Bulgaria is preparing to seize a Russian oil refinery belonging to Russia's sanctioned state company Lukoil.
The refinery in question, Burgas, is the only one of its kind in Bulgaria and is now facing US sanctions over Russia's war of invasion in Ukraine. The government is preparing a new legislation to enable the seizure of the refinery.
The decision comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered preparations for nuclear weapons testing after Donald Trump ordered on October 31 to resume nuclear testing "immediately", raising fears of nuclear proliferation between the two countries. At the same time on Wednesday, Putin ordered to boost defences of Russia's oil refineries from Ukrainian drone attacks.
After his inauguration to the second term of presidency in January, Donald Trump has sought to end the war in Ukraine by holding talks with both Ukrainian and Russian leaders. Recently Trump steered away from his pro-Kremlin position after continued provocations from Moscow and Putin 's unwillingness to agree to a ceasefire to end the hostilities. Last month, Donald Trump imposed sanctions on two top Russian energy companies - Rosneft and Lukoil - and their numerous subsidiaries.
The US joined Britain last month in imposing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, over Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Legislation was being drafted to allow the seizure, Bulgarian outlet Mediapool reported on Wednesday. Lukoil said last week that it was moving to sell foreign assets because of the sanctions in an effort to scale up pressure on Russia's oil industry. Trump has also repeatedly urged European and NATO allies to stop buying Russian oil and gas.
