SURGES in global oil prices prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are being felt at the petrol pump in the UK.
The average price of petrol jumped to £1.51 a litre on Sunday, the RAC said, while diesel rose to £1.55.
Russia is the second-biggest exporter of crude oil, and while only 6% of UK imports come from Russia, there are concerns sanctions could restrict supplies worldwide and drive up prices.
Meanwhile reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that vital oxygen supplies to treat patients sick with Covid and other critical illnesses, and war injuries, are running dangerously low in Ukraine.
Trucks have been unable to transport supplies from plants to hospitals within the country, including the capital Kyiv, meaning available stocks could run out within the next 24 hours.
The WHO stated that it is collaborating with partners to get urgent shipments through Poland.
“The oxygen supply situation is nearing a very dangerous point,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said.
The WHO said several manufacturing plants in Ukraine were also facing shortages of zeolite – a crucial, mainly imported chemical product that is needed to make safe medical oxygen.
Hospital services are also under threat from electricity and power shortages.
