WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� announced Friday that it's expanding sanctions against Russia's critically important energy sector, unveiling a new effort to inflict pain on Moscow for its grinding 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 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.
鈥淭he United States is taking sweeping action against Russia鈥檚 key source of revenue for funding its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,鈥� Treasury Secretary said in a statement. 鈥淲ith today鈥檚 actions, we are ratcheting up the sanctions risk associated with Russia鈥檚 oil trade, including shipping and financial facilitation in support of Russia鈥檚 oil exports.鈥�
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鈥檚 major oil producers, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, and dozens of the companies鈥� 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 鈥渙il revenues are the lifeblood of Putin鈥檚 war economy.鈥�
鈥淭aking on Russian oil companies will drain Russia鈥檚 war chest 鈥� and every ruble we take from Putin鈥檚 hands helps save Ukrainian lives,鈥� he said.
The U.K. has already sanctioned almost 100 vessels in Russia鈥檚 oil-transporting 鈥渟hadow fleet鈥� as Ukraine鈥檚 Western allies seeking to increase economic pressure on Moscow ahead of any negotiations on ending the war.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration chose this moment鈥攋ust 10 days before Biden leaves office鈥攆or tougher oil measures because worries about world oil markets have subsided.
鈥淭his was really based on market conditions,鈥� Kirby said. 鈥淎nd so the time was propitious for this decision, and that's why the president made it.鈥�
The State Department also announced it was hitting 14 senior Rosatom officials and executives with travel bans that also affect their immediate family members.
Biden administration officials said that it will ultimately be up to administration whether to keep or scrap the new sanctions.
Trump鈥檚 transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the sanctions.
Asked if the Biden administration consulted with the incoming Trump team, Kirby responded, 鈥淲e have at every step and on every major issue been keeping the transition team informed of our decisions, what we鈥檙e doing and why we鈥檙e doing it.鈥�
Trump's incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, wrote in an opinion piece for the Economist published shortly before Election Day that the U.S. should 鈥渦se economic leverage鈥� for 鈥渃racking down on Russia鈥檚 illicit oil sales鈥� to bring Russian President to the negotiating table.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters on Thursday that Putin "wants to meet, and we are setting it up.鈥�
Trump's warm relationship with Putin over the years has come under heavy scrutiny. The Republican president-elect has also balked at the cost of aid to Kyiv, pledging to move quickly to end the conflict upon his return to office on Jan. 20.
Trump added a new layer of doubt about future American support earlier this week when he appeared to sympathize with Putin's position that Ukraine . The president-elect has criticized the Biden administration for expressing support for Kyiv鈥檚 .
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday warned that a pullback in support for Ukraine would have reverberations far beyond Kyiv. He noted that the U.S. has relied on European allies cooperation over the last four years as it devised a strategy to deal with growing economic competition posed by China.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 evident that if the U.S. pulls the rug out from under Ukraine, that will have an impact on the health of our European alliances and it will have reverberations in the Indo-Pacific,鈥� Sullivan said in a conversation with a small group of reporters at the White House.
The Kremlin on Friday dismissed the new sanctions ahead of the anticipated announcement.
鈥淲e are aware that the administration will try to leave as difficult legacy in bilateral relations as possible for Trump and his team,鈥� Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The designation comes under a sanctions authority approved during Russia鈥檚 2014 invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, according to administration officials who briefed reporters on the the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
Should the Trump administration move to roll back the sanctions, it would have to first notify Congress, which would have the ability to take a vote of disapproval of such a move, the officials added.
The shadow fleet is made up of aging tankers bought used, often by nontransparent entities with addresses in non-sanctioning countries such as the United Arab Emirates or the Marshall Islands, and flagged in places like Gabon or the Cook Islands. Some of the vessels are owned by Russia鈥檚 state-owned Sovcomflot shipping company. Their role is to help Russia鈥檚 oil exporters elude the $60 per barrel price cap imposed by Ukraine鈥檚 allies.
Finnish authorities suspect a Russia-linked shadow fleet vessel was i , cutting critical power and communications cables under the Baltic Sea between Finland and Estonia on Dec. 25.
The Biden administration unveiled a new on Thursday as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
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David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany and Jill Lawless in London and Matthew Lee contributed reporting
Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press
