Coercion to negotiate: White House launches real implementation of oil sanctions
28 October 2025 22:44
U.S. President Donald Trump will “see this through” and ensure that tough restrictions on the Russian oil sector are actually implemented. This was stated by U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whittaker, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing Bloomberg.
“We have already imposed these sanctions. We plan to implement them,” he said.
What exactly did the US sanction?
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department added two of Russia’s largest oil companies, state-owned Rosneft and Lukoil, to the sanctions list. The purpose of the package is to deprive Moscow of key revenues that feed its war machine and to raise the political cost of aggression against Ukraine. According to Whittaker, “this could be the step that gets President Putin to come to the table and at least agree to a ceasefire so we can negotiate a final settlement.”
It is worth noting that after the announcement of the sanctions, oil prices made a jump upward, but the overall reaction remained restrained. The main reason for this is uncertainty about how strongly the White House will enforce the restrictions in the global supply chain, which includes traders, shipowners, insurers, banks, and refiners outside the United States.
What does “strict enforcement” of sanctions mean?
In practice, this usually includes blocking the assets of sanctioned companies in the US jurisdiction, prohibiting any transactions with them for US persons, and the risk of secondary sanctions for foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct significant transactions in favor of the listed persons. Additionally, the regulator may:
- restrict banks’ access to correspondent accounts in the United States;
- require shipowners and insurers to conduct enhanced due diligence on the origin of oil and ultimate beneficiaries;
- establish transitional periods and general/individual OFAC licenses that clearly define the permitted exceptions.
It is also worth noting that a few days earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessentsaid that Trump’s new sanctions would reduce Russia’s oil revenues by 30%. According to him, the effect of these sanctions is already being felt. Bessent claims that India has completely stopped buying Russian oil, and many Chinese refineries have stopped importing it.
Read also: US says sanctions against Russia are the most they can do
How wide the exceptions will be and how severely violations will be punished will determine the real effect of restrictions on the Kremlin’s cash flows.
Whittaker emphasized that this step does not exhaust Washington’s toolkit:
“President Trump is holding all the cards, and this is just one card he’s playing. There are many more,” said the US Ambassador to NATO.
“This signals the possibility of further restrictions: from expanding the lists to stricter application of secondary sanctions and targeted strikes on the ‘shadow fleet’ that helps Russia to circumvent controls.”
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