The Trump administration’s Russia policy is evolving, with high-level diplomacy now off the table and direct economic sanctions being imposed. President Trump has cancelled his summit with Vladimir Putin, and his Treasury has sanctioned oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
The sanctions are the first against Russia in Trump’s new term and target the “Kremlin’s war machine.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed “President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war” for the action.
President Trump confirmed the policy shift himself in the Oval Office. “We cancelled the meeting with President Putin,” he said. “It didn’t feel right to me. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get.”
This new, harder line brings the US closer to the UK, which has already sanctioned both firms. It also puts pressure on the EU, which has not sanctioned Lukoil due to exemptions for Hungary and Slovakia.
The administration also spent the day denying reports of military escalation. Trump called a story about the US approving Ukraine’s use of British missiles inside Russia “FAKE NEWS!” on social media.