Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies in a major policy shift.
The restrictions have been unveiled due to what US treasury secretary Scott Bessent called “Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine”.
The move marks a significant change for the Trump administration, which has veered between pressuring Moscow and taking a more conciliatory approach aimed at securing peace in Ukraine.
Here’s everything you need to know about the sanctions.
Which companies have been targeted?
The new restrictions have been slapped on Rosneft and Lukoil – Russia’s two biggest oil companies – as well as dozens of subsidiaries.
The two companies export 3.1 million barrels of oil a day, with Rosneft alone responsible for almost half of Russia’s oil production.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control described Rosneft as being “a vertically integrated energy company specialising in the exploration, extraction, production, refining, transport and sale of petroleum, natural gas and petroleum products”.
It added: “Lukoil engages in the exploration, production, refining, marketing and distribution of oil and gas in Russia and internationally.”
After the US announced the sanctions, Europe added its own restrictions on imports and tightened loopholes in shipping to pile pressure on the Kremlin.
What impact are the sanctions having – and could this affect the UK?
The price of oil jumped as the US sanctions hit Russian production and the Danish EU presidency announced a separate programme of penalties on Russia by the bloc.
After hitting a five-month low on Monday, business and economics reporter Sarah Taaffe-Maguire reported the benchmark oil price rose 5%.
The US benchmark crude oil gained $2.70 to $61.21 per barrel shortly after the sanctions were announced.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose $2.85 to $65.44 per barrel.
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Associated expectations of lower oil flows can bring up the price.
Oil is consistently Russia’s number one export, and the cash it generates for the country’s economy has allowed it to continue its grinding conflict in Ukraine even as it finds itself largely internationally isolated.
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The knock-on effect could mean oil prices rise in the UK, as the fossil fuel is still involved in the production of most goods.
Sustained higher prices for a barrel of oil can typically be seen at the forecourt pumps in about 10 days.
The UK and EU had also put sanctions of their own on Rosneft and Lukoil, and Mr Trump’s move brings the US in line with them for the first time since he came back into office, according to Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett.
Why has Trump done this now?
Trump had resisted pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to impose stronger sanctions on Russia, hoping Mr Putin would agree to end the fighting.
Speaking in the Oval Office after the announcement, Mr Trump told reporters: “I just felt it was time.”
He also said that while he had a “very good relationship” with his Russian counterpart, he had cancelled a planned meeting with him as “it didn’t feel right to me”.
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In a sign of growing frustration, he told reporters: “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it. But we’ll do it in the future.
“I have good conversations. And then, they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere.”
He also hinted that the sanctions could be lifted if the Russian president was prepared to cooperate in peace talks.
“We hope that they [the sanctions] won’t be on for long,” he said in the Oval Office. “We hope that the war will be settled.
“Hopefully he’ll [Mr Putin] become reasonable,” he added. “And hopefully Zelenskyy will be reasonable, too. You know, it takes two to tango, as they say.”
Ukraine’s president has praised the decision, saying the sanctions are “a clear signal that prolonging the war and spreading terror come at a cost”.
Could the sanctions bring Putin to the negotiating table?
US correspondent David Blevins described the move as a “punch to the gut” of Moscow’s war economy.
He said that oil is the bloodstream of Russia, adding that the Trump Treasury had cut off the blood flow.
Read analysis:
Trump’s sanctions far more than slap on the wrist
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He said Mr Trump’s sanctions are “more than punishment – they’re a strategic gamble to corner Putin – but the margin of error is razor thin”.
“If energy prices surge or allied unity splinters, Mr Trump could find himself on the ropes,” he suggested.
“The White House is gambling that the geopolitical payoff will ultimately outweigh the domestic sting.”
Bennett agreed that the sanctions were a risk, saying there were “concerns it would just hike global energy prices with customers back home [in the US] paying the price as well”.
“It has had that effect already, it has boosted oil prices globally,” he added.
“I think there’s now a belief that this is kind of worth the short term pain, worth paying the price for, and there’s a hope that it will have the desired effect and push Russia towards peace and towards a ceasefire.”
