Putin breaks silence on Trump’s Russia sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken his silence on the U.S. sanctions targeting Moscow’s oil industry, calling them “unfriendly” and insisting Russia will not bow to foreign pressure, even as the country faces mounting economic strain.

The sanctions, announced by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, blacklist Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, freezing their U.S. assets and banning all transactions with American firms.

Secondary sanctions also threaten foreign banks that process Russian oil trades.

Together, these companies produce over 3 million barrels of oil daily roughly five percent of the global supply and fund much of Russia’s war efforts.

Trump’s move comes after the collapse of planned peace talks between him and Putin in Budapest, with the White House citing Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.”

The sanctions immediately sent global oil prices surging nearly five percent, while China froze Russian purchases and India, Russia’s largest remaining buyer, prepares to slash imports.

Speaking in Moscow on Thursday, Putin condemned the measures but tried to project confidence. “Dialogue is always better than war,” he said, while stressing that Russia’s economy will withstand external pressure. His deputy, Dmitry Medvedev, meanwhile described Trump as a “talkative peacemaker” who has now fully embarked on a “warpath against Russia.”

The Kremlin is also facing renewed scrutiny after Russian warplanes again breached NATO airspace. Lithuania reported that two Russian aircraft, a Su-30 fighter and an Il-78 refueling tanker, entered its airspace for 18 seconds before being intercepted by Spanish jets. Russia denied the violation, claiming the planes were on a “training flight” from Kaliningrad.

Despite Putin’s confident front, the sanctions strike a significant blow to Russia’s finances, with oil revenues making up roughly a third of the national budget. Industry insiders say India’s expected reduction in imports could further squeeze Moscow’s coffers, forcing state refiners to reroute supply chains away from the blacklisted companies.

On the diplomatic front, Trump continues to push for a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine. Reports suggest his recent meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky descended into a heated exchange, as Trump pressed Ukraine to accept Russia’s conditions, though the U.S. President denies the claim.