“Every dollar for oil from Russia is money for war”: Zelensky criticized the US for easing sanctions against Russia
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on international partners not to ease sanctions against Russia after the US decision to extend the exemption for Russian oil. He wrote about this on social networks.
According to Zelensky, the continued easing of sanctions against Russia “does not correspond to the real situation in war and diplomacy” and also “feeds the illusion of the Russian leadership that the war can be continued.”
As the president noted, only from April 13 to 19, Russian troops fired over 2,360 strike drones, more than 1,320 guided bombs and almost 60 missiles of various types into Ukraine.
“Every dollar for oil from Russia is money for war. More than 110 tankers of Moscow’s “shadow fleet” are currently at sea. On board are more than 12 million tons of Russian oil, which, thanks to the easing of sanctions, can again be sold without consequences. This is $ 10 billion – a resource that is directly converted into new strikes on Ukraine. Therefore, it is important that Russian tankers stop, and not deliver oil to ports,” Zelensky said.
The day before, the US Treasury Department issued a new license that allows the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and oil products already loaded onto ships. Although just two days before, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant assured that this would not happen.
A number of European leaders criticized the easing of sanctions against Russia. The Office of the President of Ukraine noted that thanks to this decision of the United States, Moscow could receive approximately $10 billion.
US President Donald Trump, after criticism from some foreign leaders, stated that the sanctions “will be returned as soon as the crisis” caused by the war in the Middle East is over.
