The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Monday that it will impose sanctions on two major Russian oil companies, including the state-owned Russian oil company Russian Petroleum Corporation and the private company LUKK Petroleum Corporation, as well as a number of subsidiaries of both in Russia.

This was the first time in Trump's second term to impose direct sanctions on Russia. At present, the Russian-Ukrainian ceasefire talks have stagnated, weakening Trump's patience with Russian President Putin.

Analysts pointed out that the measures would further disconnect the two companies from the U.S. dollar and hit important oil revenues in the Russian economy, but Trump had previously admitted that he doubted whether these measures could effectively pressure Russia.

The European Union agreed on Wednesday to impose new sanctions on Russia due to the war in Ukraine.The EU also extended the scope of sanctions to several countries, including 12 Chinese companies and 3 Indian companies, on the grounds that these companies helped Russia bypass Western sanctions on technology transfer, especially military-industrial production.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun held a regular press conference

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that the European side has repeatedly launched illegal unilateral sanctions against Chinese enterprises on the grounds of involvement in Russia. China is strongly dissatisfied with this and resolutely opposes it, and has made solemn representations to the European side. "We have repeatedly stressed that China is not the creator of the Ukrainian crisis, let alone a party involved. It has been committed to promoting peace and talks, has not provided lethal weapons to any party to the conflict, and strictly controlled the export of dual-use items." Guo Jiakun pointed out that most countries, including Europe and the United States, are engaged in trade with Russia, and the European side is simply not qualified to make irresponsible remarks about the normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian enterprises. We urge the European side to stop talking about China and harming China's interests, which is not conducive to the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations. China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

Trump is patient.

The Washington Post that the imposition of sanctions indicates that the Trump administration¡¯s patience with Putin ¡°is weakening.¡±

According to a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department, Putin "lacks a serious commitment to the peace process to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict." Trump said in this regard,"It's time for sanctions, and we have been waiting for a long time." He hoped that the sanctions would not last too long and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could be subsided.

Trump's position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict has changed again and again. Earlier this month, he considered approving the supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to put pressure on Russia, but then gave up and denied the Wall Street Journal's claim that the United States allowed Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike Russia.

After talking to Putin on the phone and meeting with Ukraine President Zelensky, Trump called for a freeze on the front line and a ceasefire, making Russia dissatisfied. Mikhail Rostovsky, a political columnist for the Moscow Communist Youth League newspaper, published an article saying,"Russia has no reason to agree to a simple ceasefire, and Trump's appeal is 'not suitable for Putin.' Putin needs to buy time to 'push Zelensky further into a desperate situation,' which is in sharp contrast to Trump's insistence on ending the war as soon as possible no matter what."

Trump's dissatisfaction with Putin was obvious on the 22nd. "Every time I talk to Vladimir, it's a great conversation, but then it goes nowhere." "They just go nowhere," he said, explaining why he decided to cancel the Budapest summit scheduled for the coming weeks. "I just didn't feel right." Trump said. "It felt like we couldn't get there. So I canceled." But he said the two men would meet "sometime in the future."

Trump is accused of losing patience with Putin (Data Map/Vision China)

Hours later, Russia launched an attack overnight in Ukraine, killing seven people, including two children.

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio proposed the prospect of talks with Russia that night, and we still want to meet with the Russians.For months, the president has repeatedly said that if the peace agreement does not progress, he will have to do something at some point, and today is the day he makes his decision.¡±

To hit the lifeline of Russia's economy

Oil is one of Russia¡¯s largest sources of revenue, and it is estimated that the oil exports of the two sanctioned companies together account for 50 percent of Russia¡¯s total oil exports.

Former senior U.S. State Department sanctions official Eddie Fishman said the two Russian companies had previously been ¡°isolated from the U.S. capital market.¡±

The sanctions further cut ties between the two companies and the U.S. banking system and financial institutions, basically prohibiting them from operating in U.S. dollars and forbidding them from doing business with foreign companies.

The Treasury also warned that ¡°foreign financial institutions that carry out or facilitate major transactions, or involve providing any services to Russian military-industrial bases, will also be at risk of secondary sanctions.¡±

¡°Now is the time to stop killing and an immediate ceasefire.The Treasury Department is ready to take further action if necessary to support President Trump¡¯s efforts to end another war, and we encourage our allies to join and abide by these sanctions,¡± US Treasury Secretary Bessent said.

The picture shows U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessant (Data Map/U.S. Media)

Fishman pointed out, "At least in the short term, the deal with Russian oil will fall back. Whether this marks a long-term strategic squeeze on Russian oil revenue will depend on whether the United States can actively treat and continue this policy."

It can effectively pressure Putin.

The sanctions are a major policy shift by Trump, who did not impose sanctions on Russia due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict before, but relied on trade measures. In retaliation for India's purchase of Russian oil at a discounted price, the United States imposed a 25% tariff on Indian goods.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the sanctions are expected to strike the Russian economy. Former US President Biden¡¯s senior European and Russian adviser and current senior researcher at the International Strategic Research Institute, Mr. Carpenter, said: ¡°This is a very important move because it is the first (Russian) sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, which hit Russia¡¯s most vulnerable area, namely oil revenues.¡±

Carpenter added that the Obama administration had previously mainly targeted Russian oil companies 'operations in the Arctic, deepwater and unconventional exploration fields, and this sanctions imposed a comprehensive blockade on these companies.

"Russia's war machine will be severely hit." Kim Donawan, a former White House and Treasury official now at the think tank Atlantic Council, said,"These companies are already having difficulty funding the government and the military, so this will affect Russia's ability to continue the war and may become a driving factor in pressure on Putin to negotiate."

Trump¡¯s sanctions strategic attitude toward Russia has been cold-heated. Last year, he said he had a tendency to quickly lift sanctions because it could jeopardize the dominance of the dollar in global oil trading.

Trump also doubts that increased sanctions on Russia will convince Putin to change his stance because Russia has been under tremendous pressure from the United States and its Western allies, and I don¡¯t know if this will affect Russia because Putin obviously wants the war to continue.