The US has sanctioned Russia's two largest oil and gas companies.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on October 22 that President Donald Trump had imposed severe sanctions on Russia's two largest oil and gas companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.
The sanctions were announced one day after the summit between President Trump and his Russian counterpart Putin, scheduled to be held in Budapest, Hungary, was postponed due to Washington's dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in finding a solution to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Speaking after the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, President Trump expressed hope that “these very heavy sanctions” would “not last” and that the Russia-Ukraine conflict “will be resolved.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox Business News before issuing an official statement, Bessent asserted that the move was "one of the biggest sanctions we (the U.S.) have ever imposed on the Russian Federation."
The US sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil mark a major shift in Trump's policy, which had previously avoided imposing sanctions on Russia for its special military operation in Ukraine, instead relying on trade measures. This is the first time in his second term in the White House that President Trump has sanctioned Russia in connection with the Ukraine issue.
The Russian Embassy in the United States and the Russian Mission to the United Nations have not yet commented on Washington's new sanctions.
Also on October 22, Denmark, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU), announced that member states had agreed to approve the 19th package of sanctions against Russia.
According to Denmark, the remaining EU member states have “withdrawn their reservations regarding the 19th package of sanctions,” thus initiating the EU Council’s written approval process. If there are no objections, “the sanctions package will be adopted at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow (October 23, local time).”
In the past, Western countries have repeatedly imposed sanctions on Russia in connection with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow has opposed these sanctions and taken retaliatory actions.
