The United States imposed sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil

These are the first restrictions on Russia since the start of Donald Trump's new tenure.

On October 22, the United States tightened sanctions against Russia for the first time since the start of Donald Trump's presidency. The sanctions list includes the largest oil companies - Rosneft, Lukoil and about 50 of their subsidiaries. According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the decision was made due to “the lack of serious Russian commitment to the peace process” in Ukraine.

“Now is the time to stop the killing and immediately declare a ceasefire. The Treasury Department is introducing sanctions against companies that finance the Kremlin’s war machine,” Bessent said.

Trump noted that Washington “has been waiting for a long time” for practical steps towards peace from Russia and now “the time has come to increase the pressure.” Moscow called the sanctions illegal.

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Shares of Rosneft and Lukoil are falling in price

The American Ministry of Finance issued temporary licenses allowing the winding down of operations with Rosneft, Lukoil and their subsidiaries until November 21. The permission also applies to the closure of transactions with foreign gas stations of Lukoil and the termination of transactions on debt obligations and shares.

The restrictions do not affect transactions with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and Tengizchevroil.

Shares of Rosneft and Lukoil fell by 4% after the announcement of sanctions on October 22, and in the morning on the Moscow Exchange they lost another 3%.

Rosneft accounts for about 40% of oil production in Russia, Lukoil about 15%. Experts interviewed by Kommersant believe that sanctions will lead to additional costs, lengthening supply chains and a possible decrease in profits. At the same time, no serious shocks are expected in the market, since companies prepared for such a scenario in advance, analysts say.

Moscow called US sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil counterproductive

Russia criticized Washington's decision to impose blocking sanctions against Rosneft , Lukoil and their subsidiaries. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the move by the Donald Trump administration will lead to negative consequences for the United States and the global economy.

“We view this step as having an exclusively counterproductive nature, including from the point of view of a signal in favor of achieving meaningful negotiated solutions to the Ukrainian conflict,” Zakharova said. According to her, Washington is repeating the mistakes of “its predecessors, who tried to force Russia to sacrifice its national interests through unlawful sanctions.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said that the Russian economy “has already developed immunity” to restrictions.

Earlier, “Verstka” reported that Brussels and Kiev are preparing a new plan to end Russia’s war with Ukraine, the implementation of which is expected to be overseen by Donald Trump. The 12-point plan calls for a ceasefire, an exchange of prisoners and the gradual lifting of sanctions on Russia.

Photo: Bronze seal of the US Treasury on the US Treasury building in Washington, USA, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

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