In a significant hardening of its posture against the Kremlin, the Trump administration has sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil. The move, aimed at crippling Russia’s war economy, comes just one day after President Trump confirmed he had canceled a planned summit with Vladimir Putin.
Speaking in the Oval Office with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump was direct about the diplomatic breakdown. “We cancelled the meeting with President Putin,” he stated. “It didn’t feel right to me. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get so I cancelled it.” While he left the door open for a future meeting, the immediate message was one of deep frustration.
That frustration was quickly channeled into economic action. The Treasury Department announced the new sanctions, framing them as a direct response to Putin’s intractability. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the penalties were necessary “given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war” and were designed to cut revenues that “fund the Kremlin’s war machine.”
Bessent’s statement called for an “immediate ceasefire” and “an end to the killing.” He also made a point to “encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions,” a clear nod to the divisions within the EU on targeting Lukoil.
This dual-pronged approach—freezing diplomacy and escalating economic pressure—marks a distinct “swing of the pendulum” for the administration. After returning to office, Trump’s policy had fluctuated between coercing Kyiv to sue for peace and expressing frustration with Putin’s “maximalist demands.” This move shows frustration has won out.
The sanctions were praised by European allies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a “clear signal from both sides of the Atlantic that we will keep up collective pressure on the aggressor.” She confirmed the EU is also moving forward with its 19th sanctions package.
This new EU package is expected to complement the US action by banning Russian LNG, targeting the “shadow fleet” of tankers used to evade price caps, and blacklisting banks that help Russia circumvent existing financial restrictions.
The sanctions on Rosneft are particularly significant. One former senior State Department sanctions official, Edward Fishman, noted that Rosneft “was the most important Russian firm not yet under full US sanctions.” The key question now, he added, is whether the US will enforce these sanctions against foreign traders, banks, and refineries, which is essential for a “long-term, strategic squeeze.”
