OFAC says sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil are already biting

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday that U.S. sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil are already having an effect: they have reduced Russia's oil revenues and are likely to reduce Russian oil sales in the long run, Reuters reports.

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) reported that the sanctions imposed on October 22 "have the expected effect of limiting Russian revenues by reducing the price of Russian oil and, consequently, the country's ability to finance its military efforts against Ukraine."

OFAC's analysis shows that Russian crude oil grades are selling at prices as low as they have been in several years. About ten major buyers of Russian oil from India and China have announced their intention to suspend purchases of Russian oil for December deliveries.

A ministry spokesman said sanctions are "starving Putin's war machine" and the department is "ready to take further action, if necessary, to stop the senseless killings" in Ukraine.

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Nov. 12 that Russia could lose at least $37 billion in oil and gas revenues in 2025 due to sanctions and Ukraine's long-range strikes.