US targets Russia’s oil sector with ‘sweeping’ sanctions

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says helium is assured sanctions volition ‘significantly trim Russia’s petrodollar income’.

The United States has imposed “sweeping” sanctions connected Russia’s vigor assemblage arsenic Washington pushes to choke Moscow’s funds for the war successful Ukraine.

The sanctions connected Friday targeted 2 large Russian lipid producers and 183 vessels that assistance transport the petrol, arsenic good arsenic 80 individuals and entities progressive successful the accumulation and export of liquefied earthy state (LNG) from Russia.

The sanctioned companies see Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, 2 of Russia’s largest lipid companies.

“The United States is taking sweeping enactment against Russia’s cardinal root of gross for backing its brutal and amerciable warfare against Ukraine,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said successful a statement.

The United Kingdom issued akin sanctions connected Thursday. “Every stroke we onslaught against Russia’s lipid revenues is different measurement towards a conscionable and sustainable bid successful Ukraine, and a measurement towards information and prosperity successful the UK and beyond,” the UK authorities said successful a statement.

For its part, the US Department of State targeted Russia’s LNG sector.

The sanctions frost the assets of the firms and individuals successful the US and marque it mostly amerciable for American citizens to prosecute successful fiscal transitions with them. Friday’s measures besides grow secondary penalties for those who assistance Russia evade sanctions.

“These actions substantially summation the sanctions risks associated with the Russian lipid trade,” the US Department of the Treasury said.

The Reuters quality bureau quoted an unnamed US authoritative arsenic saying that the logic of the sanctions “is to deed each signifier of the Russian lipid accumulation and organisation chain”.

The authoritative added that the measures should outgo Russia billions of dollars per period if sufficiently enforced.

The sanctions came 10 days earlier President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to assistance extremity the warfare successful Ukraine, takes office.

Trump suggested earlier this week that helium is acceptable to conscionable Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“He wants to meet, and we are mounting it up,” Trump said earlier a gathering with Republican governors astatine his Mar-a-Lago residence connected Thursday.

The US has been piling sanctions connected the Russian system since Russia launched an all-out penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022.

Washington and its Western allies person besides provided tens of billions of dollars successful subject and fiscal assistance to Kyiv to assistance prolong the Ukrainian warfare efforts.

I americium grateful to @POTUS, his administration, and the full American radical for today’s announcement of a caller sanctions bundle targeting implicit 400 entities linked to Russia’s vigor sector. The bipartisan enactment of the United States genuinely matters, and we consciousness it deeply.

These…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 10, 2025

After fending disconnected Russian advances towards Kyiv aboriginal successful the war, Ukraine has struggled to regain territories captured by the Russian service successful its east, with the warfare turning into a protracted, bloody conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Friday’s sanctions.

“Energy resources should ne'er beryllium utilized arsenic weapons, arsenic Russia does. Countries that respect planetary instrumentality tin and should guarantee unchangeable and reliable vigor supplies for the full world,” Zelenskyy wrote successful a societal media post.

“We are profoundly grateful for America’s enactment successful holding Russia accountable. I americium assured these steps volition importantly trim Russia’s petrodollar income and, with it, its quality to proceed its aggression.”

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies