The Kremlin is on the edge — and this is a chance that must not be missed. Now is the perfect moment to impose new sanctions on Russia, experts from Foreign Policy write.
In recent weeks, Europeans have shown unity and resilience, presenting Moscow with an ultimatum: either agree to a ceasefire or prepare for a wide range of new sanctions. The deadline was set to expire on 12 May evening. But lacking support from the US, the Europeans backed down and extended the ultimatum until 15 May.
At the end of April, US President Donald Trump mentioned additional sanctions against Russia, raising hopes for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Later, however, the American leader reverted to his usual approach of appeasing Vladimir Putin and pressuring Ukraine after the Kremlin proposed yet more negotiations instead of the immediate cease-fire.
“In so doing, the US president undercut a separate European cease-fire initiative backed up with the threat of new sanctions that the Europeans apparently thought they had coordinated with Washington,” says the analysis.
If Trump were genuinely interested in pressuring Putin, his advisers would tell him that now is the perfect time to do it.
The Kremlin is experiencing a moment of acute vulnerability, opening new opportunities to force Moscow to end the war.
Nicholas Fenton, deputy director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, argues that the US and its allies should launch a coordinated campaign to reduce Russian exports and encourage capital flight.
Some of Russia’s most important oil and gas companies, including Gazprom, Lukoil, and Rosneