The Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanishyna, has called on the Donald Trump administration to immediately reinstate sanctions on Russian oil. She emphasized that Moscow should not benefit from global market destabilization caused by its ally, Iran. According to the diplomat, rewarding an aggressor through economic concessions will inevitably lead to new global conflicts, as the Kremlin uses these revenues to support adversaries of the United States.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also issued a sharp condemnation of the temporary licenses issued by the U.S. Treasury. He noted that in the past week alone, Russia had launched thousands of drones and hundreds of aerial bombs against Ukraine, the funding for which depends directly on hydrocarbon exports.
Shadow Export Statistics According to Zelenskyy:
- Over 110 tankers of the Russian shadow fleet are currently at sea;
- The total volume of oil on board exceeds 12 million tons;
- Expected revenue from these shipments is approximately $10 billion.
Zelenskyy concluded that every dollar received for Russian oil is converted into new strikes on Ukrainian cities, and that the easing of sanctions only fuels the Russian leadership’s illusions that the war can be continued indefinitely.
Analytical Summary
Kyiv’s appeal to the Trump administration exposes a fundamental conflict of interest in 2026. For Ukraine, Russia’s oil revenues are a direct threat to survival, whereas for the White House, amid the crisis in the Persian Gulf, Russian barrels have become a necessary tool for containing domestic gasoline prices. Ukraine is attempting to convey to Washington that the short-term economic benefit of cheap fuel will result in long-term costs to extinguish new geopolitical fires ignited by Moscow and Tehran.
The figure of $10 billion in profits from the “shadow fleet” demonstrates that sanction pressure loses its meaning without blocking logistical loopholes. If Trump chooses the path of “energy pragmatism,” it will set a dangerous precedent: an aggressor can legalize its income simply by waiting for the next wave of global instability. For Kyiv, it is critically important to convince the U.S. that the security of the global order is worth more than temporary calm at American gas stations.