The Trump administration said it is imposing additional sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies and is calling on Moscow to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday the sanctions against Russia-based Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company and Lukoil OAO — as well as their subsidiaries — are intended to target the Kremlin's energy sector and degrade its ability to raise revenue for its war effort.
"Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement. “Given President [Vladimir] 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.”
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The Trump administration said it is also imposing secondary sanctions on Russian financial institutions that "conduct or facilitate significant transactions or provide any service" to the Russian military-industrial base.
"They're massive sanctions," President Trump said Wednesday during a White House meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. "It's sanctions on oil — the two biggest oil companies, among the biggest in the world. But they're Russian — they do a lot of oil. And hopefully it'll push — hopefully [Putin] will become reasonable and hopefully [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy will be reasonable. You know it takes two to tangle, as I say."
"These two people hate each other, you know that better than anybody," President Trump added while gesturing toward Rutte. "And it makes it more difficult than it should be. This should be easier to do. But the level of hatred between Zelenskyy and Putin is very substantial."
Scripps News later asked Rutte if he shares President Trump's view that Putin wants peace in Ukraine, and whether NATO would take any additional steps toward ending the war.
Economic sanctions are biting Russia, Rutte said, as well as the pressure against the ghost fleet that Russia uses to attempt to circumvent embargoes on its exports.
"All of this is having an impact," Rutte said. "So I'm absolutely convinced that with sustained pressure, we will be able to get Putin to the table to agree with a cease fire, and then other talks coming after that."
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The announcement of new sanctions comes a day after President Trump said he was canceling an upcoming meeting with Putin because he didn't believe it would be successful in solidifying a ceasefire agreement. The decision to hold off on the meeting was made following a call earlier this week involving Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“I don’t want to have a wasted meeting,” President Trump said. “I don’t want to have a waste of time — so we’ll see what happens.”
According to The Associated Press, Lavrov made clear after the phone call with Rubio that Russia is opposed to a ceasefire.
