Zelenskyy: Partners asked Ukraine not to attack Russian oil terminals amid Hormuz crisis

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that his country's partners have asked Kyiv not to attack Russian oil terminals amid ongoing restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. "I won't say who asked us for this. But the partners asked, that's a fact. They asked at different levels: from the political to the military leadership," Zelenskyy said during a conversation with journalists.

Energy price concerns

Zelenskyy said that amid ongoing restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, partners have sent different signals to different countries, and that Ukraine was asked to reduce strikes on Russian oil terminals in this context. Expressing that this is asked with the belief that these strikes would have an impact on energy prices, Zelenskyy argued that, in his opinion, Russian oil does not have a significant impact on the world market.

Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy

Kyiv has stepped up strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in recent times, including in the Baltic Sea and Black Sea, with the intent of reducing the country's revenues from sale of hydrocarbons amid the over four-year Russia-Ukraine war. Speaking about the Druzhba oil pipeline, Zelenskyy said that its repairs will be completed "this spring" and that "a lot" has already been done.

Potential trilateral meeting

He further argued that if Russia chooses a "path of de-escalation," there will be a trilateral meeting between Kyiv, Moscow and Washington, which will be scheduled between April and June. "I think these are key months for them (Russia). And I think it will be very difficult for us until September," Zelenskyy said, noting the US will be more focused on domestic processes with the start of summer.

Patriot missiles and Syria cooperation

The Ukrainian president also announced the arrival of a new batch of Patriot missiles and declared he will conduct talks with European countries on defense against Russian drones and Ukraine's EU accession. Regarding his meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to cooperate with Syria in the field of food security and infrastructure.