United States President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Russia for the primary time since returning to the White Home, citing an absence of progress in ceasefire talks to finish Moscow’s struggle on Ukraine. The identical day, European Union leaders accepted their nineteenth Russian sanctions bundle.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated the sanctions would goal Russia’s two largest oil corporations, Lukoil and Rosneft, because of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “refusal to finish this mindless struggle” in Ukraine and Moscow’s “lack of significant dedication” to the peace course of.
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“At present’s actions improve stress on Russia’s vitality sector and degrade the Kremlin’s potential to boost income for its struggle machine and help its weakened economic system,” Bessent stated in a press release on Wednesday.
“We encourage our allies to affix us in and cling to those sanctions,” he stated.
The measures taken by the Division of the Treasury, which additionally sanctioned dozens of Rosneft and Lukoil subsidiaries, block the US property of the designated corporations, whereas stopping People from doing enterprise with them. Notably absent from the US sanctions have been Chinese and Indian buyers of Russian oil.
Trump stated on Wednesday that he would increase considerations about China’s purchases of Russian oil throughout his sit-down with President Xi Jinping on the 2025 APEC summit in South Korea subsequent week.
The US Treasury Division additionally stated it was ready to take additional motion if Russia continues to wage its more-than-three-year struggle in Ukraine.
Russia has but to difficulty a public response to the US measures.
‘No place for Russia in international markets’
Kremlin-controlled Rosneft is Russia’s second-largest firm when it comes to income – behind solely gasoline large Gazprom – nevertheless it has been hit laborious in recent times by sanctions and falling oil costs. In September, it reported a 68 % year-on-year decline in web revenue for the primary half of 2025.
Lukoil, Russia’s third-largest agency and its largest non-state enterprise, additionally posted a 26.5 % fall in earnings for 2024, citing elevated taxation as Moscow funds its struggle effort in Ukraine.
Final week, the UK introduced its personal sanctions towards each corporations, saying that there was “no place for Russia in international markets” and Britain would take all steps to cease Moscow from funding its struggle in Ukraine.
Now’s the time to cease the killing and for a direct ceasefire. Given President Putin’s refusal to finish this mindless struggle, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil corporations that fund the Kremlin’s struggle machine. Treasury is ready to take additional motion if essential… https://t.co/tbJTyf8x2V
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) October 22, 2025
The sanctions come as Trump’s endurance with President Putin seems to be sporting skinny, with ceasefire talks persevering with to make little progress.
Chatting with reporters on the White Home on Wednesday after saying he had postponed his deliberate assembly with Putin in Hungary, Trump stated the timing of the assembly felt off.
“We cancelled the assembly with President Putin – it simply didn’t really feel proper to me,” Trump stated. “It didn’t really feel like we have been going to get to the place we have now to get. So I cancelled it, however we’ll do it sooner or later,” he stated.
The US chief stated he hoped the sanctions wouldn’t must be in place for lengthy, however expressed rising frustration with stalled truce negotiations.
“Each time I converse with Vladimir, I’ve good conversations, after which they don’t go anyplace. They only don’t go anyplace,” he stated.
EU turns up the warmth
Washington’s sanctions have been introduced on the identical day because the EU stated it had additionally accepted its nineteenth bundle of sanctions towards Moscow over its struggle towards Ukraine, together with an EU ban on Russian liquefied pure gasoline (LNG) imports.
“We’re very happy to announce that we have now simply been notified by the remaining member state that it’s now in a position to elevate its reservation on the nineteenth sanctions bundle,” the Danish rotating presidency of the EU stated in a press release.
Slovakia had been holding out after the EU agreed on the ultimate textual content final week. Prime Minister Robert Fico was in search of assurances from the European Fee on excessive vitality costs and aligning local weather targets with the wants of carmakers and heavy trade.
New clauses assembly Slovakia’s calls for have been added to the ultimate communique on the brand new bundle of sanctions prematurely of the EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on Thursday, a Slovak diplomat instructed the Reuters information company.
The brand new bundle will see short-term LNG contracts with Russia finish after six months, and long-term contracts finish from January 1, 2027.
The sanctions additionally add new journey restrictions on Russian diplomats and record 117 extra vessels from Moscow’s shadow fleet of clandestine sanctions-evading vessels, bringing the entire to 558, in addition to banks in Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of employees, celebrated the bundle however stated “we aren’t stopping”.
“Package deal no. 20 is already within the works,” he wrote on Telegram.
“The logic is straightforward – much less cash in Russia means fewer missiles in Ukraine,” he stated.
