Unraveling claim Trump lifted sanctions on Russia in June 2025

In late June 2025, social media users shared a screenshot of a Department of Treasury document that they claimed showed that U.S. President Donald Trump had "lifted sanctions on Russia."

For example, one X post featuring the image, that had amassed more than 230,000 views as of this writing (archived), read: "BREAKING: Donald Trump lifts sanctions on Russia, allowing U.S. transactions with sanctioned Russian banks — including Sberbank, VTB and even the Central Bank — for civil nuclear projects."

The document was titled "General License No. 115B - Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to Civil Nuclear Energy." General License No. 115B (GL 115B) — issued by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on June 27, 2025 — authorized specific limited transactions with certain sanctioned Russian entities.

(X user @levparnas)

The claim appeared elsewhere on X and in various iterations on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook, Reddit, Imgur, YouTube and Threads.

This led many to believe that the Trump administration had reversed U.S. sanctions on Russia. However, while the document circulating in social media posts was real, it was not a sweeping order from Trump. Rather, it was an update to a license first issued under the administration of former President Joe Biden.

The only major changes were the removal of a restriction on a Russian-backed nuclear project in Hungary and the extension of the date until which transactions with certain sanctioned Russian entities could be authorized. There was no evidence Trump lifted all sanctions on Russia or made a broad policy shift.

As The New York Times reported in early July 2025, since Trump took office in January, the U.S. had not issued any new sanctions related to Russia's war in Ukraine and in some cases had eased restrictions. In that broader context, while the GL 115B document applied only to civil nuclear energy projects that began before November 2024 and contained only two substantive changes to the prior version of the license, as outlined below, it reflected a more permissive approach to Russia sanctions that has raised concerns among commentators.

Source and background of the document

The full text of GL 115B is publicly available on the Treasury's website. That link shows the license was issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, an agency within the Treasury, on June 27, 2025 — during Trump's second term in office — under an executive order that was signed by Biden during his administration.

Biden signed EO 14024 on April 15, 2021. The order is titled "Executive Order on Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation."

Trump's GL 115B permitted engaging in certain transactions with numerous sanctioned Russian entities, including major financial institutions like Sberbank, VTB and the Russian Central Bank. These transactions, which were previously prohibited under EO 14024, were authorized through Dec. 19, 2025, but only if they are related to civil nuclear energy projects that began before Nov. 21, 2024. 

According to the Treasury's FAQ section, "civil nuclear energy" refers to nonmilitary uses like power generation, uranium processing and the operation of civil nuclear energy projects. The website also underscored that GL 115B "does not authorize, for instance, transactions involving certain sanctioned Russian financial institutions related to the development of new civil nuclear energy power plants after November 21, 2024."

GL 115B was a revision of previous licenses. It replaced GL 115A, which was issued during Biden's administration on Jan. 10, 2025. GL 115A permitted engaging in nearly all the same transactions with the same sanctioned Russian entities as GL 115B; however, it gave authorization until June 30, 2025. Therefore, GL 115B simply extended that authorization through Dec. 19, 2025. In that sense, GL 115B was a revision of a preexisting license rather than a sweeping new policy initiated solely by Trump. The original General License (GL 115) was issued on Dec. 18, 2024, and applied only to one entity — Gazprombank Joint Stock Company.

GL 115B was nearly identical to GL 115A, except it removed the prohibition on transactions related to the Paks II nuclear power plant project in Hungary, which is a Russian-backed initiative (see the relevant part of GL 115A below).

(U.S. Department of the Treasury)

GL 115B omitted this prohibition, meaning that such transactions would now be allowed under this license unless separately restricted by other sanctions or regulations. 

A Treasury spokesperson said via email: "The Trump administration has not lifted sanctions; all sanctions remain in effect, and there has been no change to our sanctions policy in regard to Russia. This general license is a continuation of a GL initially granted in 2024 under the Biden Administration."

Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade, wrote on X on June 29, 2025: "The US has lifted sanctions that blocked construction of the Paks II nuclear plant. These politically motivated measures were imposed by the Biden admin just before @realDonaldTrump took office. Grateful to the Trump admin, as this project will guarantee our future energy supply."

(X user @FM_Szijjarto)

Over the years, Snopes has fact-checked numerous viral claims involving Trump and Russia. For instance, in May 2024, we investigated whether Trump once stated that he would not defend NATO allies if they were attacked by Russia. We also looked at a claim accusing Ukraine of selling weapons on the black market — that were provided by the U.S. and other countries — amid its war with Russia.