Russian oil giant Lukoil is scrambling to sell its foreign refineries and other assets before US sanctions take effect on 21 November, with potential buyers circling as time runs out. The sanctions, imposed in response to Russia's war on Ukraine, have already disrupted Lukoil's operations in Iraq, Finland, and Bulgaria. Kazakhstan's state firm KazMunayGas is considering a bid for Lukoil's assets in the country, while Shell has expressed interest in Lukoil's deepwater holdings in Ghana and Nigeria, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Moldova has begun talks to nationalise Lukoil's infrastructure at Chisinau airport, and Bulgaria is working to seize and resell Lukoil's Burgas refinery, though President Rumen Radev has sent the legislation back to parliament for revisions. In Egypt, Lukoil has indicated possible plans to sell its three concessions, a source told Reuters. Lukoil faces a dilemma: sell assets and risk proceeds being frozen, or see them taken over by foreign states if it does not sell, said Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
On the battlefield, Russian forces have overrun three settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine's top military commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Wednesday. Dense fog allowed Russian troops to infiltrate Ukrainian positions, with fierce fighting continuing in Pokrovsk, Kupiansk, and Lyman. In Huliaipole, an 84-year-old evacuee described the danger from drones, saying, 'You're in your own house, your own yard – and you can't go out.'
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko has called for lowering the conscription age from 25 to 22 or 23 to boost Ukraine's fighting numbers. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described an energy corruption scandal in Ukraine as 'extremely unfortunate', as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired two ministers accused of involvement in a large-scale bribery scheme. Zelenskyy also called for personal sanctions against his former business partner Timur Mindich, the alleged organiser of the scheme.
