Headline Roundup • October 28th, 2025
Days After Trump’s Sanctions, Lukoil Announces Plan to Sell Foreign Assets
Energy,Oil,Russia,Business,World,Eastern Europe,Sanctions,Global Economy,Hungary,Romania,Slovakia,Donald Trump,Trump Administration,Ukraine War
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Russian oil giant Lukoil announced on Monday that it is seeking buyers for some of its foreign assets, less than a week after President Donald Trump sanctioned the company.
Key Quote: Lukoil said in a statement, “LUKOIL informs that owing to introduction of restrictive measures against the Company and its subsidiaries by some states the Company announces its intention to sell its international assets. The consideration of bids from potential purchasers has been started.”
For Context: According to its site, Lukoil runs upstream operations in 14 countries and manages sales in 19. The US also included the Kremlin-owned Rosneft in last week’s sanctions, though Reuters (Center bias) reported on Tuesday that this will exclude Rosneft’s operations in Germany. Britain also sanctioned both companies.
Russian Oil in Europe: Several NATO and EU member states still receive Russian oil, such as Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has announced plans to meet with Trump, as his country has reportedly explored ways to circumvent the sanctions. Last week, an explosion occurred at a major Lukoil refinery in Romania. Hours later, an explosion occurred in neighboring Hungary at the nation’s largest oil refinery, which also receives crude oil from Russia.
How The Media Covered It: Media from the left and center framed the development as the result of President Trump’s sanctioning of Russia, with hopes of winding down the Ukraine conflict. Newsweek (Center) prominently described the development as a “win” for President Trump. As of Tuesday morning, AllSides did not find coverage from the right, though several outlets from the right previously covered the sanctions package and developments regarding Hungary.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Russia's second-largest oil producer, Lukoil (LKOH.MM), opens new tab, said on Monday it would sell its international assets following sanctions over Ukraine announced last week by the United States.
The planned sale of the assets is the most consequential action so far by a Russian company in the wake of Western sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine, which started in February 2022.
Russian oil giant Lukoil said Monday it will sell off its international assets after new U.S. sanctions targeting Russia's energy sector took effect, marking one of the most significant corporate moves since President Donald Trump's latest measures against Moscow.
The United States announced sanctions last week on Lukoil and Rosneft, Russia's two largest private oil companies, in an effort to tighten financial pressure over the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. Britain followed with its own restrictions, targeting both companies and dozens of so-called shadow fleet tankers accused of helping Russia evade...
Nikolay Doychinov/Getty Images
One of Russia's largest industrial empires will quit its international operations after being targeted by hard-hitting U.S. sanctions, as President Donald Trump steps up efforts to force the Kremlin to end its war in Ukraine.
In a statement on Monday evening, Moscow-headquartered energy giant Lukoil confirmed it had begun looking for buyers for its foreign ventures.
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