U.S. sanctions Russia’s two largest oil companies
The Treasury Department announced new sanctions targeting Russia’s oil sector Wednesday, the day after President Donald Trump confirmed that a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Russia’s war with Ukraine was off.
“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement. “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. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”
The two companies being sanctioned are Rosneft and Lukoil and some of their subsidiaries, according to the statement.
Despite the war and battered Russian economy, Rosneft and Lukoil are worth more than $50 billion each and are two of the biggest companies listed on the Moscow Stock Exchange.
A senior White House official told NBC News that Trump was following his gut on the timing of the sanctions. “The president leads by instinct, and he felt the time [for the sanctions] was appropriate,” the official said.
Last week, it appeared that relations between Washington and Moscow were warming after Trump held a call with Putin on Thursday and after Trump did not approve Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles in a meeting on Friday.
Trump’s latest peace push hit a roadblock during a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, according to senior figures on both sides.
Lavrov became “exercised” during the call, a Trump administration official told NBC News. He reiterated Russia’s refusal to agree to an immediate ceasefire before talks begin, a key demand of Kyiv and Europe that the United States has backed.
“I don’t want to have a wasted meeting; I don’t want to have a waste of time,” Trump told reporters Tuesday, confirming earlier reports that the summit with Putin slated for the Hungarian capital of Budapest would be shelved. He declined to give details about how the talks broke down, saying he would “see what happens” as events unfolded.
The president has been under pressure from Zelenskyy, European nations and members of Congress from both parties for months to intensify U.S. sanctions on Russia.
