Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at the G20 summit, Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019

Thursday’s Coverage: Kremlin’s Dmitriev Confers with Trump’s Envoys Witkoff and Kushner

UPDATE 1511 GMT:

Oil tankers carrying Russian oil immediately rerouted to India when the US lifted sanctions on Indian purchases last week.

“We instantaneously saw ships, shadow fleet tankers, sanctioned ones, nonsanctioned ones, making U turns, diverting course,” said senior risk analyst Bridget Diakun of Lloyd’s List. “They were initially going towards Malaysia or to China, and they completely turned around and started heading for India. So India is at this point, able to outbid the buyers in China.”

On Thursday, the US gave a temporary waiver to all countries for Russian oil at sea.

Diakun said the lifting of sanctions is “a godsend for Russia’s shadow fleet”: “They’re in a position where now Russia can make a lot of money because it’s given a pass.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky commented during a joint press conference with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris:

This single easing by the US could provide Russia with around $10 billion for the war. It certainly does not help (to achieve) peace.

UPDATE 1210 GMT:

At least three civilians have been murdered and 27 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 117 of 126 drones. The Russians also launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile.

In the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, at least two people were slain and six injured.

In the Sumy region in the northeast, a 32-year-old man was killed.

Casualties were also reported from the Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.

UPDATE 0649 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Paris to meet French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

Zelensky visited Romania on Thursday. He conferred with President Nicosur Dan and Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, and met Ukrainian troops at the European F-16 Training Center.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: After triggering a global energy crisis with the US-Israel War on Iran, the Trump Administration is temporarily suspending sanctions on Russia over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Treasury issued a license to allow the sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products which has been loaded on vessels until April 11.

The Trump camp issued the 30-day waiver to India, Russia’s second-largest customer, last week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said over the weekend that more sanctions could be eased.

On Thursday, Bessent justified the suspensions on all Russian maritime oil “to promote stability in global energy markets”. He proclaimed that the Administration is “working to keep prices low as we address the threat and instability posed by the terrorist Iranian regime”.

Vladimir Putin’s chief financial advisor Kirill Dmitriev celebrated, “The United States is effectively acknowledging the obvious: without Russian oil, the global energy market cannot remain stable.”

Russia has reaped a €6 billion ($6.9 billion) windfall in its oil revenues since the US-Israel War began on February 28. The surge has released economic pressure on the Kremlin in the fifth year of its full-scale invasion.

In January-February, the Russian Government’s oil revenues fell 47% compared to a year earlier.

Democrats on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs are demanding answers from the Administration over the relaxation of the sanctions. They sent a letter earlier this week to the Committee chair, Republican Sen. Tim Scott, requesting a hearing with Bessent by the end of March.