Oil prices surged around 5% to a two-week high on Thursday after the U.S. imposed sanctions on major Russian suppliers Rosneft and Lukoil over Moscow's war in Ukraine, prompting energy firms in China and India to consider cutting Russian imports.

The move comes as refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, are set to sharply cut their crude imports from Moscow, to comply with the U.S. sanctions imposed over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

The Treasury Department announced the additional U.S. sanctions on Russia, targeting the oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. Secretary Scott Bessent told reporter earlier that the sanctions would be announced.

Oil prices surged around 5% to a two-week high on Thursday after the U.S. imposed sanctions on major Russian suppliers Rosneft and Lukoil over Russia's war in Ukraine. Sanctions against Russia could reduce the supply of oil available to global markets as Russia was the world's second-biggest crude producer in 2024 after the U.

The European Union adopted its 19th package of Russia sanctions on Thursday, banning Russian liquefied natural gas imports and targeting entities ranging from Chinese refiners and Central Asian banks to a Russian prison medic.

The European Union on Thursday agreed a new sanctions package targeting Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers and banning imports of Russian liquefied natural gas. The move comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joins EU leaders at a summit in Brussels to push for more support against Russia’s invasion.

Britain targeted Russia's two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, and 51 shadow fleet tankers on Wednesday in what it described as a new bid to tighten energy sanctions and choke off Kremlin revenues.