Public sentiment is largely negative regarding U.S. sanctions on Russian oil, with many expressing skepticism about their effectiveness and criticizing the motives of U.S. leadership, particularly under Trump. Users believe sanctions primarily harm Western consumers rather than affecting Russia meaningfully, and there is a prevalent sense of frustration over political hypocrisy and a lack of effective military support for Ukraine.

United States

Russia

Ukraine

And yet, Putin stubbornly push on because he does not want to face the consequence which we all have good idea what that may be.

macross1984

With key buyers stepping back, Russia has increasingly left cargoes on tankers that now serve as floating storage.  

Ukraine has probably noticed.  
BOOM.

scratchydaitchy

How much did it drop as a % compared to 3 months ago?

SpikeyOps

Queltis6000

AloneChapter

SleepWouldBeNice

Does anyone think that Russia had legitimate concerns about what was being proposed in Ukraine before the invasion ?

Ok_Scientist6279

This will cause that Russia won't have enough money to pay all the people (coal miners, bus drivers etc) and it will all fall apart, because people will refuse to work. But nobody will tell you when it will happen.

JimiQ84

Biden admin and trump admin were both way too scared of inflationary effects of high oil prices. there has been a 6 month concerted effort by the trump admin and the saudis to walk prices down to get to where we are today.

PecanTree

Most of this lines up with real reporting, but the framing is pushing the story harder than the facts really support.

The US did hit Rosneft and Lukoil shipping arms with fresh sanctions, and whenever that happens the market pauses while everyone checks compliance and insurance exposure. That explains the sharp price wobble. The thirty six dollar figure getting passed around came from a single port snapshot rather than a sustained global benchmark. It looks dramatic in isolation, but it is not the full market picture.

China’s state refiners did pause direct purchases from the sanctioned entities, but that does not mean China stopped buying Russian oil. It just means the state companies stepped back while private refiners and traders kept moving barrels through alternative routes. This pattern has repeated after every sanction update since 2022.

India’s numbers are mostly accurate too. October did see an increase in Russian imports, and some refiners did pause new direct orders from the sanctioned shippers. But India almost never reduces overall volume. They simply buy the same crude through intermediaries in the UAE or Singapore when sanctions complicate the paperwork. That is why their intake rose instead of falling.

The floating storage number being thrown around is more of a scenario estimate than a verified fact. Storage usually jumps for a week or two after sanctions because sellers need time to reshuffle vessels, insurance, and routing. It is not evidence of a collapse in demand.

So there is truth in the post, but not the big turning point the headline is selling. This is another sanctions round, another temporary pause, another reroute of the same barrels under different flags. Russia takes a revenue hit, but not a catastrophic one. And India will keep buying because the maths works for them and Washington is not going to jeopardise its relationship with India over discounted crude.

Primary-User

36USD is 16USD in 1989. Exactly the oil price that caused USSR to collapse.

nottellingmyname2u

But trump told me that India had stopped buying russian oil altogether, and trump would never lie.

cheesebot555

Two things here. I think if Russian external trade would be zero (which will never be the case), its still possible to wage war for very long time given you produce your own resources.  
Not that Im an Indian, but I would be always wary of the party that would/could exert any pressure on my country and try to diversify in terms of trade as much as possible. India is not  extremely reliant on US, hence, Indians will probably try to offset any risk of US playing funny. Modi smart af to actually do some posturing on global stage and not cave in like a bitch. China could learn a thing or two.

ossce

Is Russian 'shadow fleet' taken into account in these calculations?

fan_is_ready

You’re trying to square a round peg here except it’s small enough to fit in the hole regardless.

When sanctions exist the buyer has way more power to dictate terms.   Russias price has plummeted because only a few countries will still buy from them.

Slighted_Inevitable

I just wanted to know what’s happening. Not what’s REALLY happening

crisco000

They published the list already: [https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0290](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0290)

It's Rosneft and Lukoil and all their &gt;50%-owned subsidiaries.

This is going to be interesting as Lukoil has a couple of refineries in the EU, e.g. one in Romania (which just happened to experience a fire). The other one is in Bulgaria.

Rosneft has share in three in Germany, but &gt;50% only in the Schwedt one, and that is under trusteeship, so I'm not sure if it's affected. Germany was [pressing them to sell](https://www.dw.com/en/germany-tells-rosneft-find-buyer-or-lose-refinery/a-68477965). When the UK imposed similar sanctions last week, they eventually [made exceptions for that](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/uk-clears-dealings-with-german-managed-rosneft-refineries-amid-russia-sanctions/articleshow/124738339.cms).

Just-Sale-7015

DABOSSROSS9

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is planning substantial new sanctions on Russia, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.
“We are going to either announce after the close this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning a substantial pickup in Russia sanctions,” Bessent told reporters.

Negotiations over ending the war in Ukraine have stalled, with President Trump putting off a planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest. Trump previewed Tuesday that the U.S. would make a significant Russia announcement within two days.

The imposition of additional sanctions would be a clear signal that Trump’s patience with Putin is wearing thin as he looks for ways to pressure Russia into a peace deal that would end nearly four years of fighting.

Distinct_Front_4336

Also from FT

The US is imposing sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, aiming to “degrade” Vladimir Putin’s war chest and support Donald Trump’s effort to end the war in Ukraine.

The move marks the first time Trump has imposed direct costs on Russia over the war.

"Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” said Treasury secretary Scott Bessent. “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.”

He said the US was prepared to take further action. “We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions,” he said.

A number of Russian-based subsidiaries majority-owned by Rosneft and Lukoil have also been sanctioned under the move, which could bar them from all transactions in US dollars.

