Kazakhstan is seriously concerned about signals that international oil traders are refusing to buy CPC Blend oil as it passes through Russia, which gets transit fees.

The 160 carloads of residents able to make their way out of Mariupol were among some 4,000 evacuees escaping bombardments in cities besieged by the Russian military since Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine on 24th February.

Ukrainian officials said some 140,000 people had been evacuated from cities under threat from Russian attack, but no such operation has yet been launched in the besieged southern port of Mariupol owing to constant shelling. The death toll in the city was put at 2,100.

The punitive measures are wide-ranging: they will target Russia’s officials, businessmen, as well as the country’s banking, technology and key industrial sectors.