United States President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Russia for the first time since returning to the White House, citing a lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations to end Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions would target Russia’s two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, due to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “refusal to end this senseless war” in Ukraine and Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment” to the peace process.
“Today’s actions increase pressure on Russia’s energy sector and degrade the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine and support its weakened economy,” Bessent said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions,” he said.
The measures taken by the Department of the Treasury, which also sanctioned dozens of Rosneft and Lukoil subsidiaries, block the US assets of the designated firms, while preventing Americans from doing business with them. Notably absent from the US sanctions were Chinese and Indian buyers of Russian oil.
The US Treasury Department also said it was prepared to take further action if Russia continues to wage its more-than-three-year war in Ukraine.
Russia has yet to issue a public response to the US measures.
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