The U.S. Department of Commerce has made it mandatory to obtain a U.S. government license for any sales of the drug to Russia and Belarus as of Sept. 15, citing its potential use as a weapon. The EU also restricted exports of fentanyl and related drugs to Russia in June, saying the drugs "have been used as toxic chemicals in the past by Russia," the Washington Post reports.
Ukraine will halt its strikes against Russian refineries only if Moscow ceases its attacks against the Ukrainian power grid, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 12, signaling that a refinery-only truce makes little sense for a country with a single, badly damaged refinery.
Of the 77 sanctioned individuals, 74 ran as candidates in the sham elections, while the remaining three were newly elected members of Russia's central electoral commission.
"This is the single largest expansion of our sanctions list since Russia started its war," chief EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said, adding that more than half of the roughly 1600 listings "are connected to the production chain for ballistic missiles."
"Only when we increase our sanctions, when we show that we are serious, will we deny Russia the possibility to raise havoc in our capitals," Budrys said.
"Let's look at ourselves. The EU first took out two big Russian oligarchs, the biggest ever supporters of Putin's regime, from the sanctions," Latvia's Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said when asked to comment on a U.S. deal to buy Russian diesel.
The number includes 1,470 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Lawmakers from both major parties argued the move would undermine recently enacted sanctions against Russia, potentially provide Moscow with billions of dollars in revenue, and contradict Congress's efforts to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
Inflicting heavy personnel losses has become a stated strategic objective of Ukraine. In January, then-Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine aimed to "kill 50,000 Russians per month," arguing that losses on that scale could undermine Moscow's ability to sustain the war.
Among those killed were a 16-year-old boy, as well as a 19-year-old woman, and a 51-year-old woman, authorities said, in a strike that landed near a grocery store as well as several residential buildings.
The European Union is set to disburse approximately 3 billion euros ($4.8 billion) of defense support to Ukraine this week as part of the bloc's 90 billion euro support loan ($100 billion) for Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 11.
Ukraine has no information about an energy ceasefire that U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Oct. 11, a senior Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent.
The attack was the latest in a series targeting the western Ukrainian city, with strikes reported on three days within a four-day period.
The reported pressure preceded President Donald Trump’s announcement on Oct. 11 that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to stop attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.
"We all know that Trump often says things to keep oil prices from rising," Igor Ananskikh, first deputy chair of the committee, told Russian outlet Ostorozhno Novosti.
Ukraine's Presidential Office confirmed that the attack occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
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