President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged US President Donald Trump to put pressure on China to cut support for Russia, as the Ukrainian leader eyes Moscow’s dependence on oil revenues to fund its war.
Zelenskyy’s call on Tuesday came as Trump prepares to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week. The US recently levied sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, while Ukraine’s military has been targeting its oil industry infrastructure.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Zelenskyy is eager to exploit Trump’s bid to replace Russian energy sales around the world with US supplies. The US president recently called on NATO allies to halt all energy purchases from Moscow, and he is seeking to use tariffs to persuade India to do similarly.
“I think this may be one of [Trump’s] strong moves, especially if, following [his] decisive sanctions step, China is ready to reduce imports,” Zelenskyy said, according to the text of a briefing to journalists.
Trump and China’s Xi are set to meet on Thursday on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, marking their first face-to-face talks since the US president returned to the White House and embarked on a radical shake-up of global trade.
Signs of disruption
Washington is yet to respond to Zelenskyy’s comments.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, while not responding directly, declared that countries would decide for themselves whether or not to abide by US sanctions in the face of Russia’s offer of top-quality energy at a “lower price”.
However, there are signs of disruption within Russia’s oil industry.
The country’s second-largest oil producer, Lukoil, a target of the new measures alongside state-controlled Rosneft, announced late on Monday that it will seek a swift sale of several overseas assets.
Lukoil has stakes in oil and gas projects in 11 countries, as well as refineries and petrol station networks across several European states.
The company said it is already talking with potential buyers, and that transactions would be carried out under a sanctions grace period that runs until November 21.
It added that it would seek an extension if necessary to complete the fast-tracked transactions.
Missiles or recovery
Ukraine’s military is also trying to step up the pressure by targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure.
Citing intelligence from Western governments, Zeleneskyy said that long-range strikes on refineries inside Russia have reduced Moscow’s oil refining capacity by 20 percent.
Referring to a European Union plan to tap frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, he urged allies to help Kyiv maintain its use of longer-range missiles.
European financial support is needed to continue fighting for another two or three years, he said.
“If the war ends in a month, we will spend this money on recovery. If it does not end in a month, but after some time, then we will spend it on weapons. We simply have no other choice,” Zelenskyy outlined.
Uncertain impact
It remains unclear to what extent Trump will press Xi on ending China’s purchases of Russian energy, or the extent to which the focus on Moscow’s oil revenues could impact its military campaign.
China imported a record 109 million tonnes of Russian crude last year, representing almost 20 percent of its total energy imports.
India imported 88 million tonnes, although it has now signalled that it will comply with the US sanctions by reducing purchases.
In recent days, Chinese state oil companies have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil, according to news reports.
The US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil are likely to further complicate matters for Russia. The two groups export 3.1 million barrels of oil per day, accounting for 70 percent of Russia’s overseas crude oil sales.
However, reflecting Peskov’s words, it is thought that Russia will still be able to find customers willing to flout the measures.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/28/ukraine-calls-for-increased-pressure-on-russian-oil?traffic_source=rss
