Ukraine wants sanctions on Russia’s nuclear energy sector

BLOOMBERG

Ukraine wants Russia’s nuclear energy sector and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be part of future sanctions packages, Ukraine’s energy minister told Bloomberg Television.
Ukrainian forces downed 14 out of 15 Shahed-type drones launched by Russian troops overnight, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. Twelve of the unmanned aircraft were shot down over Kyiv, the city’s military administration said.
Earlier, Russia carried out 24 air attacks and 12 missile strikes, and fired 55 times from multiple rocket launchers, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. The last time Ukraine was under a significant drone and missile attack was March 9.
The European Union (EU) meanwhile is targeting a way to let member states have the option to effectively ban Russian shipments of liquefied natural gas without implementing new energy sanctions.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant under Russian control in southeastern Ukraine is being operated incorrectly, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said. Ukraine is more worried about the deteriorating situation at Zaporizhzhia than about Russian plans to place nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, he added.
Ukraine needs long-range air-defense equipment and modern aircraft to fend off Russian tactical aviation from Ukraine’s borders, Air Defense spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said. Russian tactical aircraft are beginning to carry difficult-to-intercept modernised guided bombs in addition to missiles, he said.
“These are new threats that we have to take into account,” Ihnat said. “The most effective method is to drive Russian aviation away from the borders.”

Norway in ‘process’ with Russia to transfer Arctic Council chair
Norway is “in a constructive process” with Russia to ensure a handover of the chairmanship of the Arctic Council after the intergovernmental body was suspended in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, according to a senior official.
Meetings of the Arctic Council, an eight-country group that includes the US and current chair Russia, have been put on hold since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
The handover will take place in a virtual meeting that is unlikely to include any government ministers, Morten Hoglund, Norway’s Senior Arctic Official, told reporters through a webcast.
“There will be, to my knowledge, no ministers attending the meeting,” Hoglund said.
All eight Arctic nations — Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, the US and Canada — will need to agree on the “full setup” for the transition, said Hoglund, who is also the incoming chairman of the council, adding he is “optimistic.”