Democrats accuse Trump of easing sanctions against Russia

Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), both members of the House Banking and Foreign Relations committees, released a report finding that the sanctions regime imposed on Russia during the first years of its full-scale conflict with Ukraine has weakened under President Donald Trump, The Washington Post reports.

According to the document, former President Joe Biden's administration spent three years creating a sanctions regime "designed to restrict Russia's main sources of income and deprive the country of supplies of materials critical to the defense industry." The sanctions require constant updating, as Moscow is learning to circumvent them, and the current administration has taken no measures to maintain their effectiveness, the authors believe.

The senators believe this could undermine future US efforts to tighten control "over Russia's military machine." "If Trump is serious about ending the war in Ukraine, he should start using the tools he already has," Warren said. One of the senators' aides involved in preparing and discussing the report noted that sanctions aren't the only solution, but they "give Trump enormous leverage he can use."

The White House rejected the Democrats' claims. Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said Trump, unlike Biden, "is taking real action to stop the killings by convincing the two countries to negotiate for the first time in years."

Lawmakers from both parties are calling on the administration to increase economic pressure on Russia, The WP reports. The newspaper cites Lindsey Graham's bill, which proposes imposing 500% tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil and gas should Moscow refuse a ceasefire. The bill has 84 co-sponsors, nearly the entire Senate. The upper chamber of Congress failed to pass the bill before the recess.

This week marks the expiration of Trump's ultimatum to resolve the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv. Following this, the Republican promised to impose secondary tariffs "of approximately 100%" on Russia and its trading partners if there is no progress. On August 6, Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff will arrive in Moscow for a meeting with Russian leaders.

The Kremlin claimed that Moscow had developed a "certain immunity" to sanctions, and that the "language of ultimatums" was unacceptable. Russian authorities consider the restrictions illegal.

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