US disrupts sale of Lukoil assets, calling Gunvor a Kremlin puppet

The US Treasury Department has disrupted the sale of international assets of the sanctioned Lukoil, calling Gunvor, a potential buyer, a Kremlin puppet.

Late in the evening (Kyiv time) on November 6, the US Treasury published a tweet in the social network X with the text: "President Trump has been clear that the war must end immediately. As long as Putin continues the senseless killings, the Kremlin’s puppet, Gunvor, will never get a license to operate and profit."

Less than an hour later, Gunvor responded to, which regards the statement of the US Treasury Department as false and erroneous.

"Gunvor is and has always been open and transparent about its ownership and business, and has for more than a decade actively distanced itself from Russia, stopped trading in line with sanctions, sold off Russian assets, and publicly condemned the war in Ukraine. We welcome the opportunity to ensure this clear misunderstanding is corrected. In the meantime, Gunvor withdraws its proposal for Lukoil’s international assets," the company said in a statement.

On October 30, Russia's Lukoil announced that it has agreed to sell its international network of oil wells, refineries and gas stations, as well as its trading portfolio to Gunvor, without disclosing the terms of the deal.

Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Gunvor was one of the largest traders of Russian oil.

One of its co-founders, Gennadiy Timchenko, was sanctioned by the US in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea. At the time, the US government claimed that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had investments in Gunvor, but the company has consistently denied this.

• According to the Foreign Intelligence Service, Russia's losses from oil sanctions will reach $50 billion a year. This is generally in line with the estimates of Western partners, which were made public by President Zelenskyy ($5 billion per month).