Morning news:
The US is imposing new comprehensive sanctions against Russia
The United States is now imposing new, major sanctions against Russia because of Russia’s lack of serious commitment to peace in Ukraine, according to the US Treasury Department. The sanctions target the two largest Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, which together account for roughly half of Russia’s crude oil exports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it’s time to stop the killing and the US is ready to take more action, while urging allies to follow suit. The UK has already imposed similar sanctions and the EU is expected to do the same soon.
Read more: The US imposes new sanctions on Russia
USA in double attacks against “drug boats” in the Pacific
The US has carried out two attacks against so-called drug boats in the Pacific, according to Defense Minister Pete Hegseth. The first attack took place on Tuesday and resulted in two people, whom Hegseth calls “narco-terrorists”, being killed when their boat was bombed. On Wednesday, the US again struck another ship along a known smuggling route, killing three more people. Hegseth says these attacks will continue day after day and compares the terror-labeled cartels to “al-Qaeda in our hemisphere”, while facing criticism that Congress has not been allowed to speak and that the bombings could constitute war crimes.
Read more: Double attacks in the Pacific
Pål Jonson: The plane can be bought with Russian funds
Ukraine wants to buy up to one hundred and fifty Jas Gripen planes, which became clear after Ulf Kristersson and Volodymyr Zelenskyj met in Linköping on Wednesday. A big question is how Ukraine can afford it, since a single Jas Gripen E costs around eight hundred million kroner and an order for a hundred planes would land at eighty billion kroner. Defense Minister Pål Jonson says they are now looking at the possibility of using frozen Russian assets as payment. The question of the Russian assets has long been debated, and the subject is to be raised at the EU summit this week. There is a chance that the leaders can now agree because Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who was opposed, is not on board.
Read more: Ukraine’s JAS plan could be paid for with frozen Russian assets
