Ukraine LIVE: Kyiv blasts ‘blood money’ over BP boss’s stake in Russian energy giant

Ukraine has detained eight over the theft of a mural painted by Banksy from a wall in the Kyiv suburbs.

The stencil image of a person in a nightgown and gas mask holding a fire extinguisher next to the charred remains of a window in the town of Hostomel went missing on Friday, authorities said.

Kyiv governor, Oleksiy Kuleba, said in a post on Telegram: "A group of people tried to steal a Banksy mural. They cut out the work from the wall of a house destroyed by the Russians."

As of 3.27pm, the Ukrainian army has recaptured 13 settlements in the Luhansk region.

According to the head of the regional administration, Serhiy Haidai, artillery was still being fired at the villages by Russian forces.

Doctors are due to visit next week and firewood is being organised for residents, Haidai posted on Telegram.

Mobilised Russian soldiers preparing for the war in Ukraine appear to have enough poor equipment and training as a mass walkout is caught on camera in Kazan, southwest Russia .

The footage shows uniformed conscripts marching towards a guarded gate and demanding to be let through.

After a short scuffle, the men force open the gate and march out.

The Visegrád 24 Twitter account shared the video with the caption: “Mutiny in a military base in the Russian the city of Kazan.

“Partially mobilized men had enough of the treatment and poor equipment, and decided to head back home."

The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Saturday for a lower price cap on Russian oil than the one agreed to by Ukraine’s Western supporters, while Russian authorities called the $60-per-barrel cap harmful to free, stable markets.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky’s office, wrote on social media that the price ceiling set by the European Union, Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, and the United States on Friday didn’t go far enough. The cap is set to take effect Monday, along with an EU embargo on Russian oil shipped by sea.

"It would be necessary to lower it to $30 in order to destroy the enemy's economy faster," Yermak wrote on Telegram, staking out a position also favoured by Poland — a leading critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The Russian Embassy in Washington insisted that Russian oil “will continue to be in demand” and criticised the price limit as "reshaping the basic principles of the functioning of free markets." A post on the embassy’s Telegram channel predicted the per-barrel cap would lead to "a widespread increase in uncertainty and higher costs for consumers of raw materials."

The price cap aims to put an economic squeeze on Russia and further crimp its ability to finance a war that has killed an untold number of civilians and fighters, driven millions of Ukrainians from their homes and weighed on the world economy for more than nine months.

A wealthy Russian businessman has been arrested at his multi-million-pound London home by officers investigating potential criminal activity by oligarchs.

The 58-year-old man, who has not been named, was held by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on Thursday on suspicion of offences including money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the Home Office and conspiracy to commit perjury.

A 35-year-old man, who works at the residence, was arrested nearby on suspicion of money laundering and obstruction of an officer after he was seen leaving with a bag containing thousands of pounds in cash.

A third man, 39, who is the former boyfriend of the businessman’s current partner, was arrested at his home in Pimlico, London, for offences including money laundering and conspiracy to defraud.

The NCA said more than 50 officers from its Combatting Kleptocracy Cell were involved in the operation at the businessman’s multi-million-pound London property, where a number of digital devices and a significant quantity of cash was seized following a search.

Graeme Biggar, director general of the NCA, said: “The NCA’s Combatting Kleptocracy Cell, only established this year, is having significant success investigating potential criminal activity by oligarchs, the professional service providers that support and enable them and those linked to the Russian regime.

“We will continue to use all the powers and tactics available to us to disrupt this threat.”

All three of the men who were arrested have been released on bail.

Even as Ukraine celebrates recent battlefield victories, its government faces a looming challenge on the financial front: how to pay the enormous cost of the war effort without triggering out-of-control price spikes for ordinary people or piling up debt that could hamper postwar reconstruction.

Economists working with the government say that if Ukraine can shore up its finances through the end of next year, it is Russia that could find itself in financial trouble if a proposed oil price cap by the US, European Union and allies saps Moscow’s earnings.

Economists say printing money — while a badly needed stop-gap measure at the time — risks letting inflation get out of control and collapsing the value of the country’s currency if it continues.

Ukraine has painful memories of hyperinflation from the early 1990s, economist Nataliia Shapoval said. As a child, she watched her parents use large bundles of bills for everyday purchases as the currency lost value day by day, before being replaced by today’s hryvnia.

"Ukraine has been through this, so we know what inflation that is out of control looks like, and we don’t want this again," said Shapoval, vice president for policy research at the Kyiv School of Economics. "The government and the central bank are already on the slippery slope by printing so much."

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On Friday, Director General of the State Defence Investment Center (RKIK) Magnus-Waldemar Saar signed an agreement with the US Defence and Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) for the purchase of HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems.

Weapons systems will be purchased from the United States, weapons manufacturer – Lockheed Martin. The total value of the contract is more than $200 million, according to a press release from RKIK.

This is the largest defence purchase in Estonian history. “As part of the agreement, in addition to multiple launch rocket systems, Estonia will also purchase ammunition and communications equipment. The agreement also includes resolving issues related to training and logistics. The package also includes various missiles with a range of 70 to 300 kilometres”, – said Ramil Lipp, Head of the Armaments Department of the Center for Defence Investments.

“HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems are a new and important step in the development of Estonia’s defence capabilities, which make it possible to decisively influence the enemy even before he comes into contact with our infantry units. This is a standard NATO system that promotes comprehensive cooperation with other allies in the alliance,” said Lieutenant Colonel Kaarel Mäesalu, head of the department of the General Staff of the Defence Forces.

The HIMARS systems have also been deployed by Ukraine against Russia since the start of the invasion in February.

Latvia and Lithuania will also buy HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems from the US. The first deliveries are expected in 2024.

In a letter to BP boss Bernard Looney, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief economic adviser said the company has failed to follow through on a promise made when Vladimir Putin’s invasion began.

He said the firm has failed to drop a 19.75 percent stake in Russian energy giant Rosneft, leaving it risking “complicity with Russia’s war crimes”.

Oleg Ustenko called on the company to drop its investment as promised, or set up a fund for Ukrainian families.

He said: “BP was among the first of the oil majors to announce its intention to exit Russia by selling its stake in Rosneft, the Kremlin’s oil company.

“Yet after nine months of Russian aggression, war crimes and the bombardment of civilian infrastructure, all funded and fuelled by Russian oil, gas and coal, BP remains a shareholder in Rosneft.

“Our position is clear – companies must leave Russia or risk complicity with Russia’s war crimes.

“Any European company which continues to profit from the Russian fossil fuel sector should establish a fund to dedicate that money to Ukrainian victims of the war.”