Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 24th: The United States announced on the 22nd that it would sanction Russia's two largest oil companies, urging Russia and Ukraine to cease fire immediately. The EU also reached an agreement on a new round of sanctions against Russia. In this regard, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the new sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia are aimed at putting pressure on Russia, but they will not have a significant impact on the Russian economy.

This is the Vancouver oilfield area, photographed in Krasnoyarsk border district of Russia on February 27, 2019. Vancouver oilfield is operated by a subsidiary of Russian Petroleum Corporation (Russian Petroleum).

"Obviously an unfriendly move"

In an interview with the media on the 23rd, Putin said that the new US sanctions are obviously unfriendly moves and will not help to strengthen Russia-US relations that have just begun to recover. Russia has always supported the continued dialogue. If Russia and the United States can "seriously discuss the long-term future, including the economic field, the two sides will have room for cooperation in many fields".

US President Trump confirmed on the 22nd that he had cancelled his plan to meet with Putin in the near future because the current meeting would not achieve results. In this regard, Putin said that when he talked with Trump on the 16th, it was Trump who proposed to hold a meeting, and it was also Trump's proposal to choose the venue in Budapest, Hungary. It would be a mistake to treat this meeting hastily without sufficient preparation, so that the meeting could not achieve the expected results.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zakharova also said at a regular press conference on the 23rd that the new US-European sanctions against Russia will not have the expected effect, but will instead bring damage to the EU and the global economy.

Zakharova said that Russia has become immune to sanctions in recent years. Despite the sanctions, Russia will continue to develop its economic and political potential. The current U.S. government is trying to follow the example of its predecessor and force Russia to sacrifice its national interests, but this will not meet expectations, but will have a negative impact on global economic stability.

She also said that a new round of EU sanctions against Russia would not the expected effect, but would damage the EU itself, and Russia reserves the right to respond in its own interests.

On August 15, 2025, U.S. President Trump (right) and Russian President Putin jointly attended a joint press conference after meeting at the Elmendov-Richardson Joint Military Base in Anchorage, Alaska.

Sanctions target Russian energy industry

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said in a statement on Monday that the U.S. sanctions targeted the Russian state-owned Russian oil company and the private company LUKE oil company.

Bloomberg estimates that the two companies¡¯ crude oil exports together account for 50% of Russia¡¯s total crude oil exports.

In a statement, Bessent accused the Russian side of refusing a ceasefire, accusing sanctioned Russian oil companies of funding Russia¡¯s special military operations on Ukraine.The U.S. Treasury Department is prepared to ¡°take further action if necessary¡± to support Trump¡¯s efforts to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

EU member states agreed on the 19th round of sanctions against Russia on 22nd, and the EU summit is expected to formally approve on 23rd. According to a previous statement issued by the European Commission, this round of sanctions against Russia mainly relates to energy, finance and other areas. The EU will ban Russian LNG from entering the European market for the first time and lower the Russian crude oil price to $47.6 per barrel; Russian oil companies, Russian gas industry oil companies will face a full trade ban; the EU will extend the trade ban on financial institutions such as Russia and include cryptocurrency platforms in the sanctions for the first time.