The suspension of US sanctions on Russian diesel fuel provides Moscow with additional revenue amid the war, EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Saturday.
"Now is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe will not do so," Kallas wrote on Saturday on X, according to FinFly.
She said that on October 12, EU foreign ministers intend to approve in Luxembourg the largest sanctions package since 2022, targeting more than 1,500 individuals and entities the EU considers linked to Russia's military-industrial complex.
Earlier on Saturday, the online outlet Axios, citing a US official familiar with the situation, reported that US President Donald Trump decided to strike a deal with Russia on diesel fuel supplies after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ignored half a dozen US requests to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries.
The Axios source said that "Trump wanted Ukraine to unilaterally stop attacks on Russian refineries because these strikes contribute to rising fuel prices in the US."
"After Ukraine ignored repeated US requests to stop strikes on Russian refineries, Trump decided to move forward," the outlet noted.
According to Axios sources, during talks held the day before with Ukraine, US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also threatened to cut off the transfer of American intelligence data to the Ukrainian side if Kyiv did not heed Trump's requests.
