Ukraine back in favour? At G7, Trump threatens return of Russia oil sanctions
Ukraine back in favour? At G7, Trump threatens return of Russia oil sanctions
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Before he left Washington, there were reports Volodymyr Zelenskiy wasn’t even on Donald Trump’s G7 bilateral meeting list, but in the end, the U-S president took the meeting. And more. In the French Alps resort of Evian, Trump putting the onus on Vladimir Putin to come to the bargaining table and even suggesting a rapid return to full sanctions on Russian oil. Why the sudden turn-for-the-better in relations between Washington and Kyiv?
How much of it is down to facts on the ground? Overnight, a Moscow area refinery hit by a long-range drone, illustrating Kyiv’s growing capacity to cripple Russia’s oil and gas exports with long-range drones and now missiles.
Already, Europeans are tapping in to that Ukranian military upscaling in what’s a race against time, what with the US drawing down its NATO presence on the continent, making allies pay for Ukraine-bound US hardware, and pulling rank on the use of AI by traditional allies, allies who know that true strategic autonomy is years away. Hence, summits like this one where even after an Iran War they didn’t ask for their primary job, say critics is to placate the president of the United States.
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.
