Europe’s ‘Coalition of the Willing’ vows to increase economic pressure on Russia

European leaders vowed to work in coordination to ratchet up the pressure on Russia as the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” met in London to discuss strategies to end the war in Ukraine.

The leaders called on more countries to implement sanctions against Russian oil companies after US President Donald Trump unveiled a new wave of sanctions targeting Moscow’s two biggest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil.

Trump’s measure was followed by the EU rolling out additional sanctions and agreeing to finance Ukraine for the next two years.

Europe faces mounting pressure to settle the protracted conflict as Russian aircraft incursions into Europe persist and lethal strikes damage Ukraine’s infrastructure.

Despite overtures from Trump and other world leaders to negotiate a resolution, Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained his maximalist demands on Kyiv to bring the war to an end and refused to agree to an immediate ceasefire.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized that Ukrainian security is interlinked with many other countries, including the United Kingdom.

“Ukraine’s future is our future. What happens in the weeks and months ahead is pivotal for the security of the United Kingdom and all our allies across NATO and beyond,” Starmer said.

Last week, the United Kingdom “became the first country to sanction all of Russia’s oil majors,” including the same companies sanctioned by the US, Starmer said on Friday.

Starmer said that the “combined impact” of the US, UK and EU sanctions not only impacts the Russian economy but also demonstrates that countries are “all coordinating clearly in our efforts to support Ukraine and effectively doing so.”

The prime minister urged more countries to sanction more Russian oil companies, “to go further, to reduce their dependencies and incentivize third countries to stop buying these tainted resources.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Trump and Ukraine’s other “partners” who took similar actions, calling the recent oil sanctions a “big step.”

“Diplomacy matters only when it can lead to real decisions. And when it comes to Russia, that dish has many ingredients. The essential ones are real forms of pressure on Russia, sanctions, our long-range capabilities, political pressure, accountability for war crimes, and real actions regarding Russian assets,” the Ukrainian leader said.

Zelensky has made repeated pleas for US-made Tomahawk missiles to enable the Ukrainian army to carry out targeted strikes on oil and energy facilities deep inside Russia.

Zelensky first traveled to Washington, where Trump denied his request. On Thursday, he urged the European Council to provide Ukraine with long-range weaponry.

Strikes continued to hammer Ukraine as the leader traveled to London to engage in the coalition talks. At least three people were killed in Russian strikes that targeted residential areas in Kherson on Friday morning, local authorities said.

“Long-range capability directly strengthens democracy,” Zelensky said at the coalition’s press conference on Friday. “The more losses Putin suffers on his own territory, the fewer assaults he can carry out on the front line, and the faster he will agree to meaningful diplomacy.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte argued that the current moment is the right time to apply more force on Russia, as Putin faces difficulties on the battlefield.

“The truth is that Putin is running out of money, troops, and ideas,” Rutte said.

“Now is the right time to increase the pressure on Russia so we can finally get a fair and just peace for Ukraine,” Rutte said.

Coming on the heels of the “good” meeting with Trump in Washington, Rutte commended the American leader’s new sanctions, which Rutte said would “starve” Russia’s two largest oil companies.

He added that the measures prove that Trump is “absolutely committed to ending this war and bringing a lasting peace to Ukraine.”

Trump called off a diplomatic summit with Putin scheduled to be held in Budapest after feeling that the Russian leader was not committed to making progress towards a deal.

The two last met at a high-profile summit in Alaska over the summer, from which little progress appeared to emerge.

Since then, Trump had “not seen enough interest” in “moving the ball forward towards peace” from the Russian side, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN.

Instead, Russia’s top economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, arrived in the United States, where he is expected to meet Trump administration officials “to continue discussions about the US-Russia relationship,” sources with knowledge of the visit told CNN exclusively on Friday.

In a post on X later Friday, Dmitriev said that his visit was “planned a while ago based on an invitation from the US side.”

In the coalition meeting, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof remarked that increasing economic pressure on Russia is “the only way to persuade Putin to engage in serious talks.”

The coalition “agreed to be united in our efforts” to counter Russia, Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, said.

“I think Putin’s strategy has been to wait for us to stop at some point to give up. But of course, this will never happen,” she said.