Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on January 13 listened to a report from the First Deputy Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Oleg Lugovskyi, regarding the current situation in international relations and communication with the Russian Federation.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Position of International Partners and Communication with Russia
According to the head of state, Oleg Lugovskyi informed about the peculiarities of the non-public approaches of partners in communicating with the Russian side, as well as revealed the real attitude towards Ukraine and the negotiation process at this stage. However, the details of these approaches remained undisclosed.
“It is important that all our positions are based on genuine prospects,” Zelensky noted.
Sanction Pressure and Actions Against the Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’
The President also reported that he instructed the Foreign Intelligence Service to provide international partners with up-to-date information regarding new attempts by Russia to expand its tanker fleet. According to Zelensky, thanks to coordinated actions together with several states, it was possible to stop at least 20% of the vessels of the so-called shadow fleet. In response, Russia is trying to attract new vessels to compensate for the losses. Zelensky emphasized the need to include these vessels in the sanctions lists and promised to continue strengthening sanction pressure not only on tankers but also on their crews, captains, insurers, and the entire infrastructure of the shadow fleet.
The President highlighted that the existing restrictions on Russian maritime oil exports are already capable of reducing Russia’s revenues by at least 30 billion dollars a year. Additional sanction pressure, according to his estimates, should further reduce funding for Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Separately, Zelensky noted that Ukraine will inform international partners about the latest schemes of Chinese companies that help Russia circumvent sanctions.
Moreover, the day before, the President reported that Kyiv is aware of communication between representatives of the United States and Russia regarding the establishment of a basic political framework for ending the war.