“They’re against their two big oil companies, and we hope that they won’t be on for long.
The Treasury Department said the new economic penalties will target Russia’s two largest oil companies, Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company and Lukoil OAO, as well as their subsidiaries.
“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine.
The announcement Wednesday means that Russia’s four largest oil companies have now been hit by U.S. sanctions.
The sanctions announced Wednesday mark the first against Russia since President Trump entered office in January.
In a significant escalation of his recent efforts to pressure Vladimir Putin to halt his war on Ukraine, President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that he “felt it was time” to impose harsher sanctions on Russia.
“In terms of what we’re doing, today is really significant. These fines are very severe. Trump told NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, “These are very big,” during their meeting in the Oval Office. We hope they won’t be on for long because they oppose their two major oil companies. It is our hope that the war will be resolved. “..”.
“I simply sensed that it was time. When asked why he was acting now after months of delays and threats, Trump responded, “We’ve waited a long time.”.
According to the Treasury Department, the two biggest oil companies in Russia, Lukoil OAO and Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company, along with their subsidiaries, will be the focus of the new economic sanctions.
Approximately half of Russia’s total oil production is thought to come from Rosneft and Lukoil.
“An immediate ceasefire and an end to the killing are urgently needed,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a statement. Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two biggest oil companies that finance the Kremlin’s war machine because President Putin has refused to stop this pointless conflict. Treasury is willing to support President Trump’s efforts to put an end to yet another war by taking additional steps if needed. We urge our allies to follow these sanctions and stand with us. “.”.
Bessent told reporters earlier Wednesday that there would be a “substantial pickup” in sanctions against Russia, implying that the action was imminent.
The penalties follow Trump’s reversal of course, claiming to have canceled a second summit with the president of Russia that was scheduled to take place in Hungary in the upcoming weeks. According to the Kremlin, no summit date was ever set.
Trump claimed on Wednesday that he called off the meeting because “It didn’t feel right.”. “.
Trump said, “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get,” but he insisted that he still thought Putin wanted peace and that they would do it “in the future.”.
Sitting next to Trump, NATO’s Rutte said the sanctions increase pressure on Putin to engage in dialogue.
“It’s all about shifting the calculations, making sure Putin realizes that the president’s plan for a ceasefire this weekend—stop where they are, as you literally stated—must be the first step right now, and getting him to truly accept that plan and come to the table before applying pressure. And today, you did precisely this,” Rutte remarked.
With Wednesday’s announcement, the U.S. has now targeted Russia’s four biggest oil companies. S. prohibitions.
The Biden administration sanctioned Russian oil firms Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas in January, but refrained from sanctioning Rosneft and Lukoil due to worries that it would raise energy prices globally.
The companies targeted on Wednesday, Rosneft and Lukoil, are among the largest energy companies in the world, according to experts, and together they export 3-1 million barrels of oil every day. Rosneft is the sole source of 6% of the world’s oil production and almost 50% of all Russian oil production.
The action also sanctions several Russian-based subsidiaries that are primarily owned by Lukoil and Rosneft.
Wednesday’s announcement represents the first sanctions imposed on Russia since President Trump took office in January.
