Ukraine has urged the United States to reinstate sanctions regarding Russian oil and its refined products. This was stated by Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S. Olga Stefanishina, emphasizing the need to limit the influx of funds to the Russian Federation, which are used to finance aggression against Ukraine and support U.S. adversaries.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Kiev’s Arguments for Reinstating Sanctions
Stefanishina highlighted that Russia benefits from cooperation with Iran, which creates additional security risks. The Ukrainian side believes that the shared interests of Kiev and Washington lie in maximizing the limitation of financial flows to the Russian Federation, as these funds are directed towards military needs and the escalation of hostilities.
“Russia must not benefit from the actions of its ally – Iran. We urge the U.S. administration to renew sanctions on Russian oil and oil products. It is in our mutual interest to limit the funding that Russia uses for its attacks on Ukraine and for supporting U.S. adversaries,” the ambassador wrote on social media platform X.
According to Stefanishina, if Russia feels advantages from destabilizing the situation and waging war, it will only contribute to the emergence of new global threats.
The Impact of Easing Sanctions on the Situation in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that the easing of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil only strengthens the positions of the Russian leadership and creates the illusion of the possibility of continuing the war. According to the head of state, the funds obtained from oil trade are directly converted into new missile and drone strikes on Ukraine.
Zelensky reported that in just one week, Russian troops launched over 2,360 strike drones, more than 1,320 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 60 missiles at Ukrainian cities and communities. He noted that a particular threat comes from over 110 tankers of the so-called “shadow fleet of Moscow,” which are currently at sea with over 12 million tons of Russian oil on board. This volume could be sold on global markets due to the easing of sanctions, which is estimated to amount to about 10 billion dollars – a resource that is once again directed towards aggression against Ukraine.
In the United States, on April 15, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the termination of exemptions that allowed the purchase of Iranian and Russian oil without the application of U.S. sanctions. However, on April 18, the U.S. temporarily eased restrictions by issuing a new exemption that allows the delivery and sale of specific batches of oil that are already at sea. This eased regulation will be in effect until May 16 and applies only to shipments that have already been loaded onto vessels. Meanwhile, critics point out that such exemptions could create risks for the effectiveness of sanctions pressure on Russia and weaken the international regime against financing the war.