Good morning. The European Union sanctioned two oil traders it accused of playing a major role in facilitating Russian energy exports, a big swing at a clandestine market that has bankrolled Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

• The traders: In a document published Monday, the EU blacklisted Etibar Eyyub, of Azerbaijan, and Murtaza Lakhani, of Pakistan, as part of a broader effort by Brussels to increase pressure on Russia’s economy and bolster support for Kyiv. The EU accused Eyyub and Lakhani of providing a “substantial source of revenue” to Moscow by transporting oil and refined fuels on risky vessels that conceal the origin of their cargoes. Both men said the actions were baseless. 
   
• Elbowing in: The move comes as European leaders seek to claim a seat at the table in the U.S.-led negotiations to end the war. Those talks continued over the weekend in Berlin, where President Trump’s envoys met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
   
• The effects: The measures are likely to throw more grit into Moscow’s energy machine. Oil and gas exports are the lifeblood of Russia’s economy, accounting for up to a third of federal budget revenue. Russian oil already trades at a steep discount to crude produced elsewhere, reflecting the high cost of dodging through a thicket of Western sanctions. Prices have also been suppressed by Ukrainian attacks on tankers carrying Russian crude.
   
• Other means: Still, the fresh EU sanctions are unlikely to pose insurmountable problems for Russia. Over almost four years of war, Moscow has developed a parallel system of shipping, trading and payments for oil exports that insulates them from Western sanctions. 

Uber faces amended lawsuit from FTC, several U.S. states alleging deceptive billing, cancellation practices.

Several U.S. states joined the Federal Trade Commission in suing Uber over deceptive billing and cancellation practices regarding its subscription service.

The amended complaint, filed Monday, garnered participation from 21 states and the District of Columbia. It includes a request for civil penalties, alleging the company violated state and federal laws.

The lawsuit, which was originally filed by the FTC in April, alleged that the ride-hailing company’s Uber One subscription service charged consumers without their consent, failed to deliver promised savings and made it difficult for users to cancel.

• The United Parcel Service has been hit with a lawsuit for allegedly shortchanging thousands of seasonal delivery workers.
   
• Danske Bank completed a period of corporate probation with the U.S. Justice Department, marking the end of a yearslong process that was started in the aftermath of a series of money-laundering investigations.
   
• Cryptocurrency regulators need to be concerned not to violate individual privacy while protecting against the threat of illicit finance, Securities and Exchange Commission head Paul Atkins said.
   
• The European Union will begin charging customs duties of 3 euros, equivalent to about $3.50, per package on e-commerce parcels valued below 150 euros going to consumers from third countries. The duties will begin in July 2026, Risk Journal reports. 

U.S. offers Ukraine security guarantee in bid to break peace-talks deadlock.

The U.S. pledged to protect Ukraine from any future Russian attack, U.S. officials said, offering to support European security guarantees and seek Senate backing for Washington’s promised role, which it hasn’t yet publicly detailed.

The American pledge, which Russian officials are likely to dispute, came on the second day of talks in Berlin among the U.S., Ukraine and European leaders and top officials. It remains unclear to what extent Washington would militarily intervene.

The shift could lift one of the biggest obstacles to Kyiv signing up to a peace deal with Russia, but a bigger hurdle remains, over territory. Still unresolved is the issue of which contested territories Kyiv would keep and whether Ukraine would withdraw unilaterally from an area of the Donetsk region that it currently controls.

Also: Ukraine Claims Naval First With Underwater Drone Strike on Russian Submarine

• Ford Motor said Monday it expected to take about $19.5 billion in charges, mainly tied to its electric-vehicle business, a massive hit as the automaker retrenches in the face of sinking EV demand.
   
• Jared Kushner pulled out of a planned Trump-branded development in Belgrade after the project sparked protests and the indictment of a senior Serbian politician.
   
• Predictions of tariffs’ impact on the economy were buoyant or dire. Here’s the reality.

• A Hong Kong court convicted media tycoon Jimmy Lai of violating the Chinese territory’s national-security law, a ruling that could force the 78-year-old mainstay of the city’s battered pro-democracy movement to spend the rest of his life in prison. President Trump on Monday said he feels bad about the news and said he had earlier asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to consider releasing Lai.
   
• The manhunt for the gunman in Saturday’s deadly shooting at Brown University has stretched into a third day, with police sharing new footage of a potential suspect after earlier releasing a person of interest.
   
• PayPal submitted applications proposing to establish a bank. The payments company said Monday it had filed applications with the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to establish PayPal Bank.
   
• The Justice Department said Monday it had arrested four people on charges of plotting a coordinated string of bombings set to go off on New Year’s Eve across Southern California.
   
• Nick Reiner, son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, was arrested on suspicion of murder in the deaths of his parents, the Los Angeles Police Department said Monday.

Follow us on X at @WSJRisk. Send tips to our reporters Max Fillion at max.fillion@dowjones.com, Mengqi Sun at mengqi.sun@wsj.com and Richard Vanderford at richard.vanderford@wsj.com.

You can also reach us by replying to any newsletter, or by emailing our editor David Smagalla at david.smagalla@wsj.com.