US officials have completed a new sanctions package targeting Russia’s banking and energy sectors, including state-owned Gazprom and other major entities. President Donald Trump, however, has not decided if he will approve the measures, Reuters sources stated.
Reuters reports, citing three US officials and one source familiar with the matter, that the initiative is intended to increase pressure on Moscow to accept President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal. However, it remains unclear whether Trump will authorize the package. A National Security Council official confirmed that harsher actions are being coordinated, stating, “This will have to be signed off by Trump.” A second US official added, “It’s totally his call.”
EU plans 17th sanctions package against Russia over Ukraine invasion
While Trump initially made several moves seen as favorable to Moscow — including dissolving the Justice Department task force focused on sanction enforcement and calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” — his stance has allegedly shifted. Officials cited frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to respond to US ceasefire initiatives.
Kurt Volker, former US envoy to NATO and special representative for Ukraine during Trump’s first term, told Reuters:
“[Trump] has been bending over backwards to give Putin every opportunity to say, ‘Okay, we’re going to have a ceasefire and an end to the war,’ and Putin keeps rejecting him.”
JD Vance finally admits Russia’s war in Ukraine won’t end soon
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has met with Putin four times — most recently last week — to promote a peace framework under which Ukraine would cede four regions to Russia. Yet just three days after that meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated Moscow’s maximalist terms, while Russia escalated military operations.
