Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump removes sanctions on oil from Moscow ahead of Zelensky’s talks with Macron – UK Times

The US has issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea, in what treasury secretary Scott Bessent said was a step to stabilise global energy markets roiled by the Iran war.

The move was the latest attempt by president Donald Trump’s administration to tame energy prices after the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent response by Tehran widened regional tensions and paralyzed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting vital Middle East oil and gas flows and sending energy prices higher.

On Wednesday, Washington announced it would be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to curb sky-rocketing oil prices in the wake of the war in Iran. That release was part of a broader commitment by the 32-nation International Energy Agency (IEA) to release 400 million barrels of oil.

The IEA said earlier on Thursday that the war in the Middle East was creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history. The license issued by Washington on Thursday authorizes the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of March 12 and valid through midnight Washington time on 11 April, according to the text of the license posted on the Treasury Department’s website.

The move reflects White House worries that the surge in oil prices after nearly two weeks of US and Israeli strikes on Iran will hurt US businesses and consumers ahead of the November midterm elections, when Trump’s fellow Republicans hope to retain control of Congress.

Mr Bessent, in a statement on X released hours after benchmark oil prices shot above $100 a barrel, said the measure was “narrowly tailored” and “short-term” and would not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.

“The temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long-term,” Bessent said in the statement, echoing Mr Trump.

The presidents of Romania and Ukraine signed a statement of intent on Thursday to produce Ukrainian defence systems including drones in Romania, they said after a meeting in Bucharest.

Romania, an EU and NATO member, shares a 650-km border with Ukraine, including along the Danube River where Ukrainian ports on the opposite bank have come under Russian attack and Russian drones have breached Romanian airspace.

After four years of fending off Russia’s assaults, Ukraine says it has developed drone and counter-drone systems that can help protect NATO countries.

A statement signed by the two presidents said they had agreed to “enable the production of Ukrainian defence systems and capabilities in Romania with the purpose of strengthening the defence industries of Ukraine and Romania.”

Last year, Romanian officials said they aimed to partner with Ukraine in building drones under a new EU defence funding mechanism, SAFE.

“We talked about our military cooperation and one of the documents we signed also includes cooperating on drone production,” said Romania’s President Nicusor Dan, a centrist who last year defeated a right-wing candidate sceptical of close ties to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s expertise lay particularly in integrating drone software into a country’s wider defense system.

Ukraine struck an oil pumping station in Russia’s Krasnodar region on Thursday, as Kyiv ramps up its attacks on Russian strategic infrastructure.

A large-scale fire broke out after the drone strike on Tikhoretsk, a Ukrainian security service official said, noting that the hub is the only supply route for petroleum products to the key Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

Russia’s regional task force said no one had been injured in the drone strike.

The Russian Defence Ministry said that 80 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted and destroyed over Russian regions overnight in a spate of attacks.

Police in western Poland were investigating the origin of a drone found by a worker at a mine on Thursday.

NATO member Poland has been on high alert for airspace incursions since more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace on the night of September 9-10, and some of them were found in the east of the country.

“It doesn’t look like a civilian drone, but there’s no information about the model,” Maciej Swiecichowski, a police spokesperson in the western city of Poznan told Reuters by telephone.

Local police said on X earlier they had been alerted to an “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle of the drone type” found by an employee in Galczyce, Konin County, on the premises of the lignite mine.

“At the scene, police officers from Konin and Poznan are securing the area,” they added.

Ukraine is awaiting approval from the White House for a major drone production agreement which was proposed by Kyiv last year, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The proposed US-Ukraine deal would cover various types of drones and air defences that operate as a single system capable of protecting against swarms of hundreds or even thousands of Iranian-designed Shahed drones and missiles, Zelensky said in a message on social media.

“We have not yet had the opportunity to sign this document,” Zelensky said.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Paris for discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron.
• The leaders are expected to address the current situation, France and European partners’ support for Ukraine, and methods to increase pressure on Russia, including its ‘shadow fleet’.
• Zelensky’s visit follows his recent interview where he stated Donald Trump should apply ‘more pressure on Russia, not on me’.
• He stressed the necessity of negotiations but expressed distrust of Russia, hoping for American support in pressuring Moscow.
• These comments came after Trump had previously suggested Zelensky should ‘get on the ball’ and negotiate a deal, believing Vladimir Putin was more inclined towards a truce.