Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday to pressure China to reduce its support for Russia, focusing on Moscow’s heavy reliance on oil revenues to fund the war in Ukraine.
With Trump preparing to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week, Zelenskyy is seeking to align U.S. energy-and-security policy with Kyiv’s goal of cutting off Russia’s war funding. The U.S. has already imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil firms and Ukraine’s military has targeted Russian oil infrastructure.
Zelenskyy said: “I think this may be one of [Trump’s] strong moves, especially if, following [his] decisive sanctions step, China is ready to reduce imports.” He pointed to global efforts to replace Russian energy exports with U.S. supplies and noted that Trump has urged NATO allies to halt all purchases of Russian oil.
Moscow responded through Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who asserted countries will decide for themselves whether to comply with U.S. sanctions while Russia offers “top-quality energy at a lower price.”
Meanwhile, pressure on Russia’s energy industry became more visible as companies reacted to tightening sanctions. Lukoil, one of the country’s largest privately owned oil producers, confirmed it intends to sell a number of its international holdings before a sanctions grace period ends on 21 November.
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Industry analysts say the move shows how Russia’s long term oil strategy may be shifting as the war continues and governments in Washington and London toughen enforcement of existing measures.
China imported a record 109 million tonnes of Russian crude last year, roughly 20 percent of its total energy imports. India also imported 88 million tonnes but has signalled a willingness to cut purchases. U.S. sanctions target Rosneft and Lukoil, which together export around 3.1 million barrels per day, about 70 percent of Russia’s overseas crude sales.
Trump and Xi are set to meet on Thursday at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea. It remains unclear whether Beijing will respond to U.S. pressure over Russian energy imports or what concrete outcome will emerge from the summit. Zelenskyy also asked European allies to support Kyiv with long-range missiles and use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s war effort.