From Washington, it was a line that seemed to capture both fatigue and resolve. “Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere” – President Donald Trump told reporters this week, moments after announcing sweeping new sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil giants, Rosneft and Lukoil.
The move marks a sharp turn in Trump’s approach to Moscow and a rare moment of convergence with America’s European allies. For months, the president had resisted calls from Congress and Kyiv to escalate economic pressure on Russia, arguing that sanctions would only hurt global markets and diplomacy. Now, with talks at a standstill and Putin unmoved, Trump says “it was time.”
The sanctions, unveiled by the US Treasury on Thursday, target the heart of Russia’s energy industry, aiming to limit the country’s global oil revenues and its ability to finance the war in Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the measures as a necessary escalation to counter Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, accusing Rosneft and Lukoil of bankrolling the Kremlin’s war machine.
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