The China Mail - US, EU pledge new sanctions on Russia for Ukraine war

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters in Washington the administration would unveil "a substantial pickup in Russia sanctions" by Thursday morning, without giving further details.

"President Putin has not come to the table in an honest and forthright manner, as we'd hoped," Bessent told broadcaster Fox Business separately, adding that Trump was "disappointed at where we are in these talks".

A spokesperson for the EU's current Danish presidency meanwhile told reporters the bloc had agreed to impose new measures aimed at crimping Moscow's oil and gas revenues.

That package -- the 19th from the EU since the Kremlin's 2022 invasion -- sought to keep the pressure on Russia in light of Trump's faltering peace push and an escalation of Russia's offensive.

Trump this week halted plans to meet Putin for talks in Budapest, saying he did not want a "wasted" meeting. He had said he would meet Putin within two weeks.

The Kremlin on Wednesday appeared to leave the door open for a summit, saying preparations were still ongoing.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "No one wants to waste time, neither President Trump nor President Putin."

- EU oil and gas sanctions -

As part of the new measures, the 27-nation EU brought forward a ban on the import of liquefied natural gas from Russia by a year to the start of 2027.

It also blacklisted over 100 more tankers from the so-called "shadow fleet" of ageing vessels used to help Russia dodge restrictions on its oil exports.

Beyond efforts to hit Moscow's revenues, the EU was also looking to crack down on Russian diplomats suspected of espionage by imposing controls on their travel around Europe.

The package is scheduled to be formally adopted tomorrow, just before Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky joins EU leaders at a summit in Brussels.

- Ukraine-Sweden fighter jet deal -

Earlier on Wednesday Zelensky signed a letter of intent with Sweden to acquire 150 Gripen fighter jets, hours after fatal Russian attacks battered Ukraine's energy grid and spurred nationwide outages.

"We are opening an undoubtedly new and very meaningful chapter in our relations," Zelensky said while standing in front of a Gripen, adding the "excellent aircraft" would help to protect Ukraine's sky from daily Russian air raids.

The letter of intent did not provide dates, but Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he expected the first planes to be delivered to Ukraine "within three years". Zelensky said he hoped for "first results" as early as 2026.

Zelensky launched his string of European visits hours after Russia's latest overnight barrage on Wednesday killed seven people -- including two children -- triggered power outages across Ukraine, and ripped into a kindergarten.

Russia fired 405 drones and 28 missiles at Ukraine between late Tuesday and early Wednesday -- most of which were intercepted -- Ukraine's air force said.

- Strikes on Kyiv -

AFP journalists in Kyiv heard the buzzing of Russian drones and explosions throughout the night, and saw a pillar of smoke rising above the capital.

"My hands are still shaking," Kyiv resident Mariana Gorchenko told AFP.

"I jumped up, glad that my little one wasn't in the room where the windows were blown out," she said.

The strikes also damaged a kindergarten in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv.

Ksenia Kalmykova, whose child was inside the building during the strike told AFP that she "pushed the emergency services aside and ran over" after arriving at the site.

"Someone had cuts, someone had something else. Of course, there were hysterics," she said of the children's condition, adding "thank God, everyone is alive and well".

AFP crew saw rescuers extinguishing fire in the charred building whose windows were shattered and facade partly crumbled.

The attacks also targeted the country's energy infrastructure, leaving thousands without heating and electricity across Ukraine in the cold season, according to the energy ministry.

Zelensky visited Oslo earlier Wednesday for talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and was also set to visit Brussels and London, a Ukrainian source told AFP.

In Oslo, Zelensky backed Trump's proposal to make the current front line the basis for negotiations with Russia, but doubted Putin would accept it.

Ukraine and European allies have repeatedly rejected calls for Kyiv to give up land.

Y.Su--ThChM