reach an agreement, then there are various options for a formal deal - including a possible three-way Russia-Ukraine-US deal that is recognised by the UN Security Council, one of the sources said. Another option is to go back to the failed 2022 Istanbul agreements, where Russia and Ukraine discussed Ukraine's permanent neutrality in return for security guarantees from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, the sources added. "There are two choices: war or peace, and if there is no peace, then there is more war," one of the people said.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
12 minutes ago
- First Post
Does Putin really want to meet Zelenskyy? Lavrov says Europe promoting its own agenda
Sergei Lavrov rejected Volodymyr Zelenskyy's offer to meet Vladimir Putin, accusing Kyiv and Europe of sidelining Moscow's concerns and warning against European troop deployment in Ukraine. This handout photograph published on August 21, 2025, on the official Telegram channel of the head of the Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration Myroslav Biletsky shows smoke emanating over buildings following a Russian air attack in Mukachevo, Zakarpattia region.- AFP Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's latest offer to meet Vladimir Putin, accusing Kyiv and its European allies of pursuing an agenda that sidelines Moscow's concerns. Lavrov said Ukraine's leadership was 'not interested' in a genuine peace settlement and was instead focused on securing Western guarantees that Russia views as incompatible with its demands. 'The Ukrainian regime and its representatives directly show they are not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement,' Lavrov said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He argued that Europe was trying to 'undermine' efforts at a sustainable peace formula by extending security guarantees to Kyiv. 'Europe is promoting its own agenda, focusing only on guarantees and ignoring the root causes,' he said, stressing that Moscow would continue to follow the policy course decided jointly with Washington. Lavrov also warned that any move by European states to deploy troops in Ukraine would cross a red line. 'This would be absolutely unacceptable for the Russian Federation,' he said, calling such an initiative 'foreign intervention in part of Ukrainian territory.' The remarks came after Zelenskyy suggested he was prepared to meet Putin, but only once Ukraine had received firm commitments on security. He floated Switzerland, Austria or Turkey as possible venues and even proposed a trilateral format with US President Donald Trump. 'We want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within 7–10 days, and based on that understanding, we aim to hold a trilateral meeting,' Zelenskyy told reporters. Moscow, however, portrayed Zelenskyy's overture as a political ploy. Lavrov pointed out that the Ukrainian leader had previously ruled out talks with Putin, even signing an executive order to that effect. 'Now his proposal is only a tactic, he fears attention to his personality may drop and wants to appear constructive,' Lavrov said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While stressing that President Putin remained open to talks, Lavrov raised doubts over 'the legitimacy of the person who signs the agreement on the Ukrainian side,' hinting at questions over Zelenskyy's standing at home and abroad. The exchange highlighted the deep mistrust that continues to block direct dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv with Zelenskyy conditioning talks on Western guarantees, and Russia insisting that peace cannot be built on terms crafted by Europe.
The Hindu
12 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Ukrainian suspect arrested in Italy over Nord Stream blasts
A Ukrainian suspect has been arrested in Italy over the sabotage of the Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines from Russia to Europe in 2022, German prosecutors said Thursday (August 21, 2025). The man, identified as Serhii K., is accused of being part of a cell "who placed explosive devices on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines", they said. He is "believed to have been one of the coordinators of the operation" in which a group allegedly hired a yacht in the German Baltic Sea port of Rostock to carry out the attacks. The pipelines that long shipped Russian gas to Europe were hit by huge explosions in September 2022, several months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Western powers were initially quick to blame Russia, which in turn accused them. German investigations then pointed to a Ukrainian cell of five men and one woman believed to have chartered the yacht "Andromeda" to carry out the attack, according to Der Spiegel magazine and other media. Their aim was to destroy the pipelines to prevent Russia from profiting in future from gas sales to Europe. Serhii K. was arrested in the early hours of Thursday in the Italian province of Rimini on a European arrest warrant, the prosecutors said. He and his accomplices are accused of using forged identity documents to hire the yacht that departed Rostock to carry out the attacks, the prosecutors said. Italy's carabinieri police confirmed that a 49-year-old Ukrainian was arrested without putting up resistance, at a bungalow where he was staying with his family, and taken to a local prison. German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig thanked investigators for what she called a "highly complex operation" leading to the arrest. Politically fraught case Nord Stream had long been controversial for allowing Russian gas to bypass eastern European transit routes and leaving Germany overly reliant on cheap energy from Moscow. After Russia launched its Ukraine invasion in February 2022, Western powers sanctioned Moscow, which then switched off the gas flow in Nord Stream 1, while Nord Stream 2 never started operations. Then, in September, seismic institutes reported the underwater blasts and four gas leaks were discovered off the Danish island of Bornholm as gas spewed to the surface. Two of the leaks were in Denmark's exclusive economic zone and two in Sweden's. German prosecutors last year issued an arrest warrant for another Ukrainian man, named as Volodymyr Z., a diving instructor whose last known address was in Poland. He was suspected of being one of the divers who planted the explosive devices in an operation that also involved a married couple who ran a diving school, according to public broadcaster ARD and other media. The case is awkward for Germany and Ukraine, as Berlin has strongly backed Kyiv politically and with defence equipment in its fight against Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his government knew nothing about any plan to blow up the pipelines. Hubig stressed that "we stand firmly on the side of Ukraine" against Russia's "terrible war of aggression". But the minister stressed that Germany would also "consistently investigate crimes that are committed under our jurisdiction". German and British media have recently reported that Washington and Moscow had discussed the idea of reviving Nord Stream 2, possibly to be run by an American company, during talks to end the Ukraine war. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in May, shortly after taking office, that his government would "do everything... to ensure that Nord Stream 2 cannot be put back into operation".
