Ukraine pressed European governments on Monday to support U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and offered logistics support to help replace Moscow’s energy exports, a senior Ukrainian official said.
Andriy Yermak, chief adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, told the New York Post that Kyiv has proposed that European countries still buying Russian oil shift to American supplies and that Ukraine could provide storage and transit capacity to bring U.S. liquefied natural gas and crude closer to European markets. Yermak described the idea as "mutually beneficial" for Ukraine, the United States and European partners.
Yermak said President Donald Trump, who phoned several European leaders last week at a summit in Paris, urged them to stop buying Russian oil and to back a planned second phase of U.S. sanctions targeting Moscow’s oil industry. Trump told reporters on Sunday he was ready to move to "phase two" after a major Russian attack on Ukraine over the weekend; the president has not specified the timing or scope of any new measures.
U.S. officials have already taken some trade actions in response to countries that continue to purchase Russian oil. Last week the administration imposed a 50% tariff on Indian imports, a move the administration described as a penalty for heavy purchases of Russian crude. It remains unclear which countries would be targeted by broader secondary sanctions or how strictly they would be enforced.
Yermak said Kyiv has been meeting with European leaders since the Paris summit to press the case. He said a recent meeting between Zelensky and Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, produced "good signals" that Bratislava is exploring options to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas, though he cautioned that formal pledges had not been made. He said Ukraine’s red line is that Russia receives no revenue that could finance its military operations.
Hungary and Slovakia were granted exemptions from an EU embargo on Russian crude in 2022 because of their reliance on Moscow for energy, and Budapest has continued to receive Russian shipments. Other European countries have made greater gains in diversifying away from Russian supplies: the Czech Republic largely phased out reliance on Russian oil this year, a process Kyiv and some Western officials point to as a precedent.
Kyiv’s pitch builds on shifting global trade flows: China and India have been among the largest purchasers of discounted Russian crude since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Yermak suggested that sanctioning buyers would increase demand for U.S. oil in Europe and benefit American exporters, invoking President Trump’s "America First" framing while stressing mutual gains for Ukraine and its partners.
Analysts say replacing Russian supplies in the short term poses logistical and contractual challenges. Liquefied natural gas and crude shipments require port access, storage, shipping capacity and, in some cases, new or repurposed terminals. Yermak’s proposal would rely on Ukraine’s available storage capacity and transit routes to help bridge supply gaps, though Ukraine itself remains a country at war and some infrastructure capacity has been damaged or limited.
Energy trade data and industry analysis underscore the uneven nature of European reliance on Russian fuels. According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, France, Belgium and Spain accounted for a large share of Russian liquid natural gas imports in 2024, even as other states curtailed their purchases. Kyiv and Western officials have repeatedly urged a coordinated approach to reduce Moscow’s energy revenues.
The calls for tougher measures follow a weekend of intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine. Moscow launched more than 810 drones and nine missiles in a strike that Ukrainian and Western officials described as among the largest of the war; the assault killed at least four civilians in Kyiv, including a mother and a 2-month-old infant, according to the Associated Press. Trump said he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon but did not provide details on whether the attacks factored directly into any imminent sanction decisions.
European leaders have signaled divergent positions. Some governments have moved to wean their economies off Russian energy since 2022, while others have sought exemptions or continued purchases because of grid needs, contract constraints or domestic political considerations. Kyiv’s campaign to link U.S. sanctions with practical supply solutions is intended to lower the political and economic costs for European buyers considering a switch.
U.S. officials have not publicly outlined a finalized package of secondary sanctions nor provided a timeline for implementation beyond the administration’s public statements about potential further measures. Kyiv’s offer of storage and transit cooperation represents an attempt to shape those discussions by offering concrete logistical support in exchange for stronger economic pressure on Moscow.
Yermak said Ukraine remains open to broad cooperation with allies and energy companies, emphasizing that preventing revenue reaching Russia is a priority. Any coordinated shift away from Russian oil and gas would require negotiation among Washington, Brussels and individual European capitals, along with commitments from energy firms to reroute supplies and investors to finance infrastructure changes.