Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States on Wednesday hailed long-awaited sanctions on Russia imposed by President Donald Trump, saying only a show of strength would work against Moscow.

“This decision fully aligns with Ukraine’s consistent position that peace can only be achieved through strength and by exerting maximum pressure on the aggressor using all available international instruments,” Ambassador Olga Stefanishyna said in a statement.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed the US Treasury Department's decision on Wednesday to impose sanctions on major Russian oil companies.

“Appreciated this evening’s call with @SecScottBessent and the Treasury decision to sanction major Russian oil companies in the face of Russia’s lack of commitment to the peace process,” for Ukraine, von der Leyen said on X.

She added that the US sanctions, combined with the imminent adoption of the EU’s 19th package of sanctions against Russia, are “a clear signal from both sides of the Atlantic that we will keep up collective pressure on the aggressor”.

The US imposed new sanctions on Wednesday targeting Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, citing Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment” to a peace process to end the Ukraine war.

The Treasury Department said in a statement that the measures target Russia’s energy sector to “degrade the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine” and “support its weakened economy”.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, meanwhile, said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be brought to the table for a ceasefire with “sustained pressure”.

“I’m absolutely convinced that with sustained pressure, we will be able to get Putin to the table to agree with a ceasefire, and then other talks coming after that,” Rutte told reporters following a news conference at the White House with US President Trump.

Rutte said the two exchanged views on how they can end the Russia-Ukraine war and how NATO could contribute and what steps could be taken to convince Putin to accept a ceasefire.

He called Trump, given his “powerful position and his vision on this”, “the only one who can sit down with Putin and get him to change his calculus and give him a bit of bandwidth to do that”.

Highlighting the US’s renewed involvement in security guarantees for Ukraine, Rutte noted the close cooperation with the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and relevant European countries within the framework of security commitments.