The Treasury Department announced a new round of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, targeting the country’s two largest oil companies that “fund the Kremlin’s war machine.”
The sanctions target Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company, Lukoil OAO, and dozens of their subsidiaries. In a press release, the Trump administration said the sanctions were necessary because of “Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.”
“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “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.”
Just before the sanctions were announced, Bessent discussed the move in an interview on Fox Business on Wednesday afternoon, saying it will be “one of the largest sanctions that we have done against the Russian Federation.”
“President Putin has not come to the table in an honest and forthright manner, as we’d hoped,” he added. “There were talks in Alaska. President Trump walked away when he realized that things were not moving forward. There have been behind-the-scenes talks, but I believe that the president is disappointed at where we are in these talks.”
.@SecScottBessent: “President Putin has not come to the table in an honest and forthright manner, as we’d hoped… we are going to be announcing a substantial increase in Russia sanctions… one of the largest sanctions that we have done against the Russian Federation.” pic.twitter.com/V4I8lg1WJi
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 22, 2025
U.S. sanctions on Russia come as the European Union approved the 19th batch of sanctions against Moscow on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The latest E.U. sanctions package includes a ban on liquefied natural gas imports from Russia. The sanctions will end short-term liquefied natural gas contracts with Russian companies after six months, while long-term contracts will end beginning on January 1, 2027.
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In July, Trump threatened to punish Russia with sanctions if it did not agree to end the war within 50 days. After meeting with Putin in Alaska in August, Trump said he was still considering “very serious” sanctions on Russia.
The Trump administration finally moved forward with sanctions after a planned second summit with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was placed on hold on Tuesday. Trump had a “lengthy” call with Putin last Thursday, after which he announced that he would meet with the Russian dictator for another round of peace talks in Budapest in the near future. On Tuesday, the White House said that following a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, “there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future.”
Trump commented on the summit in the Oval Office later on Tuesday, leaving the door open for a meeting with Putin, but adding, “I don’t want to have a wasted meeting. I don’t want to have a waste of time.”
Trump also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, one day after his call with Putin, to discuss next steps in the peace negotiations. Zelensky has long been asking the United States for Tomahawk missiles, which would allow Kyiv to fire at targets deep inside Russia, but Trump suggested during the meeting with Zelensky that he wasn’t ready to provide Ukraine with the long-range cruise missiles.
