19/03/2026 – 22:20 GMT+1
Ukraine is preparing to resume peace talks with the US, even as Moscow gains from eased American sanctions and soaring energy prices, and Kyiv faces the potential loss of EU aid for the first time.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that a delegation from Ukraine is heading to the United States as diplomatic efforts to end the war in the country gradually resume.
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“There has been a pause in the talks, and it is time to resume them,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address.
Although many EU leaders have warned against letting the conflict in Iran overshadow the war in Ukraine, the ongoing US–Israel strikes and the resulting escalation have effectively stalled Ukraine’s diplomatic process.
Now that the US has relaxed some sanctions due to rising energy prices and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Moscow has even less incentive to agree to painfully negotiated compromises.
Addressing EU leaders on Thursday, Ukraine’s president said this easing “brings significant money into Putin’s war budget”.
Many leaders across the bloc have criticized US President Donald Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian oil, arguing that it is helping to fuel the war effort against Ukraine.
At the same time, however, they have struggled to agree on introducing new sanctions.
“Russia must also lose economically – and this is what sanctions are for,” Zelenskyy said on Thursday.
The EU has presented a 20th package of sanctions against Russia but it remains stalled due to a dispute between Hungary and Slovakia with Kyiv over the Druzhba pipeline.
“It could have continued the pressure on Russia to move toward real peace,” Zelenskyy told the EU leaders on Thursday.
Budapest is blocking the EU’s €90 billion euros loan to Ukraine – the money Zelenskyy called “a critical resource to protect lives”.
“We in Ukraine hope that Europe will find a way out of the difficult, very difficult situation we all face now, especially when it comes to the destabilization of European support for Ukraine,” he added. “We have made sure that – during this war – Russia doesn’t feel stronger,” Zelenskyy said, adding “the aggressor must weaken – and this is the key to ending the war”.
Moscow feels the US focus shift
Zelenskyy told EU leaders that Washington had signaled over the past few days its willingness to resume negotiations.
“But with what mindset will the Russian side come to the talks this time?” he asked.
Zelenskyy continued : “It depends on all of us together to make sure the Russians do not come to these talks feeling that their position has grown much stronger. And it is not only because of the situation around Iran, which is pushing global oil prices higher.”
Signals from Moscow, however, suggest the opposite.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the pause in negotiations may end once all parties have coordinated their schedules, particularly the US.
According to Peskov, Washington is more concerned with the situation in the Middle East.
“‘As soon as the schedules of all three parties have been agreed upon – particularly those of our American mediators, once they are able to devote more attention to Ukrainian affairs – we hope that this hiatus will be broken and we will be able to hold the next round of trilateral talks,” Peskov said.
New source of income for Kyiv?
While EU support for Ukraine remains stalled because of Hungary’s veto on the loan, the new sanctions package, and the blocked EU accession process, Kyiv may have identified new partners and potentially new sources of income.
With the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran intensifying across the Middle East and the Gulf, several regional states have formally requested assistance from Ukraine, drawing on its hard‑won expertise in countering Iranian‑designed Shahed‑type drones.
Zelenskyy said 11 countries have requested Kyiv’s help and now over 200 Ukrainian anti-drone military experts are already in the Middle East and another 34 personnel “ready to deploy”.
“These are military experts, experts who know how to help, how to defend against Shahed drones,” he said on Wednesday. “Our teams are already in the Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and on the way to Kuwait.”
“There are specific ways in which they can support our country and our defence – first and foremost, air defence,” he added.
Ukrainian drone manufacturers are hoping to make lucrative deals to sell their products in the Middle East, which would provide a significant boost to Ukraine’s defence industry and overall economy—particularly as the country faces a looming financial shortfall at the end of spring that only a €90 billion loan could cover.
