The Biden administration has imposed some of its toughest sanctions on Russia, in moves designed to hit Moscow's energy revenues that are fueling its war in Ukraine.
The measures target more than 200 entities ranging from traders and officials to insurance companies, as well as hundreds of oil tankers.
For the first time since Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine, the UK will join the US in directly sanctioning energy companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.
“Fighting Russia's oil companies will deplete Russia's war chest – and the ruble we take from Putin will help save lives in Ukraine,” said Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Some of the measures announced by the US Treasury on Friday will be enshrined in law, meaning the incoming Trump administration will have to involve Congress if it wants to lift them.
Washington is also moving to severely limit who can legally buy Russian energy, and it is going after Moscow's “shadow fleet” of ships that deliver oil around the world.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the moves “increase the risk of sanctions involving Russian oil trade, including shipping and financial facilities in support of Russian oil exports.”
President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin was in “hard shape,” adding that “it's really important that he doesn't have room to breathe to continue doing the god-awful things he's been doing.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for what he called its “bilateral support.”
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Oil price cap One of the key measures planned is to curb Russia's energy exports.
But as Olga Khakova from the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center explains, her The effectiveness was “thin”. Because it was also trying to avoid reducing the amount of Russian oil in the market.
This was due to concerns about the impact of supply cuts on the global economy.
But experts say the oil market is now in a healthy position.
“U.S. oil production (and exports) are at record levels and growing, and so the price impact of removing Russian oil from the market, the target of today's sanctions, will be minimized,” said Daniel Fried, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. .
“The U.S. government has gone after Russia's oil sector in a big way, intending to deal with what could be bodily harm,” Fried added.
John Herbst, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, said the steps were “excellent” but their implementation would be critical.
“Which means that the Trump administration will determine whether these actions actually put pressure on the Russian economy,” he said.