The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump implemented tougher sanctions on Russia’s oil, gas, and banking sectors. This was achieved by further restricting Russia’s access to U.S. payment systems, according to CBS News, citing sources.
The U.S. Treasury Department on March 13 revoked a waiver that allowed certain energy transactions to be processed through sanctioned Russian banks.
This exception, which had been in place for 60 days since January under the previous Biden administration, enabled 12 sanctioned Russian banks to carry out energy-related transactions, including oil, gas, coal, and uranium.
As a result, Russia’s largest banks such as SberBank, Alfa-Bank, and the country’s central bank will no longer be able to use U.S. payment systems for large energy transactions.
These measures are expected to complicate the purchase of Russian oil by other countries, potentially increasing its price by $5 per barrel – a notable rise following a recent decline.
The current international cost of a barrel on the market for crude oil hovers at $70.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on March 12 reported that Trump had decided not to renew the license, and there have been no official comments since on the issue.
These tougher restrictions come amid ongoing pressure from the Trump administration on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire in its war against Ukraine, according to CBS.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also stated that Trump is prepared to implement the most stringent sanctions on Russia if they would help achieve a successful negotiation for ending the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is also preparing to resume shipments of high-precision ground-launched small diameter bombs (GLSDB) bombs to Ukraine, which have been upgraded to better withstand Russian jamming efforts, Reuters reports.
“Ukraine over the last year sought weapons with longer ranges than the 43 miles (69 km) of U.S.-provided GMLRS rockets so Kyiv could attack and disrupt Russian supply lines and muster points,” the report reads.
Those bombs are being sent back to Ukraine after undergoing tests and modifications designed to improve their resilience to Russian electronic warfare. These weapons were originally procured during the Biden administration as part of U.S. support for Ukraine.
The GLSDB bombs, which have a range of 161 kilometers, combine a GBU-39 bomb and an M26 rocket engine.
Previously, they were unable to reach their targets due to Russian jamming, but with the recent upgrades, they are now more effective. Ukraine last used them several months ago, and new shipments are reportedly already on their way.
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