Ukraine, EU allies slam US decision to roll back Russia oil sanctions 

Ukraine and its European allies have hit out at a decision by United States President Donald Trump’s administration to partially roll back sanctions against Russia amid soaring energy prices linked to the Iran war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that the move would “strengthen Russia’s position” as US-backed efforts to reach an agreement to end the more than four-year war appear to have stalled.

“It is spending the money it earns from energy sales on weapons, and all of this is then being used against us,” said Zelenskyy, speaking alongside his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, during a news conference in Paris.

“Just this easing [of sanctions] by America could provide Russia with around $10bn for the war. This certainly does not help peace,” he said.

The US on Thursday issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea, as global energy markets have been roiled by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The conflict has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical Gulf waterway through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil transits, and disrupted energy production in the Middle East.

Macron and other European leaders criticised the Trump administration’s decision to ease the economic curbs against Russia, which has faced global sanctions since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, said the move “is very concerning, as it impacts European security”.

“Increasing economic pressure on Russia is decisive for it to accept a serious negotiation for a just and lasting peace,” Costa wrote on X. “Weakening sanctions increases Russian resources to wage the war of aggression against Ukraine.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also said “easing sanctions now, for whatever reason, is wrong”.

“We believe that is the wrong course of action,” Merz said. “After all, we want to ensure that Russia does not exploit the war in Iran to weaken Ukraine.”

Speaking alongside Zelenskyy, France’s Macron stressed the limited and temporary nature of the 30-day US waiver while warning Moscow that Europe would maintain its pressure against the country.

“Today Russia may believe that the war in Iran will offer it respite. It is mistaken,” the French president said.

According to data analytics firm Vortexa, approximately 7.3 million barrels of Russia-originated oil are in floating storage, while 148.6 million barrels are in vessels in transit.

Russia’s presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev said the US waiver would affect 100 million barrels of Russian crude, equal to almost a day’s worth of global output.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters on Friday that the Trump administration’s move was aimed at stabilising world energy markets. “In this respect, our interests coincide,” Peskov said.

Earlier this week, the International Energy Agency announced that its 32 member countries had unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves to try to lower prices.

“This is a major action aiming to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Wednesday.

“But to be clear, the most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas is the resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz.”