From Brussels, Emmanuel Macron welcomed the new US sanctions against Russia this Thursday, October 23, considering that “President Trump’s recent announcements are going in the right direction.” “This is a real turning point that, together with the (European) sanctions that we have just applied and the pressure that has also been exerted on other actors, will have its effects,” he declared during a press conference after a European Council in Brussels.
“This is a serious blow to the financing of Russia’s war effort at a time when, for the first time since the beginning of this conflict, the Russian economy is beginning to suffer much more,” the president added.
According to Emmanuel Macron, this made it possible to “resynchronize the European and American agendas on the Ukrainian issue”, in particular that of sanctions against Moscow. The European Union has toughened its measures against Russia and its energy sector through a nineteenth package of sanctions. These include a complete halt to imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and additional measures against the ghost fleet of oil tankers that Moscow uses to circumvent Western sanctions.
Two oil giants in Washington’s sights
The United States also announced sanctions against two giants of the Russian hydrocarbon sector, Rosneft and Lukoil, and the European Union decided to completely stop imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of 2026. These sanctions involve the freezing of all assets of Rosneft and Lukoil in the United States, as well as a ban on all US companies from doing business with these companies.
Rosneft, of which the Russian state is the majority shareholder, claims to produce around 40% of Russian oil. For its part, the private company Lukoil owns around 15% of Russian black gold production. Both groups also produce gas. They are pillars of hydrocarbon revenues that allow Russia to finance the war against Ukraine.
For this reason, several Rosneft and Lukoil refineries have been damaged in recent months by Ukrainian drone attacks, leading to significant production cuts and an increase in gasoline prices in Russia.
Lukoil and Rosneft are now on the list of entities sanctioned by the United States (SDN list) which is also in force in many other countries.
Companies working with these two companies could be affected in turn, particularly deprived of access to US banks, traders, shippers and insurers, which form the backbone of the commodities market.
This Thursday, Vladimir Putin estimated that these US sanctions were “serious” but that they would not have a “significant impact” on his country’s economy. For him, these restrictions were “an attempt to apply pressure.” “But no self-respecting country or people ever makes a decision in this way,” he continued, ensuring that the Russian oil sector feels “confident and determined.”
Source: BFM TV
