US President Donald Trump has announced new sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. The decision follows months of stalled diplomatic efforts and rising frustration over President Vladimir Putin’s actions.

“Today is a very big day. Look, these are tremendous sanctions. These are very big. Those are against their two big oil companies… We hope that the war will be settled. We just answered questions related to the various forms of missiles and everything else we’re examining. However, we don’t think that will be necessary. We would like to see them just take the line that has been formed over quite a long period of time and go home,” President Trump said during an interaction with journalists at the White House, while hosting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Trump also stated that nearly 8,000 soldiers have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war, calling the conflict “ridiculous.” He reiterated that if he had been President, the war would never have begun four years ago.

“Last week, they had almost 8,000 soldiers killed. Many Russians and Ukrainians were killed last week. We think it’s ridiculous, and we’d like it to end… I think they both want peace at this point. It’s almost four years… If I were president, it never would have started…,” added Trump.

What the United Kingdom’s PM Keri Starmer said

United Kingdom’s PM Starmer welcomed the United States joining the UK in imposing “substantial sanctions” on two major oil companies of Russia, namely Rosneft and Lukoil, and called for a stop to the bloodshed in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The UK, on October 16, announced around 90 new sanctions on the Russian oil sector in an effort to put pressure on the country to stop the Ukraine war. A week later, on October 23, the United States announced sanctions on two of Russia’s biggest oil companies.

“Last week, the UK sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund Putin’s war machine. I’m pleased the US has now joined us with substantial sanctions on the same two oil companies,” PM Starmer posted on X.

Calling for Russian President Putin to “pay the price” for his “needless aggression, the UK PM called an end to the bloodshed.

“Putin must pay the price for his needless aggression. The killing must end now,” the post read.