KYIV — There were cheers in Ukraine and the EU when the Trump administration sanctioned Russia’s two biggest oil companies Wednesday. The U.S. sanctions “are a clear signal that prolonging the war and spreading terror come at a cost,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Thursday. “This is a fair and absolutely deserved step. It is precisely pressure on Russia that will be effective for achieving peace, and sanctions are one of its key components.” He also called it “a strong and much-needed message.” The U.S. slapped sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, and their subsidiaries in an attempt to pressure Russia to take ceasefire negotiations more seriously. “I just felt it was time,” Trump said less than a week after he announced that he’d be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary and declared that the Russian leader was ready for peace. This was the first time Trump has slapped any sanctions on Russia. The European Union’s 19th package of sanctions against Russia will likely be approved Thursday after Slovakia dropped its opposition late Wednesday. Across the bloc, there was also support for the U.S. move. U.S. “Treasury decision to sanction major Russian oil companies in the face of Russia’s lack of commitment to the peace process. With the imminent adoption of the EU’s 19th package, this is a clear signal from both sides of the Atlantic that we will keep up collective pressure on the aggressor,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X Wednesday night. “So it happened. … The beauty of this decision is its comprehensiveness. The complete oil infrastructure is subject to sanctions as it should be. I think the effect will be big and quick,” the Ukrainian president’s sanctions envoy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, said in a post on Facebook on Thursday. The sanctions target not only Lukoil and Rosneft but also dozens of their subsidiaries. “Those subsidiaries cover all key links in the oil and gas business — exploration, production, transportation, processing, trade, and service,” Vlasiuk said. Rosneft alone accounts for approximately 40 percent of Russia’s oil production and 14 percent of its gas production, and remains the primary contributor to the federal budget, having paid 6.1 trillion rubles in taxes in 2024. The company also has a fleet of at least 39 vessels. “What adds spice to this particular solution is that Lukoil, Rosneft, and others were preparing cooperation proposals for the U.S. — on the eve of Anchorage [summit], Reuters reported this, and we also knew about it from other sources,” Vlasiuk said. “U.S. sanctions open Pandora’s box. We are working to have more.”

U.K. King Charles III has invited French President Emmanuel Macron for a state visit in May, months before a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump that is expected to take place in September, The Sunday Times reported. The first state visit by the French leader is being planned amid British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to relaunch relations with the European Union years after Brexit, while the U.K.’s historic American allies drift away and turn looking inward under Trump’s presidency. Macron and Starmer have in recent months led a “coalition of the willing” composed by European countries seeking to agree on security guarantees for Ukraine in case a ceasefire is achieved with Russia. As Macron schmoozes with the king in Windsor Castle, the U.K. and the EU are expected to seal a defense and security pact at a London summit on May 19 to boost military spending across Europe. While defense has served as the first steppingstone in efforts to rebuild EU-U.K. ties, its implications on trade loom large, as the pact could pave the way for further negotiations such as an agri-food standards agreement to reduce trade bureaucracy and EU plans like improved mobility for young people and students. In fact, defense pact is hinging on whether the U.K. will make concessions on fishing rights in English waters for EU fleets. Both sides are expected to use next month’s meeting to reach a common understanding of which issues will be part of Starmer’s wider U.K.-EU relations relaunch. On the other side of the Atlantic, Trump recently suggested he would visit Britain in September, after Starmer extended an invitation by King Charles during his visit to Washington in February. Trump has in recent weeks slapped hefty tariffs on countries around the world, including 10 percent duties for U.K and EU products across the board. The U.S. president hit the pause button on other heavier reciprocal tariffs to give space to negotiate new trade deals.