EU alert: Russian diesel agreement gives “more resources for war”

A head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Kaja Kallas, today warned that the Russian diesel supply agreement between the United States and Russia provides Moscow with “more resources for war” in Ukraine.

“ This is not the time to relieve the pressure on Russia and Europe will not do so,” said the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs.

Kaja Kallas recalled that the Russian attacks resulted in the death of more than 80 Ukrainian civilians in two days and that Moscow “intensified its hybrid attacks against Europe, targeting both EU Member States and NATO allies [North Atlantic Alliance]”.

The Community leader indicated that on Monday the EU Foreign Ministers “aimed at approving the largest set of lists of sanctions against the Russian war machine since the beginning of the conflict”, caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

On Friday, the United States temporarily authorized the sale, delivery, unloading and import of Russian gas oil, including its entry into the US market until April 7, 2027, despite the sanctions imposed on Moscow.

However, the Office for the Control of Foreign Assets (OFAC) maintains restrictions on payments through accounts of three Russian State financial institutions.

The measure was justified by American President Donald Trump as an effort to curb the rising fuel prices since the start of the Israeli-American offensive against Iran on 28 February.

According to the leader of the White House, Russia immediately agreed to release 300,000 tons of diesel “to the American and global market”, followed by 500,000 tons in November and another million later.

Following the announcement of this agreement, Russia launched a strong attack on Zaporijia in southeast Ukraine, which killed at least 15 people, including three children, according to local authorities.

In reaction, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky considered that Russia “expressed its gratitude” to Washington for lifting oil sanctions through new bombings against its country.

“Today, Russia expressed its gratitude for lifting sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five bombs on residential buildings in Zaporijia,” Zelensky wrote on social networks.

Previously, Zelensky had already considered, in statements to the press, that the decision was unfair and “unworthy of an ally”.

Ukraine has today, for its part, targeted an oil terminal in the Rostov region in southern Russia.

The attack caused a fire at a storage and fuel pump terminal at the Novoshakhtinsk refinery, which had already been hit by Ukrainian drones on July 9, according to the Russian independent channel Astra.

In addition to Kaja Kallas, the agreement between Moscow and Washington was met with protests from Germany.

“The German Government maintains decisions to sanction Russia and works together with European partners on new sanctions,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French agency AFP, said.

French President Emmanuel Macron in turn expressed solidarity with Ukraine during a call with Zelensky in the face of “the ongoing attacks” of Russia.

Trump spoke on the phone Friday with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who “accepted with understanding” Washington’s proposals for a decrease in tensions in Ukraine, according to the spokesperson for the Kremlin.

Dmitri Peskov did not provide details on the nature of the proposals of the American leader, but said that a “large part” of the conversation was devoted to finding a way out of the conflict.

The diplomatic efforts under Washington mediation to end more than four years of Russian offensive in Ukraine are currently at a standstill.

The September visit by American emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and subsequently, in an unprecedented manner, Kiev did not result in any concrete announcement.

A team of Ukrainian negotiators is meeting today in Miami, Florida, to continue talks with Washington started on Friday.

National security advisers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom were also invited as well as representatives from the European Union and NATO.

Russia has increased bombings against Ukraine in recent months, causing a large number of civilian casualties.

Ukraine has also intensified attacks on Russia, mainly targeting infrastructure for the storage and transport of hydrocarbons, commercial warehouses and data centres, with the aim of reaching the Russian economy and its war effort.

Trump recently criticized Ukraine for causing the rise in diesel prices due to attacks against Russian refineries before the mid-term elections to the US Congress in early November.