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The Trump administration announced new sanctions on Wednesday on Russia’s two biggest oil companies, saying the move is aimed at pressuring Moscow to end its war in Ukraine after diplomatic efforts stalled.
The Treasury Department said the sanctions target Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company and Lukoil OAO, two of Russia’s largest energy producers, according to The Hill.
“I just felt it was time. We waited a long time. I thought that we’d go long before the Middle East,” President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where he appeared alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
“It’s a very big day in terms of what we’re doing,” President Trump said. “These are tremendous sanctions. They’re big, these are against their two big oil companies and we hope they won’t be on for long. We hope that the war will be settled. We just answered having to do with various forms of missiles and everything else that we’re looking at, but we don’t think that’s going to be necessary.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that a “substantial pickup in Russia sanctions” was imminent. In a statement on Wednesday, Bessent said the administration’s action reflects growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to end the conflict.
“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” Bessent said. “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 new restrictions mark one of the administration’s most significant economic steps against Moscow since Trump returned to office, targeting a key source of funding for Russia’s military campaign. The sanctions are expected to limit both companies’ ability to conduct transactions involving U.S. banks and restrict access to global financing.
The moves also follow the president canceling a planned meeting with Putin. President Trump also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week in Washington, D.C.