Russian Drones Pound Ukraine as Trump Slaps Sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil
- Russian drone strikes hit Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhya, injuring civilians and damaging homes and infrastructure.
- The U.S. sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil within hours of the attacks, aligning with new EU measures targeting Russia’s energy sector.
- President Trump canceled a planned summit with Putin, signaling growing frustration and a tougher U.S. stance toward Moscow.
Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital for the second night in a row on October 22, injuring four people, officials said within hours of an announcement from Washington imposing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies. Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said drones had damaged several dwellings and other buildings.
Air assaults the night before struck throughout the country, killing at seven people and causing power outages. One of the attacks hit a kindergarten in Kharkiv and another hit an apartment building in Zaporizhzhya.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Telegram that it struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian targets.
The US Treasury Department announced the sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil after the European Union unveiled a fresh wave of sanctions earlier on October 22. Both actions were aimed at pressuring Russia to end its full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
“Today is a very big day in terms of what we’re doing. These are tremendous sanctions. These are very big -- against their two big oil companies. And we hope they won’t be on for long. We hope that the war will be settled,” US President Donald Trump said.
The move marks another shift for Trump, who has resisted putting more pressure on Russia in hopes that Russian President Vladimir Putin would agree to end the fighting. But his patience appeared to have run out after plans for a summit with Putin in Budapest collapsed.
“I just felt it was time,” Trump told reporters at the White House after welcoming NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. "Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don't go anywhere."
In another indication that Trump's patience is wearing thing, the president said he had canceled the Budapest meeting.
“It didn’t feel right to me. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get,” he said.
The US sanctions are designed to increase pressure on Russia's energy sector and "degrade" the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine, the Treasury Department said in a news release.
"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 the news release.
Related: Oil Prices Surge as Trump Sanctions Russian Energy Giants
Bessent said earlier that Putin had not “come to the table in an honest and forthright manner, as we'd hoped."
The EU sanctions include the blacklisting of oil tankers used by Moscow, travel curbs on Russian diplomats, and a ban on importing liquefied natural gas from Russia by 2027.
The package is the 19th imposed by the EU since the Kremlin's full-scale invasion in 2022. The sanctions were presented last month by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said the purchase of fossil fuels from Russia is financing the Russian war.
The US sanctions follow a similar move by Britain last week, said Rachel Ziemba, an analyst at the Center for New American Security. They are the first notable sanction on Russia from the Trump administration and should have an impact beyond those imposed by Britain alone, she said.
“So it’s a big deal but not as big as it would have been a year ago,” she said in response to a question from RFE/RL, pointing out that subsidiaries operating energy projects are also sanctioned and that could make getting new parts for rebuilding more expensive.
Ziemba also said that the Russian oil companies currently do little business in dollars or in the US financial sector, and the “evasive infrastructure” they use could “blunt” the impact of the new sanctions.
During his visit with Trump, Rutte praised the US president’s efforts to bring the two sides together even after some observers criticized Trump’s outreach to Putin, saying it only allowed the Russian leader to buy time.
Consistent pressure on Russia and frank talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are necessary to reach a cease-fire, Rutte said.
“Look at the Russian economy. There are long lines of cars into the gas stations,” Rutte told Fox News, adding that the Ukrainians have hit an estimated one-third of the Russian oil and gas infrastructure.
He also pointed to moves in Europe to do more to stop Russia’s use of a shadow fleet to move oil around the world.
“All of this will help change the calculus,” Rutte said. “Collectively, we will change Putin’s calculus and get him to the table and get the cease-fire going. I’m absolutely convinced. It may not be today or tomorrow, but we will get there.”
By RFE/RL
China’s state-owned oil giants have paused their purchase of Russian crude oil in response to recent US sanctions targeting Moscow’s two largest oil firms, Rosneft and Lukoil, Reuters has reported.
This suspension, expected to impact global oil markets, is part of a broader shift in international oil trade.
On October 22 2025, the United States imposed sanctions designed to increase economic pressure on Russia amid its ongoing conflict in Ukraine. These sanctions specifically target Rosneft and Lukoil, two of Russia's largest and most influential oil companies, both of which are responsible for a significant portion of the country’s oil exports. In response, Chinese state-owned companies such as PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, and Zhenhua Oil have suspended seaborne oil purchases from Russia, at least in the short term. This move reflects growing concerns over the risks of dealing in Russian oil, which could expose firms to further sanctions or legal complications.
China is one of Russia’s largest oil customers, importing approximately 1.4mn barrels of Russian oil per day, with state-owned enterprises accounting for a significant portion of this volume. However, the suspension by China’s major oil players will not completely disrupt Russian exports. The majority of Russian oil destined for China is purchased by smaller, independent refiners, known as "teapots." These refiners, unlike their state-owned counterparts, are expected to continue assessing the risks but will likely resume imports once they fully evaluate the new sanctions.
China’s decision to halt Russian oil purchases follows similar moves in India, another major buyer of Russian crude. India’s largest refiner, Reliance Industries, has already indicated plans to drastically reduce Russian oil imports, and other major players such as Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum are expected to follow suit. Together, China and India account for roughly 90% of Russia’s seaborne oil exports, meaning any reduction in their purchases could significantly impact global oil supply chains.
The decision by China and India to scale back their Russian oil imports will put additional pressure on Moscow’s oil revenue and could trigger further volatility in global oil prices. As these two countries turn to alternative sources of crude, such as the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, global oil prices are expected to rise. In the meantime, Russian oil producers are seeking alternative markets, but the shift may not be enough to offset the loss of two of their largest buyers. This disruption could also lead to a greater reliance on the so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers designed to circumvent sanctions, although this approach presents its own risks and challenges.
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