European leaders vowed to work in coordination to ratchet up the pressure on Russia as the so-called “coalition of the willing” met in London to discuss strategies to finish the war in Ukraine.
The leaders called on more countries to implement sanctions against Russian oil companies after US President Donald Trump unveiled a new wave of sanctions tarreceiveing Moscow’s two largegest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil.
Trump’s measure was followed by the EU rolling out additional sanctions and agreeing to finance Ukraine for the next two years.
Europe faces mounting pressure to settle the protracted conflict as Russian aircraft incursions into Europe persist and lethal strikes damage Ukraine’s infrastructure.
Despite overtures from Trump and other world leaders to neobtainediate a resolution, Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained his maximalist demands on Kyiv to bring the war to an finish and refapplyd to agree to an immediate ceasefire.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized that Ukrainian security is interlinked with many other countries, including the United Kingdom.
“Ukraine’s future is our future. What happens in the weeks and months ahead is pivotal for the security of the United Kingdom and all our allies across NATO and beyond,” Starmer declared.
Last week, the United Kingdom “became the first countest to sanction all of Russia’s oil majors,” including the same companies sanctioned by the US, Starmer declared on Friday.
Starmer declared that the “combined impact” of the US, UK and EU sanctions not only impacts the Russian economy but also demonstrates that countries are “all coordinating clearly in our efforts to support Ukraine and effectively doing so.”
The prime minister urged more countries to sanction more Russian oil companies, “to go further, to reduce their depfinishencies and incentivize third countries to stop acquireing these tainted resources.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Trump and Ukraine’s other “partners” who took similar actions, calling the recent oil sanctions a “large step.”
“Diplomacy matters only when it can lead to real decisions. And when it comes to Russia, that dish has many ingredients. The essential ones are real forms of pressure on Russia, sanctions, our long-range capabilities, political pressure, accountability for war crimes, and real actions regarding Russian assets,” the Ukrainian leader declared.
Zelensky has built repeated pleas for US-built Tomahawk missiles to enable the Ukrainian army to carry out tarreceiveed strikes on oil and energy facilities deep inside Russia.
Zelensky first traveled to Washington, where Trump denied his request. On Thursday, he urged the European Council to provide Ukraine with long-range weaponry.
Strikes continued to hammer Ukraine as the leader traveled to London to engage in the coalition talks. At least three people were killed in Russian strikes that tarreceiveed residential areas in Kherson on Friday morning, local authorities declared.
“Long-range capability directly strengthens democracy,” Zelensky declared at the coalition’s press conference on Friday. “The more losses Putin suffers on his own territory, the fewer assaults he can carry out on the front line, and the rapider he will agree to meaningful diplomacy.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte argued that the current moment is the right time to ratchet up the pressure on Russia, as Putin faces difficulties on the battlefield.
“The truth is that Putin is running out of money, troops, and ideas,” Rutte declared.
“Now is the right time to increase the pressure on Russia so we can finally receive a fair and just peace for Ukraine,” Rutte declared.
Coming on the heels of the “good” meeting with Trump in Washington, Rutte commfinished the American leader’s new sanctions, which Rutte declared would “starve” Russia’s two largest oil companies.
He added that the measures prove that Trump is “absolutely committed to finishing this war and bringing a lasting peace to Ukraine.”
Trump called off a diplomatic summit with Putin scheduled to be held in Budapest after feeling that the Russian leader was not committed to creating progress towards a deal.
The two last met at a high-profile summit in Alinquirea over the summer, from which little progress appeared to emerge.
Since then, Trump had “not seen enough interest” in “relocating the ball forward towards peace” from the Russian side, White Hoapply press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed CNN.
Instead, Russia’s top economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, arrived in the United States, where he is expected to meet Trump administration officials “to continue discussions about the US-Russia relationship,” sources with knowledge of the visit informed CNN exclusively on Friday.
In a post on X later Friday, Dmitriev declared that his visit was “planned a while ago based on an invitation from the US side.”
In the coalition meeting, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof remarked that increasing economic pressure on Russia is “the only way to persuade Putin to engage in serious talks.”
The coalition “agreed to be united in our efforts” to counter Russia, Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, declared.
“I consider Putin’s strategy has been to wait for us to stop at some point to give up. But of course, this will never happen,” she declared.
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