Ukraine’s allies vow to ‘take Russian oil and gas off the world market’

More than 20 nations backing Ukraine have vowed to “take Russian oil and gas off the world market” as part of an effort to pressure President Vladimir Putin to end the war.

“We are choking off funding for the Russian war machine,” UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said after hosting a “coalition of the willing” summit in London.

In recent days, the UK and US have imposed sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies, while the EU has targeted Moscow’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was also in London, said “pressure” on Russia was the only way to stop the fighting. However, deliveries of long-range missiles to Ukraine were not announced at the meeting.

Zelensky has long argued that US-made Tomahawks and European missiles would help boost Moscow’s military spending by hitting key military targets – including oil refineries and weapons depots – deep inside Russia.

But during talks last week in Washington, US President Donald Trump indicated to Zelensky that he was not ready to deliver the Tomahawks.

On Thursday, President Putin warned that if “such weapons are used to strike the territory of the Russian Federation, the response will be … enormous.”

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Speaking at a joint press conference after the summit in London, Starmer said Putin was “not serious about peace” and so Ukraine’s allies had agreed a “clear plan for the rest of the year” to support Ukraine.

The UK prime minister said this also included targeting Russia’s sovereign assets to “unlock billions to help fund Ukraine’s defence”. He gave no further details.

On Thursday, EU leaders agreed to help support Ukraine’s “financial needs” over the next two years – but failed to agree to use €140bn (£122bn) worth of frozen Russian assets.

Asked about a so-called “reparation loan” for Ukraine financed by Russian assets, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said he hoped a decision would be made by Christmas Eve

In London, the “coalition of the willing” also pledged to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses, amid near-daily Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure.

Zelensky warned that Russia “wants to turn the winter cold into an instrument of torture,” adding that “they want to break us.”

Further support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was among the issues discussed at the meeting, but no concrete announcements were made.

Ukraine and its Western allies have publicly agreed to President Trump’s proposal for an immediate freeze on fighting along the vast frontline to begin negotiations.

Russia rejected that idea, repeating demands that Kiev and its allies described as a de facto surrender of Ukraine.