On Monday, Oct. 12, the European Union adopted nearly 1,600 new listings on its sanctions lists against Russia (Reuters). Le Temps counts nearly 1,650 names, a record since the start of the war, and the Kyiv Post 1,646. According to the latter, they target missile supply chains, drone makers, submarine shipyards, 77 people linked to the elections organized in the occupied Ukrainian territories and seven North Korean entities or individuals. Kaja Kallas said that “now is not the time to ease the pressure on Moscow” (BFMTV), and Europeans are discussing visa restrictions for Russians (Le Monde). Also on Monday, Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of violating the energy truce announced by Donald Trump, after a thermal power plant in Kharkiv was hit (Reuters, Straits Times). The Kremlin rejected Ukraine’s idea of a sixty-day ceasefire to hold elections, demanding a comprehensive peace agreement (Reuters, Straits Times). Washington is defending its deal on Russian diesel despite criticism from lawmakers of both parties (Reuters, USA Today, PBS).
Sanctions are one of Europe’s few levers on the war, and their scale shows that the Union is keeping up the pressure even as Washington seeks a channel to Moscow. The transatlantic disagreement over diesel and the uncertainty over the energy truce weigh on Western cohesion and on Ukraine’s ability to get through the winter.
Fuel prices in France depend in part on this issue. The Prime Minister has promised a drop in diesel prices from Nov. 1 thanks to strategic stocks, but an escalation or, conversely, a real truce on refineries and power plants would move oil prices, and so the bill at the pump.
For supporters of the diesel deal, it can bring Moscow back to the negotiating table: three sources told Reuters that Washington sees it as a way to restart peace talks.
For its critics, Republicans included, it hands Moscow revenue with no verifiable return: PBS notes that the volumes are too modest to bring prices down, but enough to help finance the war.
A record number of sanctions says nothing about their effectiveness: Le Temps points out that hybrid warfare, made up of sabotage and attacks with no signature, slips past the lists. Three things to follow: the Kremlin’s response to the truce, a possible verified halt to strikes on energy, and the fate of the diesel deal in Congress.
Reuters · Le Temps · Kyiv Post · Le Monde · BFMTV · RTS · 20 Minutes · Straits Times · PBS · USA Today (Oct. 12)
The European Union adopts nearly 1,600 new sanctions against Russia, a record, as Kyiv accuses Moscow of violating Trump’s “energy truce”
On Monday, Brussels widened its blacklist targeting Russia’s war. The Kremlin dismissed Ukraine’s idea of a sixty-day ceasefire, and the American deal on Russian diesel divides even Donald Trump’s own camp.
On Monday, Oct. 12, the European Union adopted nearly 1,600 new listings on its sanctions lists against Russia (Reuters). Le Temps counts nearly 1,650 names, “a record since the start of the war,” and the Kyiv Post 1,646. According to the latter, the package targets missile supply chains, drone makers and submarine shipyards, as well as 77 people involved in the elections organized in the occupied Ukrainian territories and seven North Korean entities or individuals. “Now is not the time to ease the pressure on Moscow,” said the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas (BFMTV). Europeans are also discussing restricting visas for Russian nationals (Le Monde). Le Temps notes that hybrid warfare, made up of sabotage and attacks with no signature, complicates Brussels’ task: how to sanction those who hide behind it. For its part, Moscow claims to have sold $320 billion of hydrocarbons to Europe since 2022 (Le Figaro, Ouest-France), a Russian figure that these outlets do not verify.
The truce announced on Sunday by Donald Trump remains uncertain. On Monday, Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of violating it, after a thermal power plant in Kharkiv was hit (Reuters, Straits Times), and said Ukraine “will respond” if Moscow does not respect it this winter (RTS, 20 Minutes). Moscow refuses to confirm that it has taken effect (RTS). The Kremlin also rejected Kyiv’s idea of a sixty-day ceasefire to hold elections, demanding a comprehensive peace agreement (Reuters, Straits Times); according to the Kyiv Post, it offers only a one-day truce, on election day. In Kyiv, a drone attack on a 25-story building left one dead and eleven wounded, according to the mayor, Vitali Klitschko (Le Monde). Donald Trump said he thinks “Putin wants to make a deal more than Zelensky” (BFMTV).
The diesel deal, which authorizes Russian fuel exports, is contested on both sides of the Atlantic: Donald Trump defends it while lawmakers from both parties complain about it (Reuters, USA Today). Three sources told Reuters that Washington sees it as a way to bring Moscow back to the negotiating table; Russia could export up to 3.5 million tonnes of diesel a month by the end of the year (Reuters). These volumes are modest and should not bring prices down, but the revenue will help Moscow refill its war chest (PBS).