US President Donald Trump has announced new Russian oil sanctions for the first time since returning to the White House, citing Moscow’s failure to make progress in ceasefire talks to end its war in Ukraine. On the same day, European Union leaders approved their 19th sanctions package against Russia.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions target Russia’s two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, due to President Vladimir Putin’s “refusal to end this senseless war” and “lack of serious commitment” to peace.
“Today’s actions increase pressure on Russia’s energy sector and degrade the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine,” Bessent said on Wednesday. “We encourage our allies to join us and adhere to these sanctions.”
The US Treasury also blacklisted dozens of subsidiaries belonging to Rosneft and Lukoil, freezing their US assets and barring Americans from doing business with them. However, Chinese and Indian buyers of Russian oil were notably absent from the sanctions list.
Trump said he would raise concerns over China’s purchases of Russian oil during his upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping at the 2025 APEC Summit in South Korea. The Treasury added that it is ready to take further action if Russia continues its war in Ukraine.
Russia has not yet issued a response to the Russian oil sanctions.
No place for Russia in global markets
Kremlin-controlled Rosneft is Russia’s second-largest company by revenue, behind only Gazprom, but it has struggled under earlier sanctions and declining oil prices. In September, the firm reported a 68% year-on-year drop in net income for the first half of 2025.
Lukoil, Russia’s largest non-state enterprise, also saw a 26.5% fall in 2024 profits, citing higher taxes as Moscow diverts revenue to fund its war in Ukraine.
Last week, the United Kingdom imposed its own sanctions on both companies, declaring there was “no place for Russia in global markets” and pledging to prevent Moscow from funding its war.
The sanctions reflect growing frustration in Washington, where Trump’s patience with Putin appears to be wearing thin. Speaking to reporters at the White House, he confirmed he had postponed his planned meeting with Putin in Hungary, saying the timing “just didn’t feel right”.
“We cancelled the meeting with President Putin — it just didn’t feel right,” Trump said. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future.”
The US president said he hoped the Russian oil sanctions would not stay in place for long, but admitted frustration with stalled truce talks. “Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere,” he added.
EU turns up the heat
Washington’s Russian oil sanctions coincided with the European Union’s 19th sanctions package, which includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.
“We are very pleased to announce that the remaining member state has lifted its reservation on the 19th sanctions package,” the Danish EU presidency said in a statement.
Slovakia, which had been holding out, sought assurances from the European Commission on energy prices and climate targets for heavy industry. New clauses addressing those demands were added before the EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.
The package will phase out short-term LNG contracts with Russia within six months and end long-term contracts from 1 January 2027. It also introduces new travel restrictions on Russian diplomats, sanctions 117 more ships from Moscow’s “shadow fleet”, and targets banks in Kazakhstan and Belarus involved in sanctions evasion.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, welcomed the move but said “we are not stopping”.
“Package no. 20 is already in the works,” he wrote on Telegram. “The logic is simple — less money in Russia means fewer missiles in Ukraine.”
Also read: Trump threatens India with tariffs over Russian oil
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