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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted during his trip to the US capital that the Russian president's move to request negotiations with the US president indicates the Kremlin is on the defensive. Zelenskyy commented, "We can already see that Moscow is scrambling to restart dialogue as soon as it hears about cruise missiles." This statement referred to recent comments about supplying long-range missiles to the Ukrainian military.

Diplomatic Moves and Global Responses

An ex- US state department official, Dan Fried, commented, "The Russian leader is trying to derail the progress toward increased pressure on the Kremlin." Fried continued, "We'll see on Friday, but the likelihood of achieving a ceasefire by pushing Moscow to engage sincerely seem to have decreased."

The situation came after Trump had recently been hardening his language toward Russia until Thursday's conversation with the Russian president, which the Russian government described as "highly open and constructive."

EU Energy Sanctions and Market Effects

EU authorities have established a requirement for fuel suppliers into the EU to prove their fuels are not made from Russian crude, according to a document published on Thursday. This step is part of the European Union's forthcoming ban on imports of refined products made from Russian petroleum, which is included in its latest restrictive measures against Russia over its military actions in Ukraine.

Financial experts noted that trading activity appeared to be factoring in the possible reduction of India's imports of Russian oil. Several oil processors in India are preparing to reduce Russian oil imports, with expectations of a phased decrease, as reported by insiders familiar with the situation.

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

Security Developments and Energy Strikes

A large-scale Moscow's unmanned aircraft and missile attack hit gas facilities in eastern Ukraine on the same day, resulting in disruptions in multiple areas. Authorities in Ukraine reported that Russian forces launched hundreds of unmanned vehicles and dozens of missiles, along with aerial munitions.

"This autumn, the Russians use every single day to strike at our power facilities," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy, noting that strikes impacted the areas of northern Ukraine, eastern Ukraine, central Ukraine, northeastern Ukraine and western Ukraine.

International Diplomatic Responses

Ukraine's representative to Washington, the Ukrainian ambassador, stated that Moscow demonstrated its true approach to negotiations through the "terror" of such strikes. "The Russian government once again opted for missiles over dialogue, turning this attack into a clear setback to ongoing diplomatic initiatives," Stefanishyna commented.

At the same time, the European Union's foreign policy chief, the bloc's representative, announced that the EU had no choice but to build up defensive systems against Russian threats. She revealed a "plan" to get ready for possible conflict by 2030, including a new anti-drone system to be fully operational by the end of 2027.

The proposed system, dubbed the "European drone defence initiative," is projected to start operations in its first phase by the 2026 timeline and be fully functioning by the following year. EU authorities aims to secure the support of member state representatives at a meeting in the coming days.