Trump must act quickly: US demands to increase economic pressure on Russia

New Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities have increased pressure in the United States on Donald Trump, with calls for him to use new sanctions powers against Russia. The initiative is supported by both Republicans and Democrats.

Radio Free Europe writes about this.

Republican Don Bacon urged Trump not to delay the application of sanctions legislation. According to him, Russia continues to attack Ukrainian cities and civilians, and economic pressure is one of the levers of influence Washington has on Moscow.

“The president must act quickly to take advantage of Graham’s sanctions bill,” Bacon said.

Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the US Senate Armed Services Committee, also called for increased pressure on the Kremlin, saying Moscow was continuing its attacks despite Washington’s diplomatic efforts.

“He (Putin) is making a mockery of the peace process, but maybe he can be made to take it more seriously if his bank account is at risk,” Wicker said.

Among the possible measures envisaged by the legislation are additional financial restrictions against associates of the Russian leadership and companies that help produce weapons for Russia. It also includes sanctions on major buyers of Russian energy resources and measures against Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to circumvent restrictions.

Democrats in Congress are also pushing for sanctions mechanisms. Senator Jeanne Shaheen said that special attention should be paid to reducing Russia’s energy export revenues.

“We will monitor the implementation very closely. We consider important not only the sanctions component, but also, as I said, the income overlap,” she emphasized.

Şahin singled out countries that continue to buy Russian energy resources, including China, and called for tougher measures against “shadow fleet” operations to ensure that Russian oil and gas are not sold through opaque trading networks.

At the same time, sanctions experts note that some of the tools provided for by the new law were already available to the US administration. According to Elaine Dezensky, head of the Center for Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the new legislation may stimulate a review of the list of Russian and foreign companies and individuals that have not yet been subject to restrictions.

Among the potential targets, she named the Russian “shadow fleet”, foreign companies involved in the trade of Russian energy resources, as well as Chinese oil buyers and suppliers for Russian energy projects.

As reported, US President Donald Trump signed into law sanctions against Russia and Iran, initiated by the late Senator Lindsey Graham . The document also allows for the imposition of tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy Russian oil and gas.

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