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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine's long-range strikes on Russian refineries have reduced oil refinery capacity by 20%. This comes after the Trump administration announced “Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a written statement. “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.” Russian oil major Lukoil says it is selling its international assets in response to sanctions imposed by the United States that aim to push Russia to agree to a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine. The company said in a statement that it was already talking with potential purchasers. The transactions would be carried out under a sanctions grace period that allows transactions with Lukoil until Nov. 21, and the company said it would seek an extension if necessary to complete the transactions. The sanctions make it difficult for Lukoil and Rosneft to do business outside of Russia. In addition to barring U.S. businesses from dealing with the two companies, the sanctions carry the threat of secondary sanctions on foreign banks that handle their transactions. That means any bank that wants to maintain contact with the dominant U.S. financial system will think twice about doing business with them. Zelenskyy said that 90% of the deep strikes on Russian soil were carried out by Ukrainian-made long-range weapons, with Zelenskyy saying that Ukraine needs additional foreign financial help to produce more of them. “We just need to work on this every day,” he said. Oil exports play a key role in funding Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, Ukraine. While Ukrainian weapons aim at the refineries, new sanctions from the U.S. and the are aiming to cut into Russia’s oil and gas export earnings. European leaders are increasingly getting worried about Russia, with the war showing no signs of ending.
