Oil prices jump after Trump puts sanctions on Russia in major policy shift

Donald Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft, sending oil prices higher by more than $2 a barrel.

The president imposed the new measures as his frustration grows with Russian president Vladimir Putin over the war.

The sanctions are a major policy shift for Trump, who had not put sanctions on Russia over the war and instead relied on trade measures. Trump earlier this year imposed additional 25% tariffs on goods from India in retaliation for it buying discounted Russian oil.

Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin was not being “honest and forthright” in Ukraine talks, the US treasury chief has said. The sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil came a day after a planned Trump-Putin summit in Budapest was shelved, with Washington expressing its disappointment at the lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations with Moscow.

Trump administration officials confirmed to various outlets on Wednesday that the White House’s East Wing will be demolished “within days”, a revelation given that the administration has not submitted plans for the new ballroom to the federal agency that oversees construction of federal buildings.