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McDonald's is set to abandon Kazakhstan as disruptions triggered by the Ukraine crisis have left the nation without a substitute for Russian meat supplies, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The fast-food giant, which exited Russia in May, banned its local franchisee from procuring meat patties from Russian suppliers, the report said, according to Reuters.
McDonald's declined to comment on the report.
The company's licensee in Kazakhstan was forced to temporarily close its restaurants in November after cutting ties with Russian companies and running out of supplies, three sources with knowledge of situation had told Reuters.
The exit highlights the supply issues faced by many Kazakh businesses in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Western sanctions against Moscow that followed. Neighboring Russia is Kazakhstan's main trading partner.
The United States is looking at ways to target Iranian drone production through sanctions and export controls, and it is talking to private companies whose parts have been used in production, the White House said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
"We are assessing further steps we can take in terms of export controls to restrict Iran’s access to technologies used in drones," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
The United States has previously imposed sanctions on companies and people it accused of producing or transferring Iranian drones that Russia has used to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine was being considered to help the Ukrainians in combating Russia's invasion, according to Reuters.
"Yes," Biden said when asked if the option was on the table.
The armored vehicle with a powerful gun has been used as a staple by the U.S. Army to carry troops around battlefields since the mid-1980s.
The Army has thousands of Bradleys, which could give the Ukrainians more firepower on the battlefield. Biden's move, however, is short of sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which the Ukrainians have been requesting.
It was not clear how many Bradleys are destined for Ukraine, but the United States is preparing another weapons aid package that could be announced in the coming days.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Wednesday that four Russian agents who collected data on HIMARS (High-Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems) and energy facilities in Donetsk Oblast had been convicted by a court, The Kyiv Independent reported.
The SBU reported that the spies had been collecting information on the locations of Ukrainian military bases and troop movements in the Bakhmut and Kramatorsk areas, as well as on the technical condition of power production facilities that had been targeted by Russian troops.
The convicts were arrested during an SBU operation in Donetsk Oblast in recent months and, in exchange for their cooperation with the investigators, were sentenced to between six and eight years in prison.
One of the convicts attempted to identify the positions of HIMARS systems, while another provided information on the restoration of electricity in the area to Russian forces through an acquaintance from Russian-occupied territories, according to the SBU.
Global oil prices plunged Wednesday over China demand concerns and European gas prices sank to their lowest levels since November 2021 as mild winter weather reduced demand, Reuters reported.
Crude prices extended losses from a day earlier, diving around 5%, over concern about demand in the world's biggest oil importer China, amid a steep rise in COVID-19 infections in the country.
Around midday Wednesday, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate for delivery in February was down 4.9% at $73.15 a barrel, and the main European contract, Brent for delivery in March, was 4.9% lower at $78.11.
Meanwhile, wholesale natural gas prices in Europe sank to their lowest levels since November 2021 as mild winter weather reduced demand, erasing all the gains seen last year amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Local police reported that Russian artillery had killed two elderly women in the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on Wednesday, The Kyiv Independent reported.
According to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, at least 1,282 people have been killed and at least 2,799 have been injured in Donetsk Oblast since February 24.
On December 26, Kyrylenko said that over 60% of Bakhmut’s infrastructure had been partially or fully destroyed.
