WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft as his frustration grows with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war.

The move came after EU countries on Wednesday approved a 19th package of sanctions on Moscow for its war against Ukraine that included a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports. Trump’s measures also followed Britain’s sanctioning last week of Rosneft and Lukoil.

The US Treasury Department said it was prepared to take further action as it called on Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”

Oil prices jumped more than $2 a barrel after the US measures, with Brent crude futures extending gains after settlement, rising to about $64.

The sanctions are a major policy shift for Trump, who had not put sanctions on Russia over the war and instead relied on trade measures. Trump earlier this year imposed additional 25% tariffs on goods from India in retaliation for its purchasing discounted Russian oil.

The US has not imposed tariffs on China, another major buyer of Russian oil. A $60 price cap on Russian oil imposed by Western countries after Russia’s invasion has shifted Russia’s oil customers in recent years from Europe to Asia.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday he had cancelled a planned summit in Hungary with Putin because it didn’t feel like it was the right time.

Trump also said he hopes the sanctions on Russian oil companies will not need to be in place for a long time. Trump said last year that he likes to remove sanctions quickly because of the risks to the dominance of the dollar in global transactions that the measures can bring. Russia has often asked for payments for oil in other currencies.

‘Can’t be one and done’

Analysts said the measures were a big step and long overdue.

“This can’t just be one and done,” said Edward Fishman, a former US official who is now a senior research scholar at Columbia University. He said the question was whether the US now threatens sanctions on anyone doing business with Rosneft and Lukoil.

Jeremy Paner, a former sanctions investigator at the Treasury Department and now a partner at law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed, said the absence of banks and Indian or Chinese oil purchasers in Wednesday’s sanctions means they “will not get Putin’s attention.”

A senior Ukrainian official, however, said the step was “great news” and that the two Russian energy companies were among US sanctions targets proposed by Kyiv in the past.

The Treasury also sanctioned dozens of Rosneft and Lukoil subsidiaries. The measures block US assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them.

The Russian embassy in Washington and the Russian mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sanctions.

EU targets Russia’s shadow fleet

The EU’s LNG ban will take effect in two stages: short-term contracts will end after six months, and long-term contracts from January 1, 2027. The full ban comes a year earlier than the Commission’s proposed roadmap to end the bloc’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels.

The new EU package also adds new travel restrictions on Russian diplomats and lists 117 more vessels from Moscow’s shadow fleet, mostly tankers, bringing the total to 558. The listings include banks in Kazakhstan and Belarus, the presidency said.

EU diplomatic sources told Reuters that four entities linked to China’s oil industry will be listed, but the names will not be made public until the official adoption on Thursday. These include two oil refineries, a trading company and an entity which helps in the circumvention of oil and other sectors.

A section of a newly built helipad in Kerala’s Pramadam caved in after a helicopter carrying Indian President Droupadi Murmu landed there on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Pathanamthitta’s Pramadam, where the president arrived for her visit to Sabarimala.

Following the incident, President Murmu continued her journey to Pamba — the foothills of Sabarimala — by road.

Bizarre scenes unfolded at the stadium after the president left for Pamba by road, as viral videos show officials pushing the Indian Air Force’s Mi-17 chopper by hand from a caved-in helipad, sparking widespread criticism and reactions on social media.

Another said: “President Draupadi Murmu gets the firsthand experience of BJP’s Space Technology Infrastructure as the wheel of her helicopter got stuck in the newly constructed helipad.”

According to Indian media, the landing was originally planned at Nilackal near Pamba, but it was changed to Pramadam due to bad weather conditions.

Most Americans — including 80% of Democrats and 41% of Republicans — think the US should recognise Palestinian statehood, a sign that President Donald Trump’s opposition to doing so is out of step with public opinion, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, found 59% of respondents backed US recognition of a Palestinian state, while 33% were opposed and the rest were unsure or did not answer the question.

About half of Trump’s Republicans — 53% — opposed doing so, while 41% of Republicans said they would support the US recognising a Palestinian state.

A growing number of countries — including US allies Britain, Canada, France and Australia — have formally recognised Palestinian statehood in recent weeks, drawing condemnation from Israel, whose founding in 1948 led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and decades of conflict.

Israeli bombardments have leveled vast swaths of Palestinian neighborhoods in Gaza following an October 2023 surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel.

Some 60% of poll respondents said Israel’s response in Gaza was excessive, compared to 32% who disagreed.

Trump, who returned to the White House in January, has largely backed Israel in the war and this month brokered a ceasefire, raising hopes that lasting peace could be in reach.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll gave signs that the US public was ready to give Trump credit should his plan work.

Some 51% of poll respondents agreed with a statement that Trump “deserves significant credit” if peace efforts are successful, compared with 42% who disagreed.

While only one in 20 Democrats approve of Trump’s overall performance as president, one in four said he should get significant credit if the peace holds.

Success on that front appears far from certain. An explosion of violence over the weekend threatened to derail the week-old truce and US diplomats stepped up pressure on Israel and Hamas to get Trump’s plan back on track.

Key questions of Hamas disarming, further Israeli troop pullbacks and future governance of the Palestinian enclave remain unresolved.

Trump’s approval rating on foreign policy appeared to be on a modest upswing, rising to 38% in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, compared to 33% in a poll conducted earlier this month just ahead of the ceasefire deal. The latest rating was Trump’s highest since July.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and gathered responses from 4,385 people nationwide. It had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.