American President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday the imposition of "huge" new sanctions against two of the largest Russian oil companies, in an attempt to force Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
The sanctions, announced via Trump's Truth Social platform, are aimed at "Rosneft" and "Lukoil" – two major oil corporations that help fund the Kremlin's "war machine", according to US Secretary of State Scott Bessant.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to end the "senseless war" prompted this step, Bessant said in a statement.
This comes a week after the United Kingdom imposed similar sanctions against "Rosneft" and "Lukoil" – and only a day after Trump said that the planned meeting with Putin in Budapest would be canceled indefinitely.
"Every time I talk to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they go nowhere. They just go nowhere," Trump said on Wednesday, after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss peace talks.
"I just felt it was time. We've been waiting a long time."
Trump's decision, taken after a series of talks and diplomatic efforts, raises questions about the real impact of these sanctions. What do they really mean – for the affected companies, for the war and for the rest of the world?