Trump sanctions two Russian oil companies over Putin's 'lack of commitment ' to end Ukraine war

In a big action against Russia. the United States hit two major Russian oil companies with sanctions on Wednesday (Oct 22). US President Donald Trump accused Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of a lack of commitment toward ending the war in Ukraine, as Moscow conducted a major training exercise involving nuclear arms. This comes after Trump said that he cancelled the Budapest meeting with Putin because he did not want to waste his time.

The US Treasury Department said Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, were targeted. "Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. This is the first time sanctions have been imposed on Russian since Trump came to power for the second time. For months, Trump has resisted pressure from US lawmakers to impose energy sanctions, hoping that Putin would agree to end the fighting.

The US president said he was not yet prepared to supply Ukraine with the long-range Tomahawk missiles it had requested. Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump explained that Ukrainian forces would need at least six months of training to operate the weapons effectively.

Meanwhile, a day ago, Trump had confirmed that he won't meet Putin. “I don’t want to have a wasted meeting, I don’t want to have a waste of time — so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said in remarks at the White House on Tuesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “No precise timeframe was initially set here” and that “Preparation is needed, serious preparation.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said that Trump’s demand for “an immediate ceasefire, which has suddenly become a topic of discussion again,” was contrary to what was agreed at the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska in August.