Sanctions relief prompted by the Iran war allowed Russia to increase crude oil sales in the same week it fired more than 1,500 attack drones, over 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and two missiles at Ukraine, the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. Oil revenues give Russia "a sense of impunity and the ability to continue the war," the president said, calling on partners to stop and block shadow fleet tankers rather than let them pass through European and other waters.
The Iran war reversed months of pressure on Russia's oil revenues
Liga noted that the escalation around Iran destabilized global oil markets and created shortage risks, forcing the US to partially ease sanctions against Russia. This opened the Kremlin opportunities to grow oil export revenues and fund the war, exploiting high prices and new markets, while undermining Western sanctions unity and deepening geopolitical instability.
Before the Iran war, Russia's Urals blend traded at a 10–20% discount to the Brent benchmark — a discount analysts say completely vanished after the US waiver, with Russian crude trading at par with Brent. CREA data showed Russia's daily oil revenues reached €372 million in early March, up 14% month-on-month.
Zelenskyy drew the connection explicitly, although not mentioning the US or its President Trump.
"Over the past week, Russia fired nearly 1,550 attack drones, over 1,260 guided aerial bombs, and two missiles at Ukraine," he wrote. "During that same week, due to sanctions relief, Russia increased crude oil sales to earn money for its war."
The President earlier said the US waiver alone "could provide Russia with about $10 billion for the war. It spends the money from energy sales on weapons, and all of this is then used against us."
Zelenskyy calls for stopping shadow fleet tankers, not releasing them
President Zelenskyy specifically targeted how partners handle shadow fleet tankers already intercepted or tracked in European waters.
"Russia's shadow fleet must not feel safe in European waters or any others," he wrote. "Tankers working for the war budget can and must be stopped and blocked — not just released. I thank every leader who makes the right decisions. This is what brings a dignified peace closer."
The call comes two days after the French Navy boarded the shadow fleet tanker Deyna in the Mediterranean — an interception Macron framed as proof that the Iran crisis would not divert France from backing Ukraine. Zelenskyy has also previously sanctioned 91 shadow-fleet vessels and 225 tanker captains from 11 countries as part of Ukraine's parallel pressure campaign against Russia's maritime oil infrastructure.
