On October 22nd, the Trump administration announced the toughest sanctions on Russia yet: on two major energy companies.
Citing Russia’s “lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Bessent announced this slew of sanctions directly targeted at companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, and their subsidiaries. Sanctions are slated to go into effect on November 21st, 2025.
“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an official press release. “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin lambasted the sanctions as a provocation that will carry “consequences.” Treasury Secretary Bessent, however, isn’t taking the bait.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what I voted for.
These sanctions follow the August 2025 Alaska Summit, where Russia - unsurprisingly - failed to agree to peace with Ukraine. After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump grew angry and flustered with the former KGB agent’s rants about medieval figures Rurik of Novgorod, Yaroslav the Wise, and 17th-century Cossack chieftain Bohdan Khmelnytskyi–figures the dictator cites as his justification to reabsorb Ukraine. This is why talks in Anchorage were abruptly cut short.
Earlier this month, Russia, naturally, rejected American calls for a ceasefire as a condition for meeting in Budapest, Hungary. Budapest–the location of the doomed Budapest Memorandum of 1994 - talks are now delayed indefinitely. My advice: I hope a different city with less of a storied past against Ukraine - say Rome, Italy - is selected as a future site for trilateral peace talks. Mr. Putin doesn’t have the cards; President Trump and his administration do.
Here’s why these new U.S.-imposed sanctions matter: energy, fueling Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, is what keeps the country’s war machine alive. Oil and gas are (barely) keeping Russia, a nation bogged down by inflation and a weak ruble, afloat.
The European Union (EU) has long called for tougher sanctions against Russia but stopped short of replicating Secretary Bessent’s actions–until now. However, following this announcement, it was revealed that Germany wants to shield their Rosneft subsidiary from sanctions. Unbelievable. The Baltics and Poland, in contrast, have already taken steps to be energy independent of Russia, while the rest of Europe is playing catch-up. The EU - although not a monolith - can’t be funding both sides of the war in Ukraine by importing Russian energy. Talk about a double-edged sword.
Spain, Belgium, Hungary and Slovakia, for example, still depend on Russian oil and gas imports, despite the EU pledging, finally, to fully wean itself off Kremlin imports by 2027. Still, another year of importing Russian oil and gas will prolong Putin’s war of aggression. Make it make sense.
I’ve long argued at Townhall that this dependency on Russian energy is a direct result of Brussels’ net-zero climate policies. As I noted in May:
While cutting dependence on Russian energy is laudable and necessary, the insistence to pivot to “clean energy” replacements could invite further reliance on the aggressor. Why? Utility-scale solar and wind are part-time sources. Baseload power must be reliable, abundant, and secure. Only nuclear energy fits the definition of being a scalable “clean energy” source, since it works 93% of the year without interruptions. Even natural gas and the oft-vilified coal are more reliable, abundant, and secure than the aforementioned renewables. Yet, some EU nations have shut down power plants - including nuclear plants - in the name of decarbonization. Talk about a self-inflicted problem.
The Trump administration understands that Russia and Putin are unserious about peace in Ukraine. But a couple of our fellow conservative travelers don’t see this. Russia is Neo- Soviet and run by a former KGB agent, not a traditionalist conservative, who admires Joseph Stalin. It’s no wonder that 63% of Russians today have a positive view of the brutal dictator responsible for murdering 62 million people.
U.S. sanctions on Russian energy companies are timely. Our country is charting a future with abundant energy. Russia isn’t a willing partner for peace, nor a suitable trading partner. Our friends and allies should heed Secretary Bessent’s message of hitting Russia where it hurts: energy.