TV News LIES

The US imposed its broadest package of sanctions targeting Russia’s oil and gas revenues on Friday, less than two weeks before Joe Biden leaves office, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the measures would “deliver a significant blow” to Moscow. The US Treasury Department said it was designating more than 180 ships as well as major Russian oil companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, fulfilling “the G7 commitment to reduce Russian revenues from energy”

The UK government also announced sanctions against the two companies, saying their profits were “lining [Vladimir] Putin’s war chest and facilitating the war” in Ukraine. Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, said on X: “The less revenue Russia earns from oil … the sooner peace will be restored.” The sanctions should cost Russia billions of dollars a month if sufficiently enforced, a US official said.

Gazprom Neft slammed the sanctions as “baseless” and “illegitimate”, Russian state news agencies reported, while Russian insurance company Ingosstrakh said the sanctions against it would increase the risk of environmental disasters. Friday’s measures are being seen as an effort to give Kyiv and the incoming US administration of Donald Trump leverage to reach a deal for peace in Ukraine.

Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on Friday and discussed Washington’s support for Ukraine, the new US sanctions against Russia and boosting Ukrainian air defences, Zelenskyy said. In a social media post, the Ukrainian president also thanked Biden for Washington’s support in Ukraine’s war with Russia and for “the vital role the United States has played in uniting the international community”. The White House said Biden had underscored the importance of continuing to support Kyiv in the war. “It is now clear that President Putin’s war against Ukraine has been a disaster for Russia,” it said.