Donald Trump’s new sanctions against Russia’s oil industry are an “act of war”, an ally of Vladimir Putin has said.
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, said: “The US is our enemy, and their talkative ‘peacemaker’ has now fully embarked on the warpath with Russia.
“The decisions taken are an act of war against Russia. And now Trump has fully aligned himself with loony Europe.”
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The US sanctions target Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, and caused global oil prices to rise by 3% on Thursday and prompted India – the biggest buyer of Russian oil – to consider cutting Russian imports.
The European Union has also announced a new raft of sanctions against Russia, targeting its shadow fleet of oil tankers and banning imports of liquefied natural gas.
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The sanctions are aimed at pressuring Mr Putin to go to the negotiating table and end the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s economy relies on energy revenue, which helps fund its armed forces without increasing inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse.
Moscow’s foreign ministry called the US sanctions “counterproductive” to finding peace in Ukraine.
Read more:
Sanctions are a punch to the gut of Moscow’s war economy
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Zelenskyy says ‘ceasefire is still possible’
It comes ahead of Volodymyr Zelenskyy joining his European counterparts for a one-day summit in Brussels as he works to bring the war to an end.
Asked by Sky News’ Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins whether a ceasefire was possible, the Ukrainian president said: “A ceasefire is still possible, of course, and all of us need a ceasefire. But we need more pressure on Russia.”
The summit is taking place after Mr Trump said his plan for a meeting with Mr Putin was on hold because he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time”.
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UK to host ‘coalition of the willing’ meeting
Earlier this week, the “coalition of the willing” – the strongest European backers of Ukraine – said they opposed any push to make Kyiv surrender land captured by Russian forces in return for peace, a direct contrast to Mr Trump’s most recent suggestion.
The UK will host a meeting of members of the coalition belonging to more than 30 countries on Friday.
EU leaders intend to work on plans to use billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine’s war efforts.
The largest amount of frozen assets, some $225bn (£168bn), is held in Belgium, and the country’s government has been reluctant to take any risks on using the money without Europe sharing the risk.
Bart De Wever, Belgium’s prime minister, said: “If we want to give them to Ukraine, we have to do it all together. If not, Russian retaliation might only hit Belgium. That’s not very reasonable.”
The European Commission has called the plan a “repatriation loan”.
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The EU leaders will also likely sign off on a new “road map” to prepare Europe to defend itself against Russian aggression by the end of the decade, with top officials warning Moscow could be ready to target another European country within three to five years.
