G7 Nears Agreement to Ramp-Up Sanctions on Russia’s Oil Revenue

By Alberto Nardelli and Michael Nienaber (Bloomberg) — Group of Seven nations are closing in on an agreement to significantly increase sanctions on Russia over its reluctance to end the war against Ukraine, according to a draft statement seen by Bloomberg.

“We are aligned on the need to act together and believe that now is the time for a significant coordinated escalation of measures to bolster Ukraine’s resilience and critically impair Russia’s ability to wage war against Ukraine,” the draft says.

G-7 finance ministers are due to speak on Wednesday and the statement could still change before it’s finalized and all seven nations — including the US — sign onto it, according to people familiar with the matter. Other G-7 members include the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.

The current draft says the G-7 are working on a range of options, which include new measures on key economic sectors such as energy, finance and the military industry as well as targeting nations and entities that are boosting Moscow’s war efforts and helping it get around existing sanctions.

“We agreed that now is the time to maximize pressure on Russia’s oil exports, a major source of their revenue,” the statement says. It suggests that the G-7 could move to sanction Russian oil majors, and target its shadow fleet of oil tankers and energy trade.

The draft statement suggests the ministers will also discuss Ukraine’s financial needs, including coordinating ways to make further use of frozen Russian central bank assets.

Separately, European Union leaders are meeting in Denmark as momentum gathers over a plan to use funds immobilized in the bloc to provide Ukraine with €140 billion ($164 billion) in fresh aid. The EU is also working on a new sanctions package, that would see it ban Russian liquefied natural gas by 2027 and impose more restrictions on Moscow’s energy and financial sectors.

Both the EU and the G-7 are hoping to conclude their respective sanctions packages this month, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.

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