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 warfare on Ukraine. The identical day, European Union leaders authorized their nineteenth Russian sanctions package deal.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned the sanctions would goal Russia’s two largest oil corporations, Lukoil and Rosneft, attributable to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “refusal to finish this mindless warfare” in Ukraine and Moscow’s “lack of great dedication” to the peace course of.
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“At present’s actions enhance strain on Russia’s power sector and degrade the Kremlin’s capability to boost income for its warfare machine and assist its weakened financial system,” Bessent mentioned in an announcement on Wednesday.
“We encourage our allies to affix us in and cling to those sanctions,” he mentioned.
The measures taken by the Division of the Treasury, which additionally sanctioned dozens of Rosneft and Lukoil subsidiaries, block the US belongings of the designated corporations, whereas stopping Individuals from doing enterprise with them. Notably absent from the US sanctions have been Chinese and Indian buyers of Russian oil.
Trump mentioned 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 mentioned it was ready to take additional motion if Russia continues to wage its more-than-three-year warfare in Ukraine.
Russia has but to difficulty a public response to the US measures.
‘No place for Russia in world markets’
Kremlin-controlled Rosneft is Russia’s second-largest firm when it comes to income – behind solely fuel big Gazprom – but it surely 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 warfare effort in Ukraine.
Final week, the UK introduced its personal sanctions in opposition to each corporations, saying that there was “no place for Russia in world markets” and Britain would take all steps to cease Moscow from funding its warfare in Ukraine.
Now could be the time to cease the killing and for a direct ceasefire. Given President Putin’s refusal to finish this mindless warfare, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil corporations that fund the Kremlin’s warfare machine. Treasury is ready to take additional motion if obligatory… https://t.co/tbJTyf8x2V
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) October 22, 2025
The sanctions come as Trump’s persistence with President Putin seems to be carrying skinny, with ceasefire talks persevering with to make little progress.
Talking to reporters on the White Home on Wednesday after asserting he had postponed his deliberate assembly with Putin in Hungary, Trump mentioned the timing of the assembly felt off.
“We cancelled the assembly with President Putin – it simply didn’t really feel proper to me,” Trump mentioned. “It didn’t really feel like we have been going to get to the place we’ve to get. So I cancelled it, however we’ll do it sooner or later,” he mentioned.
The US chief mentioned he hoped the sanctions wouldn’t should 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 simply don’t go anyplace,” he mentioned.
EU turns up the warmth
Washington’s sanctions have been introduced on the identical day because the EU mentioned it had additionally authorized its nineteenth package deal of sanctions in opposition to Moscow over its warfare in opposition to Ukraine, together with an EU ban on Russian liquefied pure fuel (LNG) imports.
“We’re more than happy to announce that we’ve simply been notified by the remaining member state that it’s now capable of raise its reservation on the nineteenth sanctions package deal,” the Danish rotating presidency of the EU mentioned in an announcement.
Slovakia had been holding out after the EU agreed on the ultimate textual content final week. Prime Minister Robert Fico was searching for assurances from the European Fee on excessive power 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 package deal of sanctions prematurely of the EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on Thursday, a Slovak diplomat advised the Reuters information company.
The brand new package deal 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 whole to 558, in addition to banks in Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of workers, celebrated the package deal however mentioned “we’re not 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 mentioned.
