BRUSSELS — One of Russia’s largest industrial empires will quit its international operations after being targeted by hard-hitting U.S. sanctions, as President Donald Trump steps up efforts to force the Kremlin to end its war in Ukraine.
In a statement on Monday evening, Moscow-headquartered energy giant Lukoil confirmed it had begun looking for buyers for its foreign ventures.
The decision, it said, had been taken “owing to introduction of restrictive measures against the Company and its subsidiaries by some states,” forcing it to announce “its intention to sell its international assets.”
A former Lukoil executive, granted anonymity to speak freely, said the move could see the company’s revenues and profits plummet by “about 30 percent,” as it is forced it to sell three refineries and around half of its roughly 5,000 petrol stations worldwide.
