Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticized the ongoing easing of U.S. sanctions on Russian crude oil. He wrote on Sunday via the X news service that the continued relaxation of sanctions against Russia neither reflects the actual situation in the war nor in diplomacy and feeds the illusion held by the Russian leadership that they can continue fighting. He pointed out that in this week alone, Russia launched over 2,360 attack drones, more than 1,320 guided bombs, and nearly 60 missiles of various types at Ukrainian cities and towns.
According to Zelensky, every dollar paid for Russian oil funds the war. At present, more than 110 tankers from Moscow’s shadow fleet are at sea, carrying over twelve million tons of Russian oil that could once again be sold without consequence due to the easing of sanctions. He stated that this constitutes ten billion dollars-a resource directly used to finance new attacks on Ukraine. Therefore, the Ukrainian President emphasized the importance of halting Russian tankers and preventing any oil from reaching ports, arguing that Russian oil exports must decrease.
