President Trump is denying any military escalation in Ukraine, but his administration has just hit Vladimir Putin’s wallet with its hardest economic blow yet: sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies.
As the Treasury Department announced it was sanctioning Rosneft and Lukoil, Trump was on social media blasting a story about missile permissions as “FAKE NEWS!” He insisted the “U.S. has nothing to do with those missiles” or what Ukraine does with them.
Despite the denial, the new sanctions mark a significant escalation of economic pressure. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move was necessary due to Putin’s “refusal to end this senseless war” and called for an “immediate ceasefire.”
The sanctions, the first of Trump’s new term, were paired with the cancellation of a planned Trump-Putin summit. The president said the meeting “didn’t feel right” because negotiations were stalled.
The US action goes further than the EU’s, which has not sanctioned the privately-owned Lukoil. However, the EU is preparing its own 19th sanctions package, which will target Russian LNG and its “shadow fleet” of oil tankers.
Trump Denies Escalation, But Hits Putin’s Wallet Hard
