Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that the United States’ 30-day waiver on Russian oil sanctions is “not the right decision” and would not help bring a stop to Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said the waiver, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department as a short-term step aimed at freeing up Russian cargoes stranded at sea, would instead provide Russia with funds for the war. “This easing alone by the United States could provide Russia with about $10 billion for the war,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Paris.
Zelenskyy added that the move would strengthen Russia’s position because Moscow uses energy-sale revenue to buy weapons used against Ukraine. “I believe that lifting sanctions will, in any case, lead to a strengthening of Russia’s position. It spends the money from energy sales on weapons, and all of this is then used against us,” he said.
Zelenskyy also tied the sanctions decision to the war’s use of drones. “Therefore, ultimately lifting sanctions only so that more drones will later be flying at you is, in my opinion, not the right decision,” he said.
The U.S. Treasury Department said the 30-day waiver was announced Thursday and was designed to ease supply shortages caused by the Iran war and to free up cargoes stranded by the sanctions regime. The report said analysts have pointed to spiraling oil prices linked to Persian Gulf production blockages as benefiting Russia’s economy and easing the squeeze created by sanctions.
Zelenskyy said U.S.-mediated talks between Moscow and Kyiv—seeking to stop Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II—are on hold because of the Iran war, though they could resume next week.
Macron said broad sanctions on Russia remain in place despite the temporary U.S. waiver. He said U.S. waivers announced in recent days are “limited” and taken on an exceptional basis and that they “does not broadly or permanently roll back the sanctions that they themselves decided to apply,” according to the report.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also criticized the U.S. decision. During a visit to Norway, Merz said six members of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies discussed the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump and that “Six members of the G7 expressed a very clear view that this (waiving of Russia sanctions) is not the right signal to send.”
Merz said he would like to understand the motives behind the waiver, saying that “There is currently a price problem, but not a supply problem,” and adding, “I would like to know what additional motives led the U.S. government to make this decision.”
Separate from the sanctions debate, Zelenskyy discussed Ukraine’s offer of drone-related help for the war in the Middle East. The report said Ukraine has become a leading producer of drone interceptor technology and is offering its expertise to the United States and Gulf partners, hoping to receive high-end weaponry it cannot manufacture at home.
It said Trump rejected Ukraine’s offer in comments aired Friday on the “Brian Kilmeade Show” on Fox News Radio. “No, we don’t need their help on drone defense,” Trump said, according to the report.
Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukraine was awaiting White House approval for an agreement to produce battle-tested drones. In Paris, he said Kyiv had received a request for drone combat assistance from Washington, and the report said the reason for the discrepancy between the leaders’ comments was not immediately clear.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had received requests from six countries for drone help and had sent expert teams to three countries without naming them. He said providing interceptors alone is not enough, adding that there must be “proper, systematic work with radars and with the entire air defense system,” and that Ukraine is ready to share that experience for the security of partners helping Ukraine.