US and EU hit Russia with more sanctions

THE US and the EU are hitting Russia with another round of sanctions, aiming to cut into oil and gas export earnings that fund Moscow's war against Ukraine.

- ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTERS

More than three and a half years into the war, the effort remains a cat-and-mouse game, with Russia finding new ways to get around sanctions, and Washington and Brussels adding new ones and looking for ways to plug enforcement gaps.

The chief target of the latest round was Russia's biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. New US Treasury sanctions threaten their customers in India and China with retaliation that could include being sanctioned themselves.

The EU is phasing out by the end of next year shipments of Russian liquefied natural gas that come by ship, and is going after cryptocurrency issuers, platforms and exchanges that Russia has used to skirt restrictions on its financial dealings with the outside world.

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the move aimed to push Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to Donald Trump's proposals for an “immediate ceasefire”.