The Trump administration has sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil companies – the first time it has imposed direct costs on Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The move wraps a week in which US President Donald Trump suggested he would provide Ukraine with new weapons, then backtracked, then said he would hold another summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, before backtracking again.
Here’s how we got here:
• October 16: Trump had been loudly musing about whether to provide Ukraine with Tomahawks – powerful, long-range missiles that could pummel targets deep in Russia. A day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was due to visit the White House – hoping to secure the new weapons – Putin initiated a phone call with Trump. The US president then announced plans to meet Putin for a summit in Budapest.
• October 17: Zelensky made his third visit to the White House this year. It was neither as bad as his first, nor as rosy as his second. Trump made clear to Zelensky that he would not receive Tomahawk missiles. Sources told CNN the meeting was tense and “uncomfortable,” with Trump insisting that Ukraine make territorial concessions to Russia to end the war. Zelensky said no. After the meeting, Trump called on Russia and Ukraine to end the war along the current battle lines.
• October 18: European leaders, unnerved by what appeared to be Trump once more shifting towards Putin’s position on the war, vowed their “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine. Preparations for the Trump-Putin summit in Budapest continued.
• Monday: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in preparation for the Budapest summit. Lavrov said he told Rubio that Russia’s position “has not altered” since the Alaska summit: rather than a ceasefire, Russia wants a peace deal that would address the “root causes” of the war.
• Tuesday: CNN reported that Trump’s hopes for a quick meeting with Putin had stalled out. One source said Rubio and Lavrov had divergent expectations about how to end Russia’s war during their phone call. Later, the White House said there were “no plans” for Trump and Putin to meet “in the immediate future.” Asked why, Trump said he didn’t want the meeting to be “a waste of time.”
• Wednesday: Despite the White House shelving the Budapest summit, Moscow said preparations were ongoing. But the Kremlin’s hopes were dashed when the Trump administration announced it was sanctioning Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two biggest oil companies. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions aimed to “degrade” Putin’s war chest, and that the decision was taken because of “Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war.”
• Today: Trump’s decision is a major coup for Ukraine and its European allies, who have spent months pleading with Washington to turn the screw on Russia’s economy. Zelensky hailed Trump’s decision, which came on the same day that the European Union adopted its 19th sanctions package against Russia. The Kremlin has so far, however, tried to shrug off the impact of the new measures.
