The pendulum of the Trump administration’s Russia policy has swung sharply against the Kremlin, with the White House cancelling a summit with Vladimir Putin and imposing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies.
This move marks a dramatic shift from earlier attempts to coerce Ukraine into a peace deal and reflects growing impatience with Putin’s “maximalist demands.” The sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil are the first of Trump’s new term and are designed to cripple the funding for Russia’s military.
“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, announcing the sanctions. He warned that the Treasury is “prepared to take further action if necessary” to support Trump’s efforts to end the war.
President Trump personally confirmed the diplomatic freeze from the Oval Office. “I cancelled it,” he said of the planned Putin summit. “It didn’t feel right to me.”
The decision was hailed as a victory by Ukraine and European allies. The EU’s Ursula von der Leyen praised the “clear signal” of unity, as the EU readies its own 19th sanctions package, which will target Russian LNG and its illicit shipping network.