U.S. Treasury Secretary Bennett posted today (October 23): "It is time to stop the killing and immediately cease hostilities. Given that President Putin has refused to end this senseless war, the Treasury is imposing sanctions on two of Russia's largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin's war machine. If necessary, the Treasury is prepared to take further action to support President Trump's efforts to end another war. We encourage our allies to join us and comply with these sanctions."
Today's U.S. actions target two of Russia's largest oil companies — Rosneft and Lukoil — which have now been placed on the U.S. sanctions list.
Rosneft and Lukoil hold significant positions in the global energy supply chain. The U.S. sanctions measures will not only directly affect the international business operations and financing channels of these two companies, but may also trigger a chain reaction in regions such as Europe that depend on Russian energy, further intensifying fluctuations in the global energy market. From the perspective of the actual effects of the sanctions, this seems more like an "escalation of pressure" by the U.S. against the backdrop of the prolonged Ukraine conflict — attempting to consume Russia's capacity for sustaining the war through continuous economic sanctions.
However, it is worth noting that Russia's diversified energy trade strategies (such as deepening energy cooperation with Asian economies) and the rigidity of global energy demand may dilute the impact of the sanctions to some extent. This implies that the competition between the U.S. and Russia in the energy economy may become long-term and complicated.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846726935899139/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.