Donald Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft, sending oil prices higher by more than $2 a barrel.
The president imposed the new measures as his frustration grows with Russian president Vladimir Putin over the war.
The sanctions are a major policy shift for Trump, who had not put sanctions on Russia over the war and instead relied on trade measures. Trump earlier this year imposed additional 25% tariffs on goods from India in retaliation for it buying discounted Russian oil.
Here are the key Trump administration stories at a glance.
US sanctions on Russian oil over Putin’s ‘refusal’ to end Ukraine war
Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin was not being “honest and forthright” in Ukraine talks, the US treasury chief has said. The sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil came a day after a planned Trump-Putin summit in Budapest was shelved, with Washington expressing its disappointment at the lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations with Moscow.
White House East Wing about to be torn down despite no ballroom plans filed
Trump administration officials confirmed to various outlets on Wednesday that the White House’s East Wing will be demolished “within days”, a revelation given that the administration has not submitted plans for the new ballroom to the federal agency that oversees construction of federal buildings.
Trump says he has final say on paying himself for past investigations
The president declared himself the arbiter of whether or not his own administration should pay him damages over past federal investigations, telling reporters that any such decision “would have to go across my desk”.
Trump insisted on Tuesday that the government owed him “a lot of money” for previous justice department investigations into his conduct, while at the same time asserting his personal authority over any potential payout.
US military kills two people in latest boat strike, this time in Pacific
A small boat half-filled with brown packages is seen moving along at sea and then explodes and floats motionless in flames, in a brief video released by the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth,
The operation happened off coast of Colombia, marking the first such strike in the Pacific. Seven previous attacks in Caribbean killed at least 32 people.
UVA agrees to Trump demands over admissions and hiring
The University of Virginia (UVA) has become the latest school to agree to the Trump administration’s demands concerning discrimination in admissions and hiring after significant pressure from the justice department.
Democratic Senate candidate covers tattoo recognized as Nazi symbol
Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Maine, said on Wednesday that a tattoo on his chest has been covered to no longer reflect an image widely recognised as a Nazi symbol.
What else happened today:
Catching up? Here’s what happened Tuesday, 21 October.
