During meetings with two dozen European leaders in London on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the United States to extend sanctions on Russian oil from two companies to the entire sector.
Zelenskyy said President Donald Trump's decision this week to impose oil sanctions was "a big step," but added that more needs to be done. "We have to apply pressure not only to Rosneft and Lukoil, but to all Russian oil companies," the Ukrainian President said, according to The Guardian.
Long-Range Missile Capability Under Discussion
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there was more that could be done to bolster Kyiv’s long-range missile capability, according to the report.
According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, he spoke with Trump about deploying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, and the matter is still being investigated. “The United States will make the final decision,” Rutte stated.
Trump declined to provide Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine last week following a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Frozen Russian Assets Debate Continues
There is “absolute clarity” that progress on using frozen assets to fund a loan to support Ukraine needs to be made, according to Starmer.
According to reports, due to concerns expressed by Belgium, which holds hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian reserves, EU leaders on Thursday refrained from approving the plan. If assets are seized, Moscow has threatened a “painful response.”
Diplomatic Talks Progress Amid Sanctions
Russia’s economic negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, arrived in the U.S. for talks two days after Washington imposed sanctions on Moscow’s two largest oil companies.
According to Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Ukraine, the US, and Russia are “reasonably close to a diplomatic solution,” he told CNN. Russia’s economy may suffer as a result of the sanctions, Putin acknowledged, telling reporters Thursday that “some losses are expected.”
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