Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago2 min read
Von der Leyen Says EU Will Not Lift Russia Sanctions Until Moscow Stops War
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EU will not lift sanctions on Russia while Moscow continues the war. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a 22nd sanctions package.
14 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on White House Orders Starshield Restrictions, Ukraine Says After Trump Demands Oil Refinery Attacks Stop →
EU refuses to ease
Ursula von der Leyen told the European Council that the EU would not lift any sanctions against Russia as long as Moscow does not stop the war in Ukraine, while the European Commission president said the EU is working on its 22nd sanctions package against Russia. António Costa said the EU’s support for Ukraine “remains as strong as ever,” and he urged Moscow to accept “a real ceasefire” and to sit down at the negotiating table.
Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the EU for its support “since the very beginning of the war” and said Ukraine does not see signals from the Russian side indicating readiness to end the war. Zelensky specified that the “winter package” should cover energy, but also air defense and financing, and he assured that Ukraine would “do everything” to open the last two clusters by the end of the year.
Trump and Zelensky clash
Donald Trump labeled Ukraine’s resumption of strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace,” and he told Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty that “If you tell me that Zelenskyy is again shooting at refineries, all he’s doing is making the world oil price higher.” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would no longer abide by Trump’s “energy ceasefire,” citing Russia’s refusal to halt its own attacks on Ukraine’s power grid.
Dmitry Peskov said it was clear that “Zelenskyy doesn’t want to take responsibility and move toward a peaceful resolution,” as the Kremlin agreed with Trump on Friday. The Hill reported that Russian attacks on nine regions of Ukraine caused emergency power outages for hundreds of thousands of households and wounded at least 15 people, as civilian casualties from Moscow’s invasion climb steeply.
War leverage and winter risk
Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery on Thursday after Zelenskyy declared that Kyiv was abandoning a ceasefire covering energy sites announced by Donald Trump, and Reuters said the refinery was in the Ryazan region southeast of Moscow and owned by Rosneft.
Zelensky told the Financial Times that “The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We’re done,” and he criticized Trump’s willingness to strike deals with Moscow.
The BBC said Russia accused Ukraine of attacking an oil refinery on Thursday after Zelensky said such strikes, halted at the request of the US, would resume, and the BBC reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin said there had been no “significant damage.”
The Guardian said the White House’s unilateral effort to negotiate an energy ceasefire collapsed as Moscow sent a record swarm of drones overnight to attack infrastructure in central Ukraine and Kyiv appeared to resume strikes on Russian oil refineries.