President Donald Trump joined a virtual call Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, demanding that Europe stop buying Russian oil to cut off funding for Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The meeting brought together leaders from the “Coalition of the Willing,” a group of about 30 countries led by Britain and France that are working to support Ukraine and create security guarantees.
During the call, Trump made it clear that Europe’s energy purchases were helping to fund Russia’s military operations. The White House said Russia received 1.1 billion euros ($1.28 billion) in fuel sales from the European Union in just one year. Trump also pushed European leaders to put more economic pressure on China for supporting Russia’s war efforts through various means, including energy purchases. This is coming from a man who recently revealed he wants to throw open Alaska’s massive resources – which often earm it the title of being the nation’s treasure as America’s energy independence depends on it – at Putin’s feet as part of their negotiations.
