Biden administration implements new sanctions against Russian oil and gas
The Treasury Department's measures affect two of Russia's leading firms in the sector, Gazprom and Sourgoutneftegaz.
The logo of Russian energy giant Gazprom.
The federal administration announced new sanctions Friday against Russia's energy sector to hit "the Kremlin's biggest source of funding" in its war against Ukraine.
Just days before Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, the Treasury Department detailed a series of sanctions against two major Russian firms in the sector, Gazprom and Sourgoutneftegaz.
It also targeted some 200 oil and gas tankers operating from Russia considered part of a Moscow "phantom fleet" to evade Western sanctions.
Some of these vessels are flagged by Barbados or Panama.
According to senior U.S. government officials, these are the most significant sanctions against the country's energy sector and are expected to cost Russia billions of dollars per month.
The sanctions were designed to give the U.S. greater leeway to reach a "just peace" between Ukraine and Russia, the sources said.
"The United States is taking sweeping action against Russia’s key source of revenue for funding its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen summed up in a statement.
The sanctions were adopted in cooperation with the United Kingdom, the U.S. government specified.
These sanctions are in addition to numerous similar measures already adopted, in particular the price cap for Russian oil, set in December 2022.
Ukraine welcomes 'significant blow' to Russia
"These measures deliver a significant blow to the financial foundation of Russia’s war machine by disrupting its entire supply chain," Zelensky said in a post on X.
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