Trump Slams Putin and Takes Tough Measures Against Russian Oil Giants, Moscow Remains Unusually Silent

After US President Trump criticized Russian President Putin and imposed severe sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, Moscow fell into an icy silence the next day.

Just days after the two leaders had a "very productive" phone conversation, Trump appeared to be siding with Russia. However, the US president changed his strategy on Wednesday, expressing disappointment with Moscow.

"We canceled the meeting with President Putin. It just didn't feel right to meet. It felt like we wouldn't reach where we needed to be (a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire). So I canceled it, but we will do it in the future," Trump said on Wednesday. "Every time I talk to Putin, we have a good conversation, and then nothing happens, just no progress at all."

When asked why he chose now to impose a package of sanctions on oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft, Trump said: "I just felt it was time, we've waited a long time."

Icy Silence

Trump's comments about Putin were noticeably absent from the news coverage of pro-Kremlin official media such as TASS, Sputnik, and RIA Novosti on Thursday, with almost no mention of these criticisms or the canceled meeting.

Just the day before, Russian official media had optimistically believed that the planned meeting between Putin and Trump, originally scheduled to be held in Hungary but postponed by the White House, would go ahead.

The Kremlin and several senior Russian officials blamed "fake news" for the obstruction of the Trump-Putin summit, but after Russia reiterated its position of not supporting an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, the White House appeared to have shelved the talks.

Putin's press secretary Peskov has not publicly commented on the canceled meeting, the sanctions, or the prospects for a future Trump-Putin meeting.

According to reports, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova stated on Thursday that the Russian Foreign Ministry is prepared to "continue engagement" with the US State Department, but said its objectives in Ukraine "remain unchanged." She added that the latest sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil are counterproductive to finding a peaceful solution.

Noted anti-Western hawk and former Russian President Medvedev criticized Trump's decision to cancel the Budapest summit, commenting on Thursday that, "The US is our adversary, and their so-called 'peacemaker' (Trump) has now fully embarked on a path of confrontation with Russia, standing completely with the crazy Europeans."

Sanctions Pressure

The US Treasury Department stated that the sanctions against Lukoil, Rosneft, and dozens of their subsidiaries are intended to pressure Moscow to agree to a ceasefire. Moscow uses revenue from global oil sales to fund its three-and-a-half-year-long conflict in Ukraine.

The Treasury Department said the new sanctions would harm the Kremlin's ability to raise funds. Treasury Secretary Bessent said that if necessary to support Trump's efforts to end yet another conflict, his department "stands ready to take further action, and we encourage our allies to join us and comply with these sanctions."

The European Union also launched a new round of sanctions against Russia on Thursday. The measures, approved by member states on Wednesday night, include a ban on importing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice President Kallas said on Thursday that the new sanctions "are a strong signal of the US imposing sanctions on Russia's major oil companies. This indeed deprives Russia of the means to fund this conflict. It is necessary to end this conflict."