The United States is preparing a further round of sanctions on Russia’s energy sector to increase the pressure on Moscow should President Vladimir Putin reject a peace deal with Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The US is considering options such as targeting vessels in Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to transport Moscow’s oil, and traders who facilitate the transactions, the report said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The new measures could be announced as early as this week, the report said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed the move when he met a group of European ambassadors earlier this week, the report added.
On Monday, the EU imposed new sanctions targeting two oil traders for helping Moscow circumvent Western sanctions on crude exports.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru, Editing by Louise Heavens)
