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Trump Imposes “Tremendous” Russian Sanctions as EU Adopts New Package

Trump Imposes “Tremendous” Russian Sanctions as EU Adopts New Package

World Maritime
Trump Imposes “Tremendous” Russian Sanctions as EU Adopts New Package

The Trump administration launched its first significant package of sanctions on Russia’s energy industry, followed today by the EU’s adoption of its 19th package of sanctions. Trump and leaders in the EU expressed their frustration at the lack of progress on peace talks for Ukraine and Russia’s escalation of attacks, saying the time had come for increased pressure and to degrade Russia’s ability to raise revenues.

Speaking with reporters in the White House, Trump expressed his concerns that the talk with Vladimir Putin “don’t go anywhere” and said the efforts announced by the U.S. Treasury were “massive” and “tremendous sanctions.” He said he hoped it would be short-lived and the actions would push the peace efforts forward.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control listed two of Russia’s primary oil and energy companies, Rosneft Oil and Lukoil, as well as a long list of their subsidiaries. The US cited “Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process” and said that “a permanent peace depends entirely on Russia’s willingness to negotiate in good faith.”

“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” said Secretary of the Treasury 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.”

The U.S. move followed a similar action a week ago by the UK, which, for the first time, also directly sanctioned Russian oil exporters Rosneft and Lukoil. The UK had previously sanctioned Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas. The EU today also included efforts to tighten its existing transaction ban on Rosneft and Gazprom Neft as part of its latest sanctioned package.

The price of crude oil reversed a month-long decline and jumped today in response to the actions. Speculation was that the new sanctions, combined with pressure on India, could dramatically curtail Russian oil exports. Unconfirmed reports said India, which has been the largest oil buyer, has agreed to end its imports. The news caused the price of oil to jump more than five percent to over $62 a barrel.

The Council of the EU announced today that it had adopted its latest sanction package, also broadly targeting the Russian energy sector. It includes the much-talked-about ban on imports of Russian LNG starting in January 2027 for long-term contracts and within six months for short-term contracts. In addition to the tightened efforts against Rosneft and Gazprom Neft, the EU also listed for the first time two Chinese refineries, which it said are significant buyers.

The EU also increased the pressure on the shadow fleet of tankers, adding 117 more vessels, bringing its total to 557 vessels. It continues to target the non-EU tankers in the shadow fleet with port restrictions and bans on providing services to the vessels. It also introduced a ban against reinsurance on shadow fleet tankers and listed the providers of false flags.

The pressure on Lukoil also extended to an UAE-based company, which the EU said is an enabler in the transport of oil. The EU also targeted a Russian port operator, a shipbuilder for Sovcomflot, the movement of Russian diplomats in the EU, the finance sector, Belarus for its support of Russia, and more.

Reports said the tipping point for Donald Trump came as plans for a summit with Putin in Budapest in the coming weeks appeared to fall apart. Reports said his patience has worn out in the efforts to bring an end to the war. He made his remarks as he was meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

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