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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated during his trip to Washington that Vladimir Putin's decision to request talks with the US president demonstrates Moscow is feeling pressure. Zelenskyy commented, "It's evident that Moscow is scrambling to resume conversations immediately after it hears about Tomahawks." These remarks referred to recent musings about supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine.

Diplomatic Moves and Global Responses

A former US state department official, Dan Fried, commented, "The Russian leader is attempting to derail the momentum toward greater sanctions on the Kremlin." He added, "The outcome will become clear on Friday, but the chances of achieving a truce by pushing Moscow to engage sincerely seem to have diminished."

The situation came after Trump had in recent days been hardening his language toward Russia until Thursday's conversation with Putin, which the Russian government characterized as "extremely open and trustful."

EU Energy Restrictions and Market Impact

EU authorities have set a mandate for fuel suppliers into the European Union to prove their fuels are not sourced from Russian oil, as stated in a document released on Thursday. This measure is part of the EU's upcoming ban on purchases of refined products made from Russian crude, which is included in its latest restrictive measures against Russia over its war in the region.

Market analysts noted that trading activity appeared to be considering the potential reduction of India's purchases of Russian crude. Some oil processors in India are getting ready to reduce Russian oil imports, with projections of a phased decrease, as reported by insiders familiar with the matter.

"This represents a positive development for the oil market as it would remove a major buyer of Russian crude," said Tony Sycamore, noting that oil prices were steady on Thursday.

Military Situation and Energy Attacks

A massive Moscow's drone and rocket attack hit gas facilities in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, causing outages in eight regions. Ukrainian officials stated that Russian forces deployed hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, along with aerial munitions.

"During this fall, the Russians use daily opportunities to strike at our energy infrastructure," declared Ukraine's president, adding that attacks affected the regions of northern Ukraine, eastern Ukraine, Poltava, Sumy and Vinnytsia.

Global Diplomatic Reactions

Ukraine's envoy to the United States, the Ukrainian ambassador, stated that Russia demonstrated its real approach to peace through the "violence" of such strikes. "Russia once again opted for weapons over dialogue, making this attack into a clear blow to current peace efforts," she said.

At the same time, the EU's top diplomat, the bloc's representative, announced that the EU had little option but to strengthen anti-drone defences against Russia. Kallas announced a "plan" to prepare for possible security challenges by 2030, featuring a novel defensive network to be completely functional by the 2027 deadline.

The proposed system, dubbed the "EU defensive program," is expected to start operations in its first phase by the end of 2026 and be fully functioning by the following year. Brussels hopes to obtain the support of member state representatives at a meeting in the coming days.