US President Donald Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft as his frustration grows with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war. The move came after EU countries on Wednesday approved a 19th package of sanctions on Moscow for its war against Ukraine that included a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports. Trump\u2019s measures also followed Britain\u2019s sanctioning last week of Rosneft and Lukoil. The US Treasury Department said it was prepared to take further action as it called on Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire in Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022. \u201cGiven President Putin\u2019s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia\u2019s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin\u2019s war machine,\u201d Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. \u201cWe encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.\u201d Oil prices jumped more than $2 a barrel after the US measures, with Brent crude futures extending gains after settlement, rising to about $64. The sanctions are a major policy shift for Trump, who had not put sanctions on Russia over the war and instead relied on trade measures. Trump earlier this year imposed additional 25% tariffs on goods from India in retaliation for its purchasing discounted Russian oil. The US has not imposed tariffs on China, another major buyer of Russian oil. A $60 price cap on Russian oil imposed by Western countries after Russia\u2019s invasion has shifted Russia\u2019s oil customers in recent years from Europe to Asia. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday he had cancelled a planned summit in Hungary with Putin because it didn\u2019t feel like it was the right time. Trump also said he hopes the sanctions on Russian oil companies will not need to be in place for a long time. Trump said last year that he likes to remove sanctions quickly because of the risks to the dominance of the dollar in global transactions that the measures can bring. Russia has often asked for payments for oil in other currencies. \u2018Can\u2019t be one and done\u2019Analysts said the measures were a big step and long overdue. \u201cThis can\u2019t just be one and done,\u201d said Edward Fishman, a former US official who is now a senior research scholar at Columbia University. He said the question was whether the US now threatens sanctions on anyone doing business with Rosneft and Lukoil. Jeremy Paner, a former sanctions investigator at the Treasury Department and now a partner at law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed, said the absence of banks and Indian or Chinese oil purchasers in Wednesday\u2019s sanctions means they \u201cwill not get Putin\u2019s attention.\u201d A senior Ukrainian official, however, said the step was \u201cgreat news\u201d and that the two Russian energy companies were among US sanctions targets proposed by Kyiv in the past. The Treasury also sanctioned dozens of Rosneft and Lukoil subsidiaries. The measures block US assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them. The Russian embassy in Washington and the Russian mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sanctions. EU targets Russia\u2019s shadow fleetThe EU\u2019s LNG ban will take effect in two stages: short-term contracts will end after six months, and long-term contracts from January 1, 2027. The full ban comes a year earlier than the Commission\u2019s proposed roadmap to end the bloc\u2019s reliance on Russian fossil fuels. The new EU package also adds new travel restrictions on Russian diplomats and lists 117 more vessels from Moscow\u2019s shadow fleet, mostly tankers, bringing the total to 558. The listings include banks in Kazakhstan and Belarus, the presidency said. EU diplomatic sources told Reuters that four entities linked to China\u2019s oil industry will be listed, but the names will not be made public until the official adoption on Thursday. These include two oil refineries, a trading company and an entity which helps in the circumvention of oil and other sectors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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