Ukraine welcomes oil price cap that will ‘destroy’ Russian economy



Ukraine on Saturday welcomed a $60 price cap on Russian oil agreed to by the EU, the G7 and Australia, saying it would “destroy” the Russian economy.

The price cap, previously agreed at the political level between the rich G7 group of democracies and the European Union, will come into effect with the EU embargo on Russian crude oil from Monday.

Poland refused to support the price cap plan due to concerns that the ceiling was too high, before its EU ambassador confirmed Warsaw’s agreement on Friday evening.

The embargo will prevent Russian oil from being shipped by tankers to the EU, which account for two-thirds of imports, potentially depriving the Russian military coffers of billions of euros.

“We always achieve our goal, and the Russian economy will be destroyed, and it will pay and answer for all its crimes,” Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential administration of Ukraine, said on Telegram on Saturday.

“But the $30 cap would wipe it out faster,” he added.

The G7 said it was delivering on its promise to “prevent Russia from benefiting from its war of aggression against Ukraine, maintain stability in global energy markets, and minimize the negative economic impact of Russia’s war of aggression.”

The White House called the deal “good news,” saying price caps would help limit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to fund the Kremlin’s “war machine.”

Infrastructure strikes ‘inevitable’

After suffering humiliating defeats in Europe’s largest armed conflict since World War II, Russia began attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October, causing massive power outages.

Putin said Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure were “inevitable” in his first conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz since mid-September.

“These measures were a forced and inevitable response to Kyiv’s provocative attacks on Russia’s civilian infrastructure,” Putin told Scholz, according to the Kremlin’s transcript of the telephone conversations.

The Kremlin leader mentioned in particular the October attack on a bridge connecting Moscow-annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland.

According to a representative of the German leader, during the hour-long conversation, Scholz “urged the Russian president to come to a diplomatic solution as soon as possible, including the withdrawal of Russian troops.”

But Putin urged Berlin to “rethink its approaches” and accused the West of pursuing a “destructive” policy towards Ukraine, the Kremlin said, stressing that its political and financial assistance means Kyiv “completely rejects the idea of ​​any negotiations.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out any talks with Russia while Putin is in power, shortly after the Kremlin announced the annexation of several regions of Ukraine.

Conversations outside the table

The Kremlin also indicated that Moscow was not in the mood for talks on Ukraine after US President Joe Biden said he was ready to meet with Putin if the Russian leader really wants to end the fighting.

“What did President Biden really say? He said that negotiations are possible only after Putin leaves Ukraine,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Moscow was “definitely” not ready to accept these terms.

Meanwhile, the White House on Friday tried to dismiss the idea of ​​negotiations, saying that Biden “has no intention” of sitting down at the negotiating table with Putin at this time.

Russia’s strikes have destroyed nearly half of Ukraine’s power grid and left millions of people cold and dark at the start of winter.

According to the latest estimates from Kyiv, Zelensky’s adviser Mikhail Podolyak said that up to 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in the fighting.

Both Moscow and Kyiv are suspected of downplaying their losses so as not to undermine morale.

Last month, top US General Mark Milley said more than 100,000 Russian troops were killed or wounded in Ukraine, and Kyiv forces likely suffered similar losses.

The fighting in Ukraine has also claimed the lives of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions of people to flee their homes.

Those who have remained in the country have had to deal with power outages as authorities seek to ease pressure on the energy infrastructure.