The United States on Wednesday announced sweeping sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil firms, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to curb Moscow’s war funding and press for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

The new sanctions, announced by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), target both companies and several of their subsidiaries.

PERMANENT PEACE DEPENDS ON RUSSIA: US

In its official statement, OFAC said the sanctions were introduced because of Russia’s "lack of serious commitment to a peace process" aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. "Today’s actions increase pressure on Russia’s energy sector and degrade the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine and support its weakened economy," the department said.

It added that Washington remains

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