Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump removes sanctions on oil from Moscow ahead of Zelensky’s talks with Macron
Donald Trump has issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea to stabilise global energy markets roiled by the Iran war.
Earlier on Wednesday, Washington announced it would be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to curb skyrocketing oil prices. That release was part of a broader commitment by the 32-nation International Energy Agency (IEA) to release 400 million barrels of oil.
Meanwhile, Ukraine struck a vital Russian oil hub on Thursday, causing a large fire and damaging Moscow’s logistics in the latest attack on energy infrastructure, according to a source in Ukraine’s security service.
SBU operatives attacked infrastructure across the Tikhoretsk oil hub, in the Krasnodar region, to weaken Russia’s ability to sustain the war, the source told the Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine’s latest strike came as Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in neighbouring Romania on the way to a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Zelensky will meet Romanian president Nicursor Dan for discussions on defence and energy cooperation, before meeting Macron tomorrow to discuss the battlefield situation and military support from Ukraine’s European partners, according to French officials.
