US government imposes sanctions on Russian oil companies

The US government is imposing new sanctions on major Russian oil companies. In view of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s refusal to end the war against Ukraine, his ministry is imposing punitive measures against Russia’s two largest oil companies, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is quoted as saying in a statement. These financed Russia’s war machine. According to the ministry, the sanctions are aimed at the Russian state-owned company Rosneft – led by Igor Sechin, a close confidant of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin – and Lukoil. Subsidiaries of the two companies in Russia are also affected.

Shortly after the sanctions were announced, US President Donald Trump also said that he had canceled the previously promised imminent meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Budapest. It didn’t feel like it was getting to where it needed to be, the Republican said at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the White House. According to Trump, there will be a meeting between him and Putin in the future.

The US President has once again changed his position in efforts to end the Russian war against Ukraine. Just last week, after a phone call with Putin, Trump surprisingly announced that he wanted to meet the Russian in the Hungarian capital Budapest to discuss the war in Ukraine. The Republican initially did not mention a time – but shortly afterwards he spoke of “probably in the next two weeks”.

Shortly before the announcement of the new US sanctions against Russia, it had already become known that the EU would also impose new punitive measures on Russia: Shortly before their summit meeting this Thursday, the EU states agreed on a far-reaching tightening of sanctions against Russia. The plans include, among other things, further reducing Russia’s income from the sale of gas and oil, as the current Danish EU Council Presidency announced in Brussels.

According to the Treasury Department, the US sanctions in practice prohibit any economic interaction with Rosneft, Lukoil and their subsidiaries – not only for US companies, but also for foreign banks or business partners connected to the sanctioned actors.

All assets of the affected companies in the USA or owned by American citizens will be frozen. Companies that are at least half owned by the sanctioned companies are also automatically blocked. US companies and citizens are no longer allowed to do business with the companies without express permission. Violations of these requirements can be punished legally – even if they occur unintentionally.

The Finance Ministry also warns that foreign banks could also be targeted if they continue to conduct significant business with Russia’s energy or defense industries. These institutions could then be excluded from the US financial system.