Sky News: What is the main strength of the US sanctions against Russia?

This week, Donald Trump announced sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies – Rosneft and Lukoil.

According to Sky News, if fully implemented, these sanctions have the potential to significantly cut off the flow of fossil fuel revenues that finance Russia’s war machine.

“But their power lies not in directly denying Russia access to the tankers, ports and refineries that make the oil trade turn, but the US financial system that greases the wheels,” writes Sky News commentator Paul Kelso.

He explains that although Russian oil is not exported to the US, the sanctions will directly affect the ability of Russian companies—and anyone doing business with them—to operate within the US financial orbit.

“In practice, the measures should prevent the two companies from accessing not just dollars, but trading markets, insurance and other services with any financial connection to the US,” Kelso writes.

Consumers of Russian oil in China, India, and Türkiye are also likely to be affected, as major companies—both state-owned and private—may not want to take the risk of dealing directly with sanctioned firms.

This does not mean that exports of Russian oil and gas will stop. Other Russian energy companies, not under sanctions, can still trade, and the sector has shown skill in evading measures aimed at disrupting its supply from any given country.

By Vugar Khalilov