Trump sanctions Russia's two largest oil companies after Ukraine peace talks stall

On Oct. 22, 2025, President Donald Trump announced U.S. Treasury designations that put Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company and Public Joint-Stock Company Oil Company Lukoil on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. He spoke in the Oval Office and said, "I just felt it was time. We waited a long time."

The Treasury Department's Oct. 22, 2025 press materials and OFAC action listed more than 30 majority-owned subsidiaries tied to Rosneft and Lukoil and applied the >50% ownership blocking rule. The designations block any property subject to U.S. jurisdiction and bar U.S. persons from dealing with the listed entities.

Treasury published accompanying compliance guidance and narrow general licenses to permit limited wind-down and maintenance activities while setting reporting deadlines for U.S. persons holding blocked property. Treasury warned that foreign financial institutions that materially facilitate significant transactions with the designated entities could face penalties or other U.S. enforcement actions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a public statement on Oct. 22, 2025 saying the United States remains open to diplomatic engagement and still wants to meet with Russia even as it imposes these sanctions. The administration combined hard economic measures with messaging that left a diplomatic channel open.

Ukraine's U.S. ambassador Olha Stefanishyna publicly welcomed the designations and framed them as a major step to increase pressure on Moscow to return to substantive negotiations. Allied leaders including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly endorsed coordinated pressure against Russian energy firms.

Reporting and market analysis following the Oct. 22 action noted immediate market reactions — share-price declines for the designated firms and concern among counterparties — and emphasized limits to unilateral U.S. sanctions because major importers like China and India could continue buying Russian oil. Estimates cited in reporting put combined exports for Rosneft and Lukoil near 3.1 million barrels per day, though per-company figures vary across sources.

Legally, the designations rely on Executive Order 14024 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The action follows earlier U.S. sanctions practice but is notable because it targets flagship energy companies directly and uses broad SDN blocking authority rather than narrower sectoral measures.