The sanctions could break a diplomatic deadlock by making it more difficult for India to continue buying from Russia, a point of contention between President Trump and Narendra Modi.
NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius about what influence President Trump wields with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine.
The sanctions against oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil followed months of calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hit Russia with harder sanctions on its oil industry.
