Zelensky, Merz speak out against US easing Russia oil sanctions

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The Hill's Headlines — March 13, 2026

The Hill's Headlines — March 13, 2026

European leaders are speaking out to condemn the Trump administration’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian oil amid spiking energy rates resulting from the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. 

The president imposed the 30-day relief measure Thursday evening, following an earlier easing of restrictions on the sale of Russian barrels to India. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country has been at war with Russia for more than four years, slammed the move during a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday. 

“I believe that lifting sanctions will, in any case, lead to a strengthening of Russia’s position. It spends the money from energy sales on weapons, and all of this is then used against us,” Zelensky said in translated remarks reported by The Associated Press.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz offered a similar reaction Friday, saying he and other Group of Seven leaders were “a little bit surprised” by the news. Merz said a majority of this alliance expressed opposition to lifting these sanctions on Russia during a meeting on Wednesday. 

“This is definitely not our view,” Merz said at a press conference in Norway. “We are sharing — the six out of seven [countries] — that this should be not the case because Russia is benefiting from that.”

The German leader added that the countries should put “more pressure on Russia to bring this terrible war to an end as soon as possible.”

António Costa, the president of the European Council, called the decision “very concerning” for European security. 

“Increasing economic pressure on Russia is decisive for it to accept a serious negotiation for a just and lasting peace,” Costa wrote on the social platform X. “Weakening sanctions increases Russian resources to wage the war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Trump’s decision to ease these restrictions on Russian oil has been met with opposition in the homeland, as well. 

GOP Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, said the temporary authorization “helps financially prop up Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

“This sustains Russia’s invasion,” the Republican wrote Friday on X. 

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the decision is the “wrong move,” emphasizing that money to Russia “prolongs suffering in Ukraine” in an X post on Friday.

The Senate Finance Committee member said Congress should pass a 2-year fuel waiver to promote “USA ENERGY INDEPENDENCE.”

Additionally, Democrats criticized the move, citing reports that Russia had provided the Iranian military with information that helped them locate and strike U.S. bases in the Middle East. Seven U.S. service members have died following Iranian counterstrikes in the region. 

On Wednesday, the minority members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs demanded a hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding an earlier relief measure that authorized the sale of Russian barrels to India. 

“The Trump administration cannot simultaneously claim to be prioritizing U.S. military operations while offering sanctions relief to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” the legislators wrote in the joint letter to Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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