Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Washington aims to achieve in its ceasefire agreement with Tehran, will lead to the reimposition of oil sanctions against Russia, temporarily suspended by the U.S. to reduce the impact of the war on the international crude oil market.
«If not, each day that passes will only reinforce my belief that this was a Russian game: using a convenient pretext to lift sanctions on energy resources and thus obtain the possibility of selling Lukoil's products,» Zelensky said in a meeting with journalists in which EFE participated, referring to the Russian oil giant sanctioned by President Donald Trump last October.
At the meeting, which took place on Wednesday but whose content was embargoed until today, Friday, Zelensky pointed out that, «at least in Europe,» Russia is not allowed to benefit from or sell its oil assets due to the sanctions regime against it.
«There are about twenty such assets, including refineries in Romania and Bulgaria. That is why I think the sanctions were eased, in part, to allow Russia to sell these assets,» he added.
Zelensky stressed that «if this analysis is incorrect,» the sanctions suspended after the outbreak of the war in Iran will be reinstated now.
The Ukrainian president also confirmed, without specifying the countries in question, that some of Ukraine's «partners» had asked him through both military and political channels to refrain from striking Russian oil infrastructure during the war in Iran to avoid causing further distortions in the international market.
Zelensky said this Thursday that Ukraine is willing to join a truce during the Orthodox Easter, after the Russian head of state, Vladimir Putin, decided to announce a ceasefire for the next 11 and 12 of April.
«Ukraine has said repeatedly that we are ready to take reciprocal steps. We proposed a ceasefire for the Easter holidays and will act accordingly,» Zelensky said in a message on his Telegram account.
«A ceasefire is declared from 16:00 (13:00 GMT) on April 11 until the end of April 12, 2026,» according to an official Kremlin statement.
