Biden levies new sanctions against Russian energy sector; up to Trump to keep them

Biden administration expands sanctions on Russia's energy sector to pressure Moscow over Ukraine conflict, as Trump prepares to return.

President Joe Biden’s administration announced Friday (January 10, 2025) that it’s expanding sanctions against Russia’s critically important energy sector, unveiling a new effort to inflict pain on Moscow for its nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine as President-elect Donald Trump gets set to return to office vowing to quickly end the conflict.

The outgoing Democratic administration billed the new sanctions as the most significant to date against Moscow’s oil and liquefied natural gas sectors, the driver of Russia’s economy. Officials said the sanctions, which punish entities that do business with the Russians, have the potential to cost the Russian economy upward of billions of dollars per month.

More than 180 oil-carrying vessels that are suspected to be part of a shadow fleet utilized by the Kremlin to evade oil sanctions as well as traders, oil field service firms and Russian energy officials are also targeted by the new sanctions. Several of the vessels targeted are also suspected of shipping sanctioned Iranian oil, according to the Treasury Department.

“The United States is taking sweeping action against Russia’s key source of revenue for funding its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “With today’s (January 10, 2025) actions, we are ratcheting up the sanctions risk associated with Russia’s oil trade, including shipping and financial facilitation in support of Russia’s oil exports.”

In a move coordinated with Washington, the U.K. also slapped sanctions on Russian energy firms. The U.S. and Britain are both targeting two of Russia’s major oil producers, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, and dozens of the companies’ subsidiaries.

The Foreign Office said that between them the two companies produce more than 1 million barrels of oil a day, worth $23 billion a year. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said, “oil revenues are the lifeblood of Mr. Putin’s war economy.”

“Taking on Russian oil companies will drain Russia’s war chest – and every ruble we take from Putin’s hands helps save Ukrainian lives,” he said.