Europe alarmed by US plans to ease Russian oil sanctions

European leaders have reacted with alarm to a US plan to ease some oil sanctions on Russia. The intention, in Washington, is to tackle surging energy costs caused by the war in the Middle East, in particular the blockage by Iran of tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 per cent of the world's oil usually transits. With her country at war with Russia, a Ukrainian MP gives us her reaction to this development. Also on the programme: a look at the current state of Iran’s military capabilities as war continues to rage; how spider’s silk could be used to treat nerve damage in humans; and the bid to restore the resting place of saxophone inventor Adolphe Sax.(Photo: General view of the Arcelor Mittal plant in Fos-sur-Mer, Southern France, 12th March 2026. Credit: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA/Shutterstock)