Blank Rome partner and International Trade co-chair Anthony Rapa was recently quoted in The Wall Street Journal. An excerpt of the article is copied below.
U.S. sanctions on Russia's largest oil companies mark "a step change" in efforts to pressure Moscow on the war in Ukraine and there's a good chance it will make it materially more difficult for Russia to bring oil to market, says Anthony Rapa, co-chair of Blank Rome's international trade practice. "Of the cards the U.S. had left to play this was a big one. From U.S. perspective it's going to come down to how do the major importers of Russian oil react to this," he says. While the asset freeze is probably not that big of a deal for Rosneft and Lukoil, the secondary sanctions and prospects of sanctions on any banks or companies that provide support to them or their affiliates will weigh more, he adds. "Not everybody will be able to wave that off."
To read the full article, please click here.
"Oil Futures Rally as U.S. Sanctions Russian Producers," was published in The Wall Street Journal on October 23, 2025.
