US Sanctions Will Reduce Russia's Oil Revenues by $5 billion, says Zelensky

Recently, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions against the major Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil.

According to Dzerkalo tyzhnya, during a press conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that US President Donald Trump had imposed “really effective” sanctions against Russia.

The article claims the US president hopes that they will help the Russians stop firing on Ukrainians. According to various estimates, these sanctions could result in losses of at least $5 billion per month for Russia

"The fact that the Russians, in particular the special representative of the Russian dictator Kirill Dmitriev, are outraged and claim that these sanctions will not work shows that they will work very well. That is why they were imposed by the president himself, and not through Congress. He can cancel them and will likely use them as a tool for pressure or dialogue with the Russians. We believe that these sanctions will reduce their profits by at least $5 billion per month," the president emphasized.

According to Zelensky, Russia's losses, as reported by partners, have not yet been confirmed by Ukrainian intelligence. He added that the US decision is likely to affect Russian oil exports by approximately 56-57%. In a month, according to his forecast, it will be possible to get a clear picture of the consequences of the sanctions after all the data has been verified by intelligence. The president also stressed that it is important to ensure that no one circumvents these restrictions.

“We need to pay attention to the crew and physically sanction them. We also need to monitor whether the tanker is taking a different route. Sanctions must be effective in physically stopping all oil shipments. Check tanker documents, apply sanctions against captains and crews. Then it will work,” Zelensky said.