- We've been waiting for this. God bless it, it will work. This is very important.
That's what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said when he arrived in Brussels on Thursday as a guest at an EU summit.
Both the US and the EU have imposed sanctions targeting Russia's biggest Achilles' heel - its oil and gas revenues.
This is the first time that President Donald Trump's administration has imposed sanctions on Russia. It will cut off the flow of money into the "Kremlin war machine," said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Trump tightens grip on Moscow
For some time now, Trump has apparently lost patience with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
- Every time I talk to Vladimir, I have good conversations. But they're not going anywhere, Trump said late Wednesday evening Danish time at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Trump added that he hopes the "huge" sanctions he has now imposed will be short-lived and that "the war will end". The new sanctions from the United States hit the two major Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. And that is something that could have an impact, observers say.
- It's a very significant step because it's the first time the Trump administration has used sanctions. And it hits Russia where it's most vulnerable, namely on its oil revenues, Michael Carpenter, who was President Joe Biden's top adviser on Russia and Europe, told the Washington Post.
Others point out that secondary sanctions are also needed against the countries that trade oil and gas with Russia.
- These sanctions are a big step. But they need to either use - or actively threaten to use - secondary sanctions against third countries, Daniel Tannebaum, a partner at the consultancy Oliver Wyman and affiliated with the Atlantic Council think tank, told the New York Times.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze praised the US sanctions targeting two major players in Russia's oil sector.
- This step matters, and of course so does the coordination with European allies, Braze said.
The EU also announced on Wednesday that it will now impose more sanctions on Russia.
Russia denies problems
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry claims that the new sanctions will not cause problems.
- Our country has developed a strong immunity to Western restrictions, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, according to the state news agency Tass.
Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's National Security Council, believes, however, that the United States is on the "warpath".
- The decisions that have been made are an act of war against Russia. And now Trump has completely aligned himself with crazy Europe, he announced, according to the dpa news agency.
From the EU summit in Brussels, Zelensky emphasizes that it is important to maintain pressure on Putin.
- Pressure means sanctions packages, long-range air defense and, of course, economic support, says the Ukrainian president.
- Russia shows no signs of wanting to stop the war. They are attacking our schools and kindergartens. We must increase the pressure on Putin to stop the war, he emphasizes.
/ritzau/
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