U.S. extends Russian oil waiver
- Washington extended a waiver permitting some Russian oil sales one day after Vice‑President JD Vance praised ending Ukraine aid. - The waiver's timing paired technical sanctions relief with political rhetoric celebrating the end of American assistance. - European allies are reportedly nervous this could signal a U.S. pullback and a shift of burdens onto partners. (radiofreesyria.com)
The United States has extended a sanctions waiver that lets some Russian oil transactions keep moving, even as Vice President JD Vance said Washington is proud to have stopped funding Ukraine. (ofac.treasury.gov) (kyivindependent.com) The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 134 on March 12, 2026, covering Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products loaded onto vessels by 12:01 a.m. Eastern time that day. The license authorized sales, delivery and offloading through April 11, 2026, including docking, insurance, bunkering and emergency repairs. (ofac.treasury.gov 1) (ofac.treasury.gov 2) A separate Treasury waiver for the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project has also stayed in place. General License 55E, dated December 17, 2025, authorizes related services through June 18, 2026, as long as the crude is solely for import into Japan. (ofac.treasury.gov) Vance said on April 14 at a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Georgia, that ending U.S. funding for Ukraine was “one of the things I’m proudest that we’ve done in this administration.” He said Europe could still buy weapons, but “the United States is not buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore.” (kyivindependent.com) The two moves sit inside a broader shift in burden-sharing since President Donald Trump returned to office. The Kyiv Independent reported that Trump ended nearly all new aid to Kyiv, while European partners covered most military assistance to Ukraine in 2025, including purchases of Patriot interceptors and other U.S.-made weapons. (kyivindependent.com) European leaders have been saying publicly that they do not want Ukraine aid to slip further. The New York Times reported on April 15 that officials across Europe were promising more support and warning that attention on Iran should not crowd out Kyiv. (nytimes.com) The waivers themselves are narrow, not a repeal of oil sanctions. Treasury’s March license did not authorize dealings tied to Iran, North Korea, Cuba, occupied Ukrainian regions or other transactions still barred under Russia sanctions rules. (ofac.treasury.gov) That leaves Washington with two messages at once: technical carve-outs that keep specific oil flows legal, and political language that says Europe should carry more of Ukraine’s war costs. The next test is whether Treasury renews or narrows these licenses again as the administration keeps redefining what support for Ukraine will look like. (ofac.treasury.gov) (kyivindependent.com)
