The Trump administration announced on Wednesday new “massive sanctions” against the Russian oil industry, aiming to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and end Moscow’s brutal war against Ukraine.
The sanctions against oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil came after months of appeals from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as bipartisan pressure on Trump to impose tougher sanctions on its oil industry, the economic engine that has allowed Russia to continue waging the conflict despite being largely isolated internationally.
“I hope he becomes reasonable,” Trump said about Putin shortly after the Treasury Department announced the sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies and their subsidiaries. “And I hope Zelensky is reasonable too. You know, it takes two to tango, as they say.”
The U.S. government announced the sanctions while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was in Washington for talks with Trump. The military alliance has been coordinating the supply of weapons to Ukraine, many of them purchased from the United States by Canada and European countries.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the new sanctions are a direct response to Moscow’s refusal to end its “senseless war” and an attempt to choke “the Kremlin war machine.”
Bessent added that the Treasury Department is prepared to take additional measures if necessary to support Trump’s efforts to end the war. “We encourage our allies to join us and adhere to these sanctions.”
The announcement came after Russian drones and missiles struck locations across Ukraine, killing at least six people, including a woman and her two young daughters.
The attack occurred in waves from Tuesday night until Wednesday and targeted at least eight Ukrainian cities, as well as a village in the capital region of Kiev, where a strike set fire to the house where the mother and her 6-month-old and 12-year-old daughters were staying, said regional head Mykola Kalashnyk.
At least 29 people, including five children, were injured in Kiev, which appeared to be the main target, authorities said.
Russian drones also struck a kindergarten in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, on Wednesday when children were in the building, said Mayor Ihor Terekhov. One person was killed and six were injured, but no children were physically hurt, he said.
Rutte, in his Oval Office appearance, took care to emphasize that the weaponry the U.S. is selling to Europe to supply to Ukraine has been essential in helping to prevent many attacks like the one that devastated the kindergarten.
“We need to ensure that air defense systems are operational, and we need American systems to do that, and the Europeans are paying for it,” Rutte said. “It’s exactly the kind of action we needed, and the president is doing it and trying everything to get this job done.”
Zelenskyy said many of the children were in shock. He said the attack targeted 10 distinct regions: Kiev, Odessa, Chernigov, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Cherkasy, and Sumy.
Stalled Peace Efforts
Trump’s efforts to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than three years ago have not succeeded. Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with Putin’s refusal to yield on his conditions for a deal after Ukraine offered a ceasefire and direct peace negotiations.
Trump said on Tuesday that his plan for a quick meeting with Putin was on hold because he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time.” European leaders have accused Putin of stalling.
Meanwhile, in what appeared to be a public reminder of Russia’s nuclear arsenals, Putin commanded exercises with the country’s strategic nuclear forces on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy urged the European Union, the United States, and the G7 to force Russia to the negotiating table. “Pressure on Moscow can only be exerted through sanctions, long-range missile capabilities, and coordinated diplomacy among all our partners,” he said.
More international economic sanctions on Russia are likely to be discussed on Thursday at an EU summit in Brussels. On Friday, a meeting of the Willing Nations Coalition—a group of 35 countries supporting Ukraine—will take place in London.
Zelenskyy attributed Trump’s statements that he was considering supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to Putin’s willingness to meet. The U.S. president later said he was cautious about resorting to supplying U.S. Tomahawks due to concerns over available stockpiles.
Russia has made no significant progress on the battlefield, where a war of attrition has come at a high cost to Russian infantry and Ukraine is short on manpower, military analysts say. Both sides have invested in long-range strike capabilities to hit rear areas.
Ukraine Claims Strike on Key Russian Chemical Plant
The Ukrainian Army General Staff reported that its forces attacked a chemical plant on Tuesday night in Russia’s Bryansk region using British-made air-launched Storm Shadow missiles. The plant is a key part of Russia’s military-industrial complex, producing gunpowder, explosives, missile fuel, and ammunition, the ministry said.
Russian regional authorities confirmed the attack but did not mention the plant.
Ukraine also claimed nighttime strikes on the Saransk Mechanical Plant in Mordovia, Russia, which produces components for ammunition and mines, and on the Makhachkala oil refinery in the Russian republic of Dagestan.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 33 Ukrainian drones in various regions overnight, including around St. Petersburg. Eight airports temporarily suspended flights due to the attacks.
In other developments, Zelenskyy arrived in Oslo, Norway, on Wednesday and then flew to Stockholm, where he and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson signed an agreement exploring the possibility of Ukraine purchasing up to 150 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets over the next decade or more. Ukraine has already received U.S.-made F-16s and French Mirages.
Trump Says Russia Is on Agenda for Upcoming Talks with Xi
The U.S. president is set to meet next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping when the two leaders travel to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Beijing has not provided direct support to Russia in the war but has increased sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics, and other technologies that Moscow, in turn, is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft, and other armaments for use in its war against Ukraine, according to a U.S. assessment.
Trump said he believes the Russia-Ukraine war would end if all NATO countries stopped buying Russian oil and imposed 50% to 100% tariffs on China for its purchases of Russian oil.
“I think he could have a big influence on Putin,” Trump said about Xi Jinping.
Source: npr.org by AP