The United States has taken a bold new step in its approach to the ongoing war in Ukraine, announcing sweeping sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies—Rosneft and Lukoil—on October 22, 2025. This move, which comes after months of hesitation from the White House, is designed to pressure Moscow into negotiating a peace deal and agreeing to an immediate ceasefire. The sanctions, which were revealed just a day after President Donald Trump indefinitely shelved a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, represent a marked shift in U.S. foreign policy toward the Kremlin.
“Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don’t go anywhere,” President Trump told reporters, expressing his growing frustration with the lack of progress in peace talks. According to BBC, Trump explained that he had hoped to broker a deal by keeping sanctions off the table, but felt compelled to act after repeated diplomatic dead ends. “I just felt it was time. We waited a long time,” he said, describing the new sanctions package as “tremendous.” Trump also signaled that the measures could be swiftly withdrawn if Russia agrees to halt its war in Ukraine.
The two targeted oil giants, Rosneft and Lukoil, are central to Russia’s economy and its war effort. Together, they export 3.1 million barrels of oil per day, with Rosneft alone responsible for nearly half of Russia’s oil production—an output that accounts for 6% of global supply, according to UK government estimates. Russia’s biggest oil customers include China, India, and Turkey, and Trump has called on these countries to stop buying Russian oil in order to ramp up the economic pressure on the Kremlin.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has been calling for such measures for months. In comments reported by CNN, Zelensky welcomed the sanctions as “very important” and a “good signal” from the U.S., reiterating his belief that increased pressure is necessary to bring Moscow to the negotiating table. He argued that a ceasefire is possible if other nations follow suit and apply more economic force. “More pressure must be applied on Moscow to bring it to the negotiating table,” Zelensky said ahead of an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.
While the U.S. administration has tried to position itself as a neutral mediator in the conflict—moving away from the unequivocal support for Ukraine seen under former President Joe Biden—Trump’s patience appears to have run out. The White House had previously avoided imposing direct sanctions on Russian energy giants, arguing that such measures would only be effective if European nations also stopped buying Russian oil. But as the war drags into its third year, and with European reliance on Russian energy steadily decreasing, the calculus in Washington has shifted.
According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the sanctions are necessary because of “Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war.” Bessent emphasized that Rosneft and Lukoil are major sources of funding for the Kremlin’s “war machine.” The new measures are designed not only to squeeze Russia’s economy but also to send a clear message to Moscow about the costs of continued aggression.
The Kremlin, however, has brushed off the latest sanctions. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova dismissed them as “entirely counterproductive,” insisting that they would not “pose any particular problems” for Russia. Zakharova also criticized the European Union’s parallel sanctions efforts, claiming that “the sanctions they’re imposing against Russia are primarily working against the EU.”
Not all Russian officials struck a conciliatory tone. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s security council and a former president, compared the Trump administration’s actions to an act of war. “The United States is our adversary, and their talkative ‘peacemaker’ has now fully embarked on the warpath against Russia,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram, according to CNN.
The European Union, for its part, has kept pace with Washington. On October 23, 2025, EU countries formally adopted their 19th package of sanctions against Russia, including a ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas by 2028. The package was approved after Slovakia dropped its opposition, and EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen hailed the move as “a clear signal from both sides of the Atlantic that we will keep up collective pressure on the aggressor.” The UK, too, had imposed similar sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil the previous week, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves declaring, “There is no place for Russian oil on global markets.”
Despite these mounting economic penalties, fighting on the ground in Ukraine has continued unabated. On the same day the U.S. sanctions were announced, Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least two people, while an earlier intense bombardment claimed the lives of at least seven, including children. Ukraine has also stepped up its own efforts to hit Russia’s energy infrastructure, targeting oil refineries and related facilities in a bid to weaken the Russian economy.
Diplomatic efforts remain fraught. Trump had initially floated the idea of meeting Putin in Budapest after an unscheduled call from the Russian leader, but ultimately decided against it following a conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “I didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get,” Trump said, explaining his decision to cancel the meeting. He also declined to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles, citing their complexity and the extensive training required to use them effectively—a move that left Zelensky disappointed, but still hopeful that U.S. policy might shift again in the future.
The question of what a peace deal might look like remains unsettled. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who was at the White House when the sanctions were announced, praised the move for “putting more pressure” on Putin. Rutte was expected to discuss a 12-point plan formulated by European allies and Kyiv, which envisions freezing the current front lines, returning deported children, conducting prisoner exchanges, and establishing a war recovery fund for Ukraine. The plan also includes security guarantees and a clear pathway for Ukraine to join the EU. However, Moscow has refused to accept a ceasefire along the current front, insisting that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from parts of the eastern Donbas region still controlled by Kyiv. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made clear that Russia’s position remains unchanged.
As the U.S. and its allies tighten the economic screws on Moscow, the world is watching to see whether this new phase of pressure will finally force a diplomatic breakthrough—or simply harden positions further on both sides. For now, the sanctions have sent a powerful signal, but the path to peace remains as elusive as ever.
