Moscow on Saturday denounced an international price cap imposed on Russian oil, describing it as a “dangerous and illegitimate instrument.” The Group of Seven nations and Australia agreed a day earlier to cap the price they pay for Russian oil at $60 per barrel, although it is not clear whether the move will seriously hit Moscow’s finances in the near term, since the cap is close to current prices.
The cap was good news but did not go far enough and would be better lowered to $30 per barrel “to destroy the enemy’s economy quicker,” presidential aide Andriy Yermak said Saturday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a similar appeal last month, calling a $60 cap an “artificial limit.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials in Kherson announced Saturday that they would temporarily allow residents to cross the Dnieper River from Russian-occupied territory into the Ukrainian-held regional capital because of “intensifying hostilities” in the area. A ban on crossing the river was to be lifted Saturday through Monday during daylight hours, Kherson’s regional administration said on Telegram, with the river serving as an evacuation route for residents on the eastern bank. Russian shelling across the river into Kherson has intensified in recent days, after a relatively quiet period in the city that was recently liberated by Ukrainian forces.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
4. From our correspondents
After Kherson, Ukraine’s military ponders new push south and east: After recent battlefield success, Ukraine may be shifting its attention to the Zaporizhzhia region and its southern front line less than 100 miles north of the Azov Sea, where Ukrainians are eager to sever a “land bridge” connecting mainland Russia to Crimean — which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, write Samantha Schmidt and Serhii Korolchuk for The Post.
The Kremlin is also gearing up for a fight and building up more fortified defensive positions on the muddy and flat fields in the area. “Everyone is talking about Zaporizhzhia. Everyone,” said military analyst Konrad Muzyka.
Kyiv is also intent on liberating nearby cities such as Melitopol and Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located.
