Donald Trump warns European leaders. They must stop buying oil from Russia, because every barrel finances the war against Ukraine. And fuel sales to the EU have earned Moscow 1.1 billion euros in a year. These criticisms are confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who at the end of the call of the"Coalition of the Willing" chaired by Emmanuel Macron explained: "Trump is not happy that Europe continues to buy Russian oil." The request concerns “especially Slovakia and Hungary ”, given that other countries have significantly reduced their purchases: in the second quarter of 2025, the share of Russian oil in total EU imports fell to 2%, compared to 29% in the first quarter of 2021.
More relevant is the tycoon's other request, which, according to the background story reported by Reuters – citing a White House official – added that the Old Continent should exert economic pressure on China, accused of indirectly supporting Moscow. In short, the US president demands that the Twenty-Seven do what he doesn't feel like doing: Beijing, unlike New Delhi, has not been hit by any maximum US tariff for its huge purchases of crude oil.
Russia relies on oil and gas exports for about a quarter of its revenue, which finances its war reserves. The majority goes to China and India. On Monday in Tianjin, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi reaffirmed ties with Moscow, telling Vladimir Putin that their countries"have walked side by side." And, the BBC reports, officials in New Delhi have said the country will continue to buy energy where it gets"the best terms" despite retaliatory tariffs of 50% on Indian imports in the United States. Russian crude currently covers 45% of India's domestic needs.
While Trump speaks, Moscow and Beijing are also strengthening their energy ties. Just Thursday morning, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov announced the signing of an agreement between Beijing and the oil giant Rosneft, which will supply China with an additional 2.5 million tons of oil per year via Kazakhstan. Despite Chinese opposition to sanctions against Russia and its massive imports—100 million tons last year—Washington has not yet imposed harsh measures. On August 16, Trump, after postponing by three months the implementation of the super 145% tariffs announced in April, made it clear that he was in no rush to impose retaliation. This is a much more prudent strategy than his usual international bullying stance.
