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Sanctions against Russia: What has changed since January 2025?

The extensive sanctions regimes established by the UK, the EU, the US and other allies and partners, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, remain in place.

The UK Government and EU leaders have been clear in their continued support for Ukraine. There has been concern among some commentators, however, that sanctions coordination among allies, with respect to Ukraine, could slowly unravel as the Trump administration pursues a different Ukraine strategy from that of the previous US administration.

A US divergence from the EU and the G7?

The US sanctions regime against Russia is extensive and remains largely intact under the Trump administration.

However, there has been a notable shift in US sanctions policy towards Russia during President Trump’s second term. Except for some oil-related sanctions, the Trump administration has not joined the UK, the EU and other allies and partners in imposing any new wide-ranging sanctions on Russia or in lowering the Oil Price Cap, which aims to limit Russian energy revenues.

Instead, President Trump has appeared to favour the threat of sanctions or tariffs as part of a broader diplomatic strategy to bring about the negotiation of a peace agreement in Ukraine. In July 2026, President Trump was reported to have expressed support for legislation, originally introduced by the late Senator Lindsey Graham in 2025, that will impose additional sanctions on key sectors of Russia’s economy, and allow the US administration to impose 100% tariffs on the five largest importers of Russian oil and gas. Several Democrat Senators have expressed concern that the bill merely allows the President to “expand his reach into tariffs”.

US sanctions on Russian oil

In October 2025, the US imposed direct sanctions on Russia for the first time under the Trump administration. The move coincided with the cancellation of further face-to-face talks with President Putin over a potential peace agreement in Ukraine.

The US Treasury said that sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, were a direct result of Russia’s “lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine”. The US also called on Russia to immediately agree to a ceasefire.

Suspension of some oil sanctions

Global energy prices have surged since March 2026 in response to the US/ Israeli conflict with Iran which has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.

In an attempt to lower global oil prices, between March and June 2026 the US temporarily lifted sanctions on the sale and delivery of Russian-origin oil and petroleum products already in transit. Ukraine’s allies rejected the move, with many viewing it as a concession to Russia who is widely regarded as a net beneficiary of the current conflict due to the rise in oil prices.

UK and EU sanctions since January 2025

Since the beginning of 2025, the UK and the EU have continued to tighten sanctions against Russia, targeting strategic sectors of Russia’s economy including Russia’s defence industry, its banking sector, international finance and procurement networks, Russia’s shadow fleet and its energy sector more broadly, those supporting and facilitating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the occupation of the annexed territories, and those enabling sanctions evasion, including in third countries.

Measures designed to restrict Russia’s energy revenues have included lowering the Oil Price Cap, and in May 2025 the European Commission presented a roadmap for achieving a total end to the EU’s dependence on Russian energy. By the end of 2027, imports of Russian oil and gas will be stopped and Russian nuclear energy will be phased out.

Both the UK and the EU have financed the purchase of military equipment for Ukraine using the proceeds from frozen Russian assets. However, the debate over the seizure of Russian state-owned assets as a means of supporting Ukraine remains ongoing.

The government has estimated that UK, EU and US sanctions have denied Russia access to at least $450 billion since February 2022. This includes $285 billion in immobilised foreign currency reserves of the Russian Central Bank that is held within EU and G7 countries. In October 2025, the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) said that, as of May 2025, £28.7 billion of assets linked to Russia had been frozen in the UK since 2022 (PDF).

At the time of writing:

• The UK has sanctioned 3,450 individuals, entities and ships under the Russia regime. Of those, 3,215 designations have been made since 24 February 2022.
• The EU has sanctioned almost 3,000 individuals and entities and 673 shadow fleet vessels.

Sanctions against Russia have also continued under other UK and EU regimes relating to human rights, chemical weapons, cyber and the broader hybrid threats posed by Russia.