Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed not to bend to pressure from the West after the United States hit Russia’s two biggest oil companies with sanctions.

US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s top oil firms , Rosneft and Lukoil, on Wednesday in an effort to pressure Putin to reach a ceasefire in his country’s invasion of Ukraine. Trump’s sanctions carried the threat of risks to foreign financial institutions that do business with these firms — a warning that could make it harder for countries like India to continue to buy oil from Moscow.

The European Union adopted a new round of sweeping sanctions against Russian energy exports on Thursday, as well, banning liquefied natural gas imports.

While Putin called the US sanctions an “unfriendly act” on Thursday, the

See Full Page