What others write about Russia – November 11, 2026

In brief

• According to Deutschlandfunk, the European Court of Auditors criticized weaknesses in EU sanctions against Russia: the sanctions were meant to restrict exports of military goods and trade, but considerable trade volumes are still generated, and the EU remains Russia's third-largest trading partner.
• Deutschlandfunk reports that auditor Kozlovs pointed to weak enforcement, unclear regulations, and differences in interpretation between member states, which make it easier to circumvent sanctions.
• The Court stresses, according to the station, that the effectiveness of sanctions requires uniform action by all member states.
• According to Ukrainian NV, President Zelensky rejected a draft agreement envisaging the withdrawal of troops from Donbas, arguing that Kyiv is not ready to trust Vladimir Putin.
• Zelensky said at a conference in Dublin that Ukraine is being urged to make territorial concessions instead of pressure being applied to Moscow, and expressed hope that the US together with Europe would find another way to end the war; NV also cites his words about Russian military intelligence officers' claims from the Abu Dhabi talks, which Ukraine's side denied.

German press

German Deutschlandfunk, the public radio station from Germany, reports that the European Court of Auditors criticized weaknesses in EU sanctions against Russia imposed for the attack on Ukraine. According to Deutschlandfunk, the sanctions have reduced direct exports of key military goods to Russia and clearly decreased trade, but considerable trade volumes are still generated, and the EU has recently remained Russia's third-largest trading partner. The station reports that, in the view of auditor Kozlovs, weak enforcement and unclear regulations make it easier to circumvent sanctions, while vague concepts and differences in interpretation between member states favor the exploitation of loopholes. According to Deutschlandfunk, the Court emphasizes that the effectiveness of sanctions requires uniform action by all member states (Ukraine-Krieg - Europäischer Rechnungshof kritisiert Defizite bei Sanktionen gegen Russland - Immer noch erhebliches Handelsvolumen – Deutschlandfunk).

Ukrainian press

The Ukrainian edition of NV (nv.ua) reports that President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected a draft agreement envisaging the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas, because, as he claims, Kyiv is not ready to trust Vladimir Putin. According to NV, Zelensky said at a conference in Dublin that instead of pressure on Moscow, Ukraine is being urged to make territorial concessions, and expressed hope that the US together with Europe would find another way to end the war. NV also cites his words that Russian military intelligence officers, at the Abu Dhabi talks, claimed to control half of Donbas, which the Ukrainian side reportedly refuted with evidence. («Тиск на нас замість тиску на РФ». Зеленський відкинув угоду з виходом України з Донбасу – NV)

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