Oil, gas, wheat: are Moscow and Washington dividing up the world's taps?
On 12 October the French Navy boarded a tanker of the Russian shadow fleet off Réunion; three days earlier Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel. The vessel, the DF Peak, sailed under a false Beninese flag and until 2024 was named Kaliningrad. Washington authorised purchases of Russian diesel until April 2027 as diesel prices stood at their highest ahead of the midterm elections, while Kiev was asked to halt strikes on Russian refineries.
Why it matters: The exchange illustrates how energy and sanctions have become instruments of leverage, with access to Russian fuel traded against constraints on Ukraine's military campaign.