The Trump administration has granted a 30-day waiver for countries to buy U.S.-sanctioned Russian oil currently stranded at sea. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move was needed to stabilize energy markets that have been roiled by the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran. 

The waiver came as Ukrainian drones on Thursday struck a pipeline terminal in Russia’s Krasnodar region, setting fuel tanks on fire at one of the largest oil facilities in southern Russia. Meanwhile, officials in Kyiv say fighting in the Middle East is rapidly consuming expensive U.S. air defense munitions that Ukraine desperately needs to fend off Russian missiles and drones.

In Geneva, investigators presented evidence to the U.N.'s Human Rights Council Thursday on Russia's deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Some 20,000 children have been abducted and sent to Russia and Belarus, where they are sometimes subjected to military training and even forced to fight against Ukraine. This is Erik Møse, the chair of the U.N.’s Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.

Erik Møse: “Families remained unaware of the fate of the children for prolonged periods of time. This has led to lengthy separation, distress and suffering. These acts have been widespread and systematic, committed as a matter of policy, and amount to enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity.”