Hanoi: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed Friday that new US sanctions on Russia will increase pressure on Moscow. In a statement to reporters, Rutte said that support for Ukraine is paying off, noting that Russia is making what he described as "marginal" gains in Ukraine.

According to Qatar News Agency, the US announced sanctions on the two major Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, due to the war in Ukraine, prompting energy companies in China and India to consider reducing their imports of Russian crude.

In a related development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his country's allies today to impose sanctions on all Russian oil companies, Russia's shadow fleet, and its oil terminals to disrupt Moscow's ability to finance the war in Ukraine. Speaking alongside leaders of the so-called "Coalition of the Willing," a group of countries supporting Ukraine, Zelensky said that Russia, which is attacking Ukrainian energy facilities, is trying to use the coming winter to pressure Kyiv.