Crude oil prices rose more than 3 per cent.


Last week, the UK unveiled sanctions on the two oil majors, while the EU is set to announce its 19th package of penalties on Moscow, including a ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas.

In January, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Russian oil majors Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas but held off imposing penalties on Rosneft and Lukoil over concerns that it could drive up global energy prices.

Wednesday’s announcement by the Trump administration means that Russia’s four largest oil companies have now been hit with US sanctions.

Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin over the continued war, now in its fourth year.


“Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere,” Trump said on Wednesday in the Oval Office.

Asked about the decision to impose sanctions on Moscow, Trump said: “I just felt it was time.”

“These are tremendous sanctions,” Trump said. “We hope that they won’t be on for long. We hope that the war will be settled.”

One day EU wont spend more on Russian oil than aid to Ukraine.

EnergyOwn6800

The fact the EU still brought oil gas and other resources from Russia after crimea and the Salisbury attacks shows how pathetic the EU

Russia literally used weapons of mass destruction on an EU member state(the uk was still in the EU at the time) snd Europe did nothing

jrob10997

Ain’t lukoil same as viada? We have a lot of them here in Latvia and I remember well how all lukoil’s converted into viada’s.

Benders03

Weewoofiatruck

Sanctions that should have been in effect years ago.

Less_Tacos

Will this in any way sour things between trump and putin or could this be just another scheme they have.

wormtickler

Fit_Checks

I want to see it before i believe anything from this criminal team in the white house

-------7654321

There's 100% some billionaire buddy of Trump who pushed for this so that he profits in the stock market with advance knowledge of what will happen. 

Said that, it's better that his banana republic schemes work against Russia than in favour...

AdminEating_Dragon

Prediction: Putin will make a phone call and then the sanction is paused because Trump believes Putin "wants peace".

Spineless Trump is going to TACO again on this.

wizgset27

Trump zig and zags and right now he is zagging. Given the big ramp in oil by the Saudis as of late it is indeed the right time to pull this lever.


In 2022 the war made oil prices shoot up as the world was not ready for a fossil market without Russia. Today, that gap is more and more being filled by rising supply from the middle east, east Asia and the rise of renewable.

Timely-Switch-2601

KayNicola

slipped-my-mind

This is an interesting development, but have you considered releasing the Epstein files?

OneEvilTit

putin allowed it to maintain oranjada's cover. rosfuck already established unsanctionable output channels. 

b00c

Uh oh, did Trump and his boyfirend/boss get in another spat?

NarrakianWizard

Fuzzy_Cricket6563

Ignore this BS. Come back when there is a non US study on the impact of any US sanctions on Russia.

Technical_Age_3504

[deleted]

The sanctions were generally designed to keep Russian oil on the market, but had to comply with price caps if transactions passed through any western banks and institutions. India in particular was taking advantage of this by getting their oil at a massive discount.


The idea was to not disrupt the oil market, but make sure Russia took a financial hit.


Now any kind of Russian oil purchase could mean sanctions and penalties.

FencyMcFenceFace

Not all oil was sanctioned by the West. Several oil&amp;gas projects in Russia are sanctioned, some companies are (Gazprom and Surgutneftegaz back in January 2025, Lukoil and Rosneft now), and G7 countries have decided to stop buying Russian fossils to various degrees. The US and Canada stopped Russian imports completely (they could afford to), but the EU and Japan still import a lot. 

There is also an oil price cap, meaning that it is prohibited for G7 shipping services (ships, insurance, brokerage, etc.) to be provided to ships selling Russian oil above a certain price. This waa designed to keep Russian crude on the marker so prices wouldn't go up too much, while denting its revenues. 

The new sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft simply restrict the ability of any American company to deal or trade with them in any way. Which means 3rd parties will need to be used, which potentially adds costs for Russia. But overall it is not a massive burden.

luka-sharaawy

Can’t believe a word the president says. Who could? Every thing he says is a lie or projection.

DryToe1269

It add a bit additional friction in the transactions.

dufutur

It's to hit China, major Russian oil importer, ahead of the trade talks while using the pretext of the war in ukraine

syylvo

Not much. Europe buys Russian oil through the shadow fleet, which is already circumventing previous sanctions the EU imposed on itself. The US' will to reprimand its allies for continuing to buy Russian oil is unclear anyways. 

For China and India, they can continue buying Russian oil from Rosneft and Lukoil. India will likely do it through private companies while officially showing that government owned refineries dont buy from Russia, which gives a symbolic win to the US while in reality private Indian refineries pick up the slack.

China is the more interesting player here because the US doesn't have any leverage over China that it could exercise without incurring massive damage to itself. There are innumerable ways for China to wreak economic devastation on the west, and it is fundamentally against China's interest to kowtow to western threats regardless of how trivial or extreme. Further, China has long been considering to voluntarily cut itself off of the SWIFT system in favor of their alternative CIPS which would defang western sanctions across the board anyway.

Novo-Russia

This is the reason for sanctions on Russia, Iran, Venezuela. USA fight for world wide energy dominance.

[https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/oil-production-by-country](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/oil-production-by-country)

Look on this, USA constantly increase oil production from Obama time, meaning it need to push out other oil producers or, as minimum, take energy production under control of western corporations.

Here explanation for all western wars and sanctions. As USA empire getting weaker, there use of out of market competition - sanctions, tariffs, wars increase. War or regime change on Venezuela looming.

That mean it is very dangerous to submit to USA pressure, or country will become completely depended on USA.

GeologistOld1265

Recent U.S. sanctions on Russian oil producers have led to a significant drop in the price of Russian crude oil, despite initial concerns about supply tightness.

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