Trump Sanctions Russian Oil After Canceling Putin Meeting
US President Donald Trump has sanctioned Russia's two biggest oil producers after canceling a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The sanctions reflect Trump's growing frustration over Russia's continued war in Ukraine. But while the sanctions may sting, some analysts don't think they'll deter Putin.
US Sanctions Russia’s Biggest Oil Producers After Cancelled Trump-Putin Meeting
REPORTER:
Following a canceled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump has sanctioned Russia’s two biggest oil producers. It’s a sign of growing frustration with Russia over its continued war in Ukraine.
REPORTER:
It’s another deadly Russian strike on Ukraine, this time on a kindergarten.
REPORTER:
48 children inside are all safe, but traumatized. At least one adult died in the attack on the city of Kharkiv.
Alona (HELPED EVACUATE CHILDREN):
The children were very scared. They cried. We calmed them down. One girl had minor cuts. I provided first aid. We evacuated the children to the shelter and calmed them down as they were crying.
REPORTER:
It was a similar story in the capital, Kyiv. Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that this attack killed six people, including two children in and around the city. Talks between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin about ending Russia’s war in Ukraine are scrapped indefinitely. And residents here can’t foresee peace anytime soon.
Nadiia Zinchuk (SHOP EMPLOYEE):
What sort of ceasefire can we talk about when people are dying just like that? There's just no way. Students were living here, there was no military personnel here.
REPORTER:
The US president is trying to put pressure on Moscow though. Trump wants the front line frozen. And while he says he has good conversations with Putin, they don’t produce results. So he's imposing fresh sanctions—this time on Russia’s two biggest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil—sanctions Trump hopes won’t need to last long.
Donald Trump (US PRESIDENT):
We would like to see them just take the line that has been formed over quite a long period of time and go and let's, you know, go home. Last week they had almost 8,000 soldiers killed. Many Russians were killed last week. Many Ukrainians were killed last week. We think it's ridiculous, and we'd like to have it end.
REPORTER:
Meanwhile, Putin spent part of Wednesday overseeing a test of Russian nuclear forces’ readiness.
Vladimir Putin (RUSSIAN PRESIDENT):
Good afternoon, esteemed Comrades. Today we have a scheduled, I stress, a scheduled training on management of nuclear forces, as the minister of defense has just reported. Let us start working.
REPORTER:
Russia does these tests regularly—and they follow NATO’s own annual nuclear drills earlier in the month. But these tests are useful as a reminder to the west that it’s Moscow that has the world’s biggest nuclear arsenal.
REPORTER:
So what’s next? Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy supports the idea of a temporary freeze along the present front line. But Russia says no. It says Ukraine must disarm and hand over the land that Russia has taken—both non-starters for Ukraine.
REPORTER:
Are these latest US sanctions likely to move the dial? The two targets are big producers: Rosneft alone accounts for around 40% of Russian oil and around 6% of the global supply. Still, some analysts think the sanctions won’t change Putin’s mind.
Maria Snegovaya (SENIOR FELLOW, EUROPE, RUSSIA AND EURASIA PROGRAM AT CSIS):
Even with shrinking oil revenues, which currently actually constitute about like energy revenue total, constitute about 30 percent of Russia's budget income, so that's significant. Nonetheless, that alone is unlikely to radically alter Putin's calculus just because he's been fighting it for a while.
REPORTER:
And so, Europe’s deadliest war since WWII grinds on—the canceled Trump-Putin summit is yet another false start, and the prospect of peace remains elusive as ever.
Howard Chang and John Van Trieste for TaiwanPlus.
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