The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Russia’s oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil after Putin refused to end the war in Ukraine — a dramatic turn marking Washington’s hardest line yet against Moscow’s energy empire.
WASHINGTON / KYIV — The United States has imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, escalating its pressure campaign on Moscow after President Vladimir Putin rejected calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The move — the first major U.S. sanctions against Russia since Trump’s return to the White House — signals a sharp pivot from cautious diplomacy to economic confrontation.
U.S. officials framed the decision as a direct strike at the financial lifeline of the Kremlin’s war machine, with the aim of forcing Moscow to the negotiating table.
“Now is the time to stop the killing,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, unveiling the measures. “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 sanctions freeze U.S.-based assets of both firms and prohibit any American or allied entity from doing business with them.
They follow a similar British move last week, though the EU’s sanctions remain partial, with Hungary and Slovakia still buying Russian oil through exemptions.
Trump, meeting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, confirmed that his planned summit with Putin had been cancelled, describing the decision as “necessary” given the lack of progress in peace talks.
“It didn’t feel right to me,” Trump said. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get.”
Behind the sanctions lies a deepening frustration within Washington over Putin’s “maximalist demands” — including calls for Kyiv to surrender parts of the Donbas and limit military cooperation with NATO.
The move marks a clear reversal from earlier attempts to push Ukraine toward negotiations.
Financial markets reacted swiftly: oil prices rose 2%, while European gas futures spiked on fears of retaliatory cuts. Energy analysts say the sanctions could disrupt Russian crude exports, which still account for roughly one-third of Moscow’s wartime revenues.
Former U.S. sanctions architect Edward Fishman called the move “a long overdue strike at the heart of Russia’s war economy,” but warned that enforcement would be key.
“If Washington follows through, this could trigger a serious contraction in the Kremlin’s funding capacity,” he said.
The EU’s upcoming 19th sanctions package, due within days, is expected to mirror Washington’s stance — targeting Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, expanding financial restrictions, and banning Russian LNG imports.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the U.S. and EU were now “in lockstep.” “This is a clear signal from both sides of the Atlantic,” she said, “that we will keep up collective pressure on the aggressor.”
For Trump, the decision also doubles as a test of resolve. With Moscow still waging heavy bombardments on Ukrainian cities and peace talks frozen, the sanctions underline a new phase: Washington’s readiness to use economic power where diplomacy failed.
