LAST UPDATE | 23 Oct 2025

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR Putin has said the latest US sanctions targeting two major oil firms were “serious”, but not strong enough to significantly affect the Russian economy.

Putin’s remarks came as Lithuania said two Russian planes had violated its airspace, the latest in a series of brief incursions into Nato member states’ skies. 

The US hit Russia’s two biggest oil producers – Rosneft and Lukoil – with sanctions yesterday, the first against Russia since Donald Trump returned to office. The move appears to be evidence of Trump’s growing frustration with Putin over the war in Ukraine.

The US Treasury sanctions threaten the oil companies’ customers in India and China with retaliation that could include being sanctioned themselves.

At the same time, the EU is phasing out by the end of next year shipments of Russian liquefied natural gas that come by ship, and is going after cryptocurrency issuers, platforms and exchanges that Russia has used to skirt restrictions on its financial dealings with the outside world.

“They (the sanctions) are serious for us, of course, that is clear. And they will have certain consequences, but they will not significantly impact our economic well-being,” Putin told reporters.

He added that the sanctions were an “unfriendly act” that “does not strengthen Russia-US relations, which have only just begun to recover.”

Still, even after new sanctions and the postponement of a Budapest summit with Trump, Putin appeared to remain open to dialogue.

“Dialogue is always better than confrontation or any disputes, and especially war. We have always supported the continuation of dialogue,” Putin told journalists.

But if Russia was attacked with US Tomahawk missiles, which Ukraine seeks, the response would be “very strong, if not overwhelming,” he added.

Rosneft and Lukoil account for roughly half of Russia’s oil exports, which along with natural gas and oil products have supplied 30% to 50% of state revenues in the past decade. The biggest customers for Russian oil are China, at about 2.1 million barrels per day, and India, at 1.5 million.

Refineries in India and China that buy Russian oil to turn it into petrol and diesel could face US sanctions themselves if they deal with those companies, and so could their banks.

The EU also added sanctions on Rosneft and sanctioned 117 more tankers it says are part of Russia’s shadow fleet used to evade a western-imposed price cap on Russian oil, taking the total to 557.

The sanctions do not take effect until November 21, a grace period that gives traders a chance to wind down business with Rosneft and Lukoil, but also provides a chance for Russia to make more money in the short term.

Airspace violation 

Lithuania summoned a Russian diplomat today after two Russian planes entered its airspace.

A Sukhoi SU-30 fighter and an IL-78 tanker from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad passed through Lithuanian airspace for 700 metres before leaving it 18 seconds later, probably during aerial refuelling training, according to a short statement from the NATO member country’s military.

Two Spanish airforce Typhoon Eurofighters – part of a NATO air patrol mission in the Baltic – were quickly deployed after the planes breached Lithuania’s border.

The three Baltic countries, all NATO members and firm supporters of Ukraine, border either Russia or its ally Belarus and have been exposed to violations of their territory by Russian planes or drones.

In September, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland and remained there for approximately 12 minutes.

This incident prompted Tallinn to request an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council and the activation of Article 4 of the Atlantic Treaty, which provides for consultations between allies in the event of a threat to one of its members.

Also in September, Russian drones entered Polish airspace and at least three were shot down.

With reporting from AFP and Press Association