US Eases Russian Oil Sanctions, Europe Fears $10B War Boost
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- Scott Bessent announced a temporary suspension of US sanctions on Russian oil already on tankers at sea late Thursday, citing market disruptions from the US-Israeli war against Iran and Iranian retaliation against Gulf energy producers.
- European leaders condemned the move in unusually blunt terms: Emmanuel Macron said there was "no justification," Friedrich Merz called it "wrong," and EU Council President António Costa called it "very concerning."
- Volodymyr Zelensky estimated the decision alone was worth $10bn (£7.5bn) to Russia and said it "certainly does not help peace," noting the Kremlin had been forced to sell gold reserves and raise consumption taxes to keep its war economy running.
- Russia has been under US and European sanctions since its February 2022 full-scale invasion, and the Trump administration had previously sanctioned big Russian oil buyers like India before this reversal.
- Ukraine is simultaneously cash-strapped, with €90bn ($103bn; £77bn) in promised EU funds stalled by a row with Hungary, while Kyiv is under EU pressure to reopen a Russian-oil pipeline damaged by Russian strikes in January.
- The US-Russia channel remains active — senior Trump and Kremlin officials met in Miami days ago with little disclosed — and European chancelleries fear the temporary easing could become permanent, derailing peace efforts while Europe is distracted by the Middle East war.
Why it matters: Russia was already under severe fiscal pressure — selling gold, raising taxes, suffering roughly 1,000 daily casualties — and was beginning to lose ground to a Ukraine that had survived a brutal winter and started retaking territory. Easing oil sanctions now hands Moscow up to $10bn in extra revenue precisely when its war economy is most squeezed, and it was done without consulting Ukraine or European allies who are now publicly split from Washington.
