The White House, now unconcerned about the effect on gas prices and inflation, blacklisted two of Russia’s biggest oil producers and nearly 200 tanker ships.

Washington now has freer hand in restricting Russian oil amid predictions of a global glut.

The Group of Seven democracies have sought to crimp Russia’s oil export earnings that help fund the war against Ukraine.

In the capital of Transnistria, a Kremlin-backed microstate sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine, the festive New Year’s lights have gone dark ahead of schedule. This separatist sliver of Moldova will run out of energy in three weeks,

Every time planned electrical outages are imposed on his village in southern Moldova, 73-year-old retiree Vasili Donici passes the time by solving crosswords and puzzles in a room he illuminates using a small gas lamp.

"An important task now is to help Moldova overcome its energy challenges and prevent Moscow from stirring up social tensions. ... We are ready to help," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 8.

Oil prices jumped more than 4% on Friday, with global benchmark Brent breaking $80 per barrel for the first time since October on fears that tougher U.S. sanctions on Russia will disrupt crude supplies.

Oil prices rallied nearly 3% to their highest in three months on Friday as traders braced for supply disruptions from the broadest U.S. sanctions package targeting Russian oil and gas revenue. The Biden administration on Friday imposed fresh sanctions targeting Russian oil producers,

Russia has launched more than 51,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine since the start of its full-blown invasion nearly three years ago, the Ukrainian air force said on Thursday. Guided, or glide,

President-elect Trump said late Thursday that a meeting is in the works with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. Why it matters: Trump said on the campaign trail that he would swiftly end the nearly three-year-old war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office.

On January 8, Russian forces launched one of the most devastating attacks of the war in this region, dropping two glide bombs that killed at least 13 people and wounded 122 others. The city declared a day of mourning on January 9,