On January 7, 2026, the United States seized the Russian oil tanker "Sailor." This news quickly sparked widespread discussion around the world, because as two world powers with a history of the Cold War, any direct conflict between them would touch the nerves of the global security structure. However, this seemingly reckless and short-sighted act by the United States may just be the first step in a carefully planned strategy, and the crisis Russia faces may be more severe than imagined.

The oil tanker named "Sailor" had already been harassed by the United States as early as December 2025, at that time it was called "Bella 1." U.S. personnel attempted to board the ship but were stopped, after which the tanker sailed into the Atlantic, then changed its name to "Sailor," changed its flag state to Russia, and flew the Russian flag on the ship. The United States then tracked it for a long time, finally seizing it in international waters northwest of Scotland.

(The "Sailor" oil tanker, also known as "Bella 1," is currently seized by the United States)

The reason given by the United States for seizing the oil tanker was that it violated "U.S. sanctions." Although this reason may have become tiresome for the whole world, it seems to mark an apparent upgrade in U.S. strategy at this moment.

U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth clearly stated regarding the seizure of the Russian oil tanker that it was related to the oil blockade of Venezuela. The U.S. European Command claimed that the action against the oil tanker supported Trump's announcement on "sanctioned ships threatening the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere."

After the incident, White House Press Secretary Levitt stated that the crew of the seized oil tanker might be brought to the United States for trial.

It can be seen that the United States has set Venezuela as a "testing ground." Any country associated with Venezuela that does not achieve satisfactory results on this test will face punishment from the United States.

Attacking the Russian oil tanker serves as a "show of force," indicating that the United States' attitude applies to any country, even a superpower like Russia, which the United States will not hesitate to seize. This behavior of setting rules unilaterally for the world is one of the most typical examples of American hegemony.

In fact, before this, the relationship between the United States and Russia was once considered to be warming up. Trump not only actively promoted the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but also showed a clear bias toward Russia in terms of interests. Putin also showed goodwill toward Trump, repeatedly calling Trump a true person who pushed for resolving the Ukraine-Russia issue, and the two even spoke on the phone. This even led to tension in Ukraine and Europe, who felt "abandoned."

But is Trump really a person who values peace? Even if the answer is "yes," few would believe it. The incident of holding Maduro hostage has already shown everything. Now, looking back at Trump's active mediation of the Ukraine-Russia conflict through the situation in Venezuela and the seizure of the Russian oil tanker, his motives seem to have become complicated.

If Ukraine and Russia reach a peace agreement according to Trump's vision, then Europe would be in a new confrontation with Russia. This confrontation would be multifaceted, including military buildup similar to the Cold War, and further deterioration of economic relations.

(European Commission President von der Leyen has been pushing the entire Europe to support Ukraine)

The reason is that Europe has invested a lot of real money in aid to Ukraine. If it accepts the outcome of the Ukraine-Russia peace agreement like the United States, it would not just be a loss, but directly become a "joke" on the world stage, with a significant drop in influence and credibility, leading to further acceleration of the collapse of the already chaotic European political and economic situation. This is a situation Europe does not want to see. Therefore, Europe must maintain the absolute correctness of its initial choice to support Ukraine. If the war stops, Europe cannot recognize peace, but instead must consider Ukraine's defeat, and continue to fight in other ways.

A new confrontation would allow Trump to play a role in both Russia and Europe. Originally, although Russia and Europe were not in good terms, they had considerable energy and economic exchanges. Now, if both sides cut off communication, Europe faces an energy crisis, while Russia also has economic problems. After the Ukraine-Russia ceasefire, Russia appears to improve relations with the United States, and will begin to seek reintegration into the global economy. At this point, whether the United States advocates Russian-American cooperation or uses Europe to contain Russia, it can indirectly exert influence over Russia.

As for turning Russia into a "subordinate" of the United States, that is a long-term American strategy, but one thing is certain: the United States will never seek an equal relationship with Russia. History has repeatedly proven this.

This actually resembles a complex "indirect global domination plan" by the United States. In history, this has been a long-term attempt by the United States, including the post-World War II U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy and supporting Japan's recovery, all of which are similar. The nature of the U.S. strategy is that the more chaotic the world, the better it is for the United States.

However, although Russia publicly praised the U.S. efforts to promote peace, it did not make any concessions on the interests of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and the U.S. could not influence it. Russia used this firm stance to indicate to the world that the Ukraine-Russia peace talks could only be decided by Russia itself.

(Trump and Putin met in Alaska)

As the hope of the United States promoting the Ukraine-Russia peace talks becomes increasingly slim, Trump can clearly see that Russia is simply too big for the United States to take.

Therefore, recently, the United States has once again returned to the opposite side of Russia, just like before. The brief friendly relationship has vanished like dandelion fluff, blowing away with a puff of wind.

On January 6, 2026, four years after the start of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the United States made its first statement that it would provide Ukraine with binding security guarantees after the war. This statement clearly abandoned the previous stance of favoring Russia in the peace talks and aligned with the position of Europe. The Europe that was abandoned in the 2025 national security strategy seems to have returned to Trump's heart.

But the way of returning is not a reconciliation, but rather "binding it back." After the United States kidnapped Maduro, Trump frequently threatened Greenland, openly expressing "the possibility of military means," prompting European countries to be on high alert, as Trump had just proven that he was "not afraid to take real action."

Denmark immediately warned the United States, saying that if the United States dared to use force, NATO would end. But Trump didn't pay attention to it, and even counterattacked, saying that he always supports NATO, precisely because of the existence of the United States, "China and Russia fear NATO." In other words, Trump was warning Europe: you are not useful in NATO. This indirectly undermined the voice of Europe and other NATO countries. And on January 7, 2026, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio stated that the United States would discuss matters concerning Greenland with Denmark next week.

Trump's continuous pressure on Europe inevitably caused panic among European leaders. At this point, as long as the United States gives Europe a little bit of sweet talk, it will firmly grasp the control over Europe in Trump's hands.

The new alliance of the United States, Europe, and Ukraine to encircle Russia will thus be realized. Ukraine will become the latest front line. Once such a situation arises, it will be almost equivalent to Ukraine joining NATO, and even more serious negative consequences. The attempt of Ukraine to join NATO was also one of the fundamental reasons for the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

(The United States' desire for Greenland is also seen as a threat to the entire Europe)

This is the greater crisis Russia is facing.

This seizure of the Russian oil tanker by the United States seems to be a test of Russia's reaction, seeing how much Russia can tolerate the United States' direct transgression. How Russia deals with this crisis depends primarily on directly confronting the United States.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7592884455108051508/

Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.