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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
REUTERSEuropean officials said that an agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States to increase diesel sales would strengthen Moscow's military capabilities. Bloomberg reports this, adding that officials also urged Washington to tighten sanctions against the Russian Federation.
"We call on the United States to impose sanctions so that we can effectively end this war, so as to remove all consequences of these attacks on oil refineries... If the United States had agreed with EU sanctions against Russia, we could really pressure Russia to end this war," said Kaia Kalas, Vice-President of the European Commission.
The publication notes that easing restrictions from the United States jeopardizes Europe’s efforts to put pressure on Russia. Since the EU over the past two months has already had difficulties with implementing a new package of sanctions against Moscow. Officials noted that Trump’s approach is doubtful not only because it increases Moscow’s military budget, but also because such a step is unlikely to lower fuel prices.
"Every euro, every dollar that goes into energy purchases into Putin’s treasury, into Russia’s treasury, will be used to produce new weapons that will be used against Ukraine," said German State Secretary for European Affairs Gunnar Krishbaum.
However, the publication notes, despite such steps by Moscow, the EU is still trying to continue pressuring the Russian Federation. In particular, the publication recalls that 12 in October EU ministers approved new sanctions against more than 1600 individuals and companies accused of aiding Russia’s war against Ukraine. Currently, this is the bloc’s largest sanctions package. The measures will affect not only the Russian defense industry but also individuals who participated in Russian elections held in occupied Ukrainian territory. Officials also plan to discuss proposals to restrict visas for Russian diplomats and former military personnel.
However, the main topic of the meeting was precisely Trump’s actions, the journalists write. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström called for reconsidering the idea of using frozen Russian assets to aid in the defense of Ukraine. This move is also supported by Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands. The publication notes that pressure on the Russian Federation has become even more relevant for Europe amid Russia’s intensified hybrid warfare in the West.
Pressure on the Russian Federation
As a reminder, in addition to the EU, the United Kingdom recently also introduced a new package of sanctions against Russia. The restrictions are expected to affect the financial and oil sectors of the occupying country.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine there is hope that the United States will approve the "Graham’s hellish sanctions" as early as this week. At the same time, Ukrainian president’s envoy for sanctions policy, Volodymyr Vlasyuk, emphasized that it is currently unknown how high the chances are of adopting this bill.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Сприяє війні в Україні: в Європі виступили проти угоди США та РФ щодо дизелю". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: UNIAN.
