The Ukrainian president, Volodymir Zelensky, considered this Saturday (3) insufficient the ceiling of US$ 60 (R$ 311.81) for a barrel of Russian oil imposed by the European Union (EU), G7 and Australia, and which Russia rejects .
The measure is scheduled to take effect on Monday, along with an EU embargo on Russian oil, in a new twist to sanctions imposed since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine.
The current cost of a barrel of Russian oil is around US$65 (R$337.79), so fixing its price at a maximum of US$60 will have limited impact.
“It is not a serious decision to set such a limit for the price of Russian oil, as it is comfortable for the budget of the terrorist state (Russia),” criticized Zelensky, according to the presidential office.
“The logical thing would have been to establish a maximum price for a barrel of Russian oil of US$ 30 (R$ 155.90), as proposed by Poland and the Baltic countries”, he added.
The 27 countries of the EU, the G7 of the most developed economies and Australia agreed on Friday (2) to impose a ceiling of US$ 60 per barrel of oil from Russia, the world’s second largest fuel exporter.
The Ukrainian authorities had been more optimistic on Saturday morning about the repercussions of this measure.
“We always achieve our goal and Russia’s economy will be destroyed. Russia will have to take responsibility for all its crimes,” said Ukrainian Presidency’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak.
However, Yermak had already acknowledged that the ceiling should have dropped to $30.
“It’s just a matter of time before we equip ourselves with stronger tools,” said the Ukrainian president. “It’s a shame the time we’re wasting,” he added.
The G7 (United States, Canada, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Japan) stated that they intend “to prevent Russia from profiting from its aggressive war against Ukraine and to support stability in world energy markets”.
Russia, however, vehemently rejected the limitations.
“We will not accept this ceiling,” said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, before adding that Moscow was “analyzing” the measure.
The Russian bombings of the last few weeks against the infrastructure of the energy sector in Ukraine left millions of families without electricity, water and heating, in a moment of low temperatures with the approach of winter in the northern hemisphere.
“We have to endure,” Mykolaiv region governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram.
In Kherson, “the electrical networks, which were not working because of the enemy bombings, are back connected” and “about 75% of the city has power again”, informed the head of regional administration, Yaroslav Yanushevych.
Putin considered the bombings “necessary and unavoidable in the face of provocative attacks from Kiev”, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Putin again complained, in a conversation with the head of government of Germany, Olaf Scholz, of the financial and military support that allowed Ukraine to inflict humiliating defeats on Russia in the biggest conflict on the European continent since the end of World War II.
But the Ukrainian counter-offensive, apparently, ceased to move with the same speed.
The fighting is particularly “tough” in the east of the country because “the Russians have had time to prepare” after the setbacks of recent months, Lugansk region governor Serguei Gaidai said.
The situation is also “difficult” near Bakhmut, in the eastern region of Donetsk, says a statement from the Ukrainian army. The Russians have been trying to conquer this location for several months and taking control would be a victory for Moscow after recent defeats.
Donetsk is part of the Donbass basin, which Russia announced it had annexed in early October, although so far it has not been able to completely conquer it.
Putin intends to pay a visit to Donetsk “in due course”, Peskov said on Saturday (3), insisting that for Moscow it is “a region of the Russian Federation”.
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he was “willing to talk” with Putin, but only if the Russian president sought “a way to end the war” and withdraw his troops from the country. Peskov responded that Russia rejects the conditions.
The Ukrainian government rejects any negotiations with Putin if he does not respect its territorial integrity, which includes the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday he would speak by phone with Putin “soon” about the safety of “civilian nuclear” infrastructure in Ukraine. He will also speak this Sunday with the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Argentine Rafael Grossi.
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