Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump sanctions Russian oil giants over Putin’s ‘lack of commitment to peace’

 Donald Trump has unleashed new sanctions on two of Russia’s largest oil companies, the first such measures since he began his second term as US president.

The Treasury Department said it was sanctioning Rosneft and Lukoil in response to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “refusal to end this senseless war”.

In a statement, the department lashed out at Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine”.

It said the sanctions would “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 decision came after Trump had cancelled a planned meeting with Putin, telling reporters on Wednesday that it “just didn’t feel right to me”. “Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere,” he said.

EU commission president Ursula Von der Leyen also said she had spoken to US treasury secretary Scott Bessent about "Russia's lack of commitment to the peace process".

Key Points

Trump slaps Russia’s biggest oil companies with sanctions over Ukraine war: ‘Now is the time to stop the killing’

Sweden to export up to 150 Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine

Why Trump and Putin’s latest summit has collapsed

Hundreds of Russian troops stranded and starving in ‘death zone’ on Ukraine’s Dnipro River

Trump appears to rule out giving Tomahawks to Ukraine

Zelensky says Russia's strike on kindergarten shows Putin not serious about peace talks

05:07 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine yesterday, including a strike on a kindergarten, showed that Vladimir Putin "clearly doesn’t feel enough pressure to stop prolonging the war".

At least six people were killed as Russia unleashed a broad attack that hit Ukrainian power plants, a kindergarten and other sites.

Mr Zelensky shared a video that showed chaos and fear in the northeastern city of Kharkiv after a Russian drone strike hit a kindergarten. Emergency workers and distraught parents were seen clutching their children as they flee through smoke and debris.

Three drones hit the kindergarten, causing a part of the school’s second floor had collapse.

Officials confirmed that all 48 children inside had been moved to an underground shelter. The frightened children were seen desperately clutching the shoulders of firemen rescuing them from the flames.

"Clearly, Russia is growing more brazen. These strikes are Russia’s spit in the face to everyone who insists on a peaceful resolution," Zelensky said on X.

Trump to press Xi to stop Putin's war in Ukraine

04:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

US president Donald Trump, ahead of his meeting next week with his Chinese counterpart in South Korea, has pressed on Xi Jinping to end the war in Ukraine.

Mr Trump said he would like to see Mr Xi use his influence on Russia's Vladimir Putin to halt the fighting in Ukraine. Mr Xi and Mr Putin have forged an increasingly close strategic alliance between their countries.

Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he planned to discuss China's purchases of Russian oil and how to stop Russia's war in Ukraine, now in its third year.

"What I’ll really be talking to him about is how do we end the war with Russia and Ukraine, whether it’s through oil or energy or anything else. And I think he’s going to be very receptive."

"He would now like - I'm not sure that he did at the beginning - he would now like that war to end," Mr Trump said, referring to Mr Xi.

Sweden signs letter of intent to export Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine

04:30 , Alex Croft

Sweden has signed a letter of intent to export up to 150 of its domestically produced Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Wednesday after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The two leaders met for talks in Linkoping in southern Sweden and visited Saab, which is the maker of the JAS 39 Gripen fighter and other equipment.

Kristersson told a news conference the two countries had signed a long-term cooperation agreement over air defences that included the possibility of exporting 100-150 newly produced Gripen E fighter jets.

"We fully realise it's a long road ahead of us," Kristersson said with a Gripen in Swedish livery in the background.

"But from today we are committed to exploring all the possibilities in providing Ukraine with a large amount of Gripen fighters in the future."