BREAKING: The US is set to announce a “substantial” increase in sanctions on Russia within the next 24 hours.
Treasury Secretary Bessent called this "a substantial pickup in Russia sanctions."
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) October 22, 2025
President Donald Trump has imposed major new sanctions on Russia after canceling a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in a sign he is losing patience with the ongoing conflict.
‘These are tremendous sanctions,’ the president said in the Oval Office on Wednesday during a meeting with NATO General Secretary Marke Rutte.
The levies specifically target two of Russia’s largest oil companies, as the White House referred to them as the primary funders of ‘the Kremlin’s war machine’.
The sanctions apply to Russia’s Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) and Lukoil OAO (Lukoil) and it’s subsidiaries.
‘Those are against their two big oil companies, and we hope that they won’t be on for long. We hope that the war will be settled,’ Trump said.
When announcing the extraordinary new measures, the Trump administration cited Putin’s ‘lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine’.
Seven people were killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight. Two of the victims were children. Trump had earlier canceled his planned meeting with Putin next week in Budapest.
The sanctions will cut the Russian firms’ access to American banks and financial institutions, which effectively blocks them from accessing and using US dollars.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15217813/donald-trump-russia-sanctions-NATO.html