Zelensky calls for Russian oil sanctions after Iran deal
Zelensky Pushes for Oil Sanctions as Middle East Ceasefire Changes the Energy Game
Ukrain & Russia – (Web Des) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants energy sanctions back on Russia. He made this clear after the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire. The deal should reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This waterway is critical for global oil supplies.
“A ceasefire is starting in the Middle East and the Gulf. Now I am waiting for sanctions on Russian oil to be fully restored. Just like they were before,” Zelensky told journalists on Friday.
Last month the US quietly eased some oil sanctions on Russia. Why? Because energy prices had shot up during the Middle East war. Ukraine and its allies were not happy. They warned this could put more money in Moscow’s hands to keep fighting.
The American waiver let countries buy Russian oil that was already at sea. But only until April 11.
Russia loved the idea. The Kremlin even pushed Washington to go further and ease more restrictions.
The Middle East war has pushed oil prices up sharply. That extra money has been flowing straight into Russia’s economy. Moscow needed it badly. More than four years of war against Ukraine and heavy sanctions had already drained its finances.
Zelensky added that Ukrainian partners had asked Kyiv to halt long-range strikes on Russian oil sites against the backdrop of price hikes linked to the Iran war.
“I won’t say who asked us to do this. But partners did ask — it’s a fact. They asked at different levels, from political to military leadership,” Zelensky said.
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Ukraine has intensified its retaliatory attacks on Russian infrastructure including refineries, oil depots and ports in the past weeks, repeatedly striking the major Baltic ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk.
Both Ukraine and Russia have been targeting each others’ energy sites since Moscow invaded in February 2022, sparking the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II.
The two sides have agreed to cease fire for the Orthodox Easter holidays, a rare 32-hour halt in fighting.
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