Ukrainian ambassador to US: Trump's sanctions against Russia aligned with our position "peace through strength"

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States, has welcomed Washington's decision to impose comprehensive blocking sanctions on Russia's largest oil companies.

Stefanishyna emphasised that this move marks the first such decision under the administration of the 47th US President Donald Trump and comes "after numerous attempts to give Russia a chance to begin real negotiations to end the war".

"The decision is fully aligned with Ukraine's consistent position: peace is possible only through strength and pressure on the aggressor using all available international tools," Stefanishyna said on X.

The ambassador added that Ukraine expects decisive action from European partners following the European Council meeting scheduled for 23 October.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the new sanctions due to Russia's lack of serious commitment to the peace process aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The sanctions target Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia's largest oil companies, among others.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's administration had lifted a key restriction on Ukraine's use of certain long-range missiles provided by Western allies, allowing Kyiv to expand its attacks on targets inside Russia.

In recent days, several unofficial signals indicated that the planned Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest might be in doubt, as Russia continues to insist on its maximalist demands.

However, the Kremlin and Hungarian authorities have insisted that preparations are ongoing, dismissing such reports as attempts to disrupt the meeting.

Trump has since said that he no longer plans to meet the Russian ruler in Budapest in the near future.