UWC welcomes US sanctions against Russia’s oil giants and calls for coordinated global action

October 23, 2025

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) welcomes the U.S. government’s decision to impose full blocking sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies and their subsidiaries, including Rosneft and Lukoil.

These measures rank among the most significant sanctions the United States has enacted against Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. They mark the first such step under President Donald Trump’s administration and send a clear signal that Washington remains firmly committed to supporting Ukraine and upholding international peace.

The full blocking sanctions effectively sever these companies from the global financial system, freeze their assets under U.S. jurisdiction, and prohibit any transactions with U.S. businesses or citizens. By targeting key revenue sources that fuel Russia’s war machine, the sanctions diminish Moscow’s ability to continue its aggression against Ukraine.

The UWC considers this action timely and strategically important. It demonstrates that the United States will not tolerate Russia’s lack of genuine commitment to ending the war and is prepared to use all available international tools to hold the aggressor accountable. However, the effectiveness of these sanctions depends not only on their scope but on their strict enforcement.

“As important as these sanctions are,” said Paul Grod, President of the Ukrainian World Congress, “they must be enforced with rigor and resolve. The world needs to see that these measures are not symbolic, they must bite, they must stick, and they must disrupt Russia’s ability to fund its war machine.”

The UWC applauds U.S. leadership in building a united anti-Putin coalition and supports the Ukrainian diplomatic position that a just and lasting peace is possible only through strength, unity, and uncompromising pressure on the aggressor.

To that end, the UWC urges the international community to adopt a broader framework of coordinated action. Specifically, we call for:

• Immediate clarification and accountability: Global institutions must publicly acknowledge the gravity of Russia’s violations and demand full transparency. Silence is complicity.
• Strengthened defense coordination: Nations on the frontlines of Russian aggression must be equipped and empowered to intercept and neutralize future threats.
• Escalating consequences: Every violation must carry a price, more sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and asset freezes.
• Reaffirmed security commitments: International alliances must show that any attack, conventional or hybrid, will be met with unified resolve.

Russia thrives on ambiguity, delay, and disorder. Its strategy is to destabilize the global order and fracture the international response. The longer the world waits, the bolder Moscow becomes.

The time for strategic patience is over. The international community must move from concern to action, from ambiguity to resolve.

Stand with Ukraine. Stand for order. Stand against terror.