On Wednesday, 21 October 2026, in the European Parliament plenary, Ursula von der Leyen spoke on the European Council of 15–16 October. On Russian energy: the sanctions “will stay until Russia stops the war”. “Russia is not a trusted supplier of energy.” Europe’s experience, she said, is that Moscow can at any time use dependence as blackmail. It is a statement in a debate, not a new sanctions vote.

The setting, Politico writes, is the American arrangement on Russian diesel. Her words do not repeal EU regulations and do not extend them by a new article. The 15–16 October Council was about competitiveness and the cost of energy; sanctions came at the end, “because of the actual debate”.

OFAC General License 135, dated 9 October, authorises specified transactions in Russian diesel until 12:01 a.m. EDT on 7 April 2027. It sets no volume. It does not prove a ship has sailed. April 2027 is the American term, not an EU sanctions sunset. The two clocks are not mixed.

The 12 October announcement, as Politico reported it, with hundreds of thousands of tonnes and an “energy ceasefire”, is another political act. Von der Leyen, on Wednesday, did not recite the tonnage. It is not a figure from the speech.

She also said Russia cut Europe’s gas. That cut is not today’s OFAC licence. A true European Energy Union, announced the same day as a Commission plan, is not a sanctions vote. €22 billion a year in simpler rules, if all the measures are agreed, is another chapter of the same speech.

“Crystal clear” is her wording, not a regulation number. The plenary is debating the Council conclusions; it is not voting a 20th package here. CaleaEuropeană reprints Politico; the dump track is not the text from the EP floor.

Image: the European Parliament hemicycle, Strasbourg, 16 August 2023, Sebastian Wallroth, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The hemicycle in 2023, not Wednesday’s speech.

Sources consulted: Russia energy sanctions will stay despite US diesel deal, von der Leyen says — POLITICO; Speech by President von der Leyen at the European Parliament plenary debate on the conclusions of the European Council meeting of 15-16 October 2026.