Trump urges Europe to stop buying Russian oil amid Ukraine War

President Donald Trump on Thursday urged European leaders to stop purchasing Russian oil and to help him pressure China likewise in a bid to gain leverage to end the Ukraine War.

Trump participated in a call with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the faltering effort to broker a peace, The Hill reported. Though Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month, leading to optimism that the Russian and Ukrainian leaders could meet, such a summit has not materialized and the conflict shows no signs of ending.

Despite a multitude of global sanctions, the Russian economy has persevered, leading Trump to pursue secondary tariffs on its commercial partners and to pressure Europeans to drop purchases of Russian oil.

“President Trump emphasized that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war — as Russia received €1.1 billion in fuel sales from the EU in one year,” a White House official said of the call. “The president also emphasized that European leaders must place economic pressure on China for funding Russia’s war efforts.”

At present, battles rage in eastern Ukraine around the cities of Pokrovsk and Kupyansk. The fall of each is expected to provide the Russians with critical staging grounds for further incursions into the nation's interior.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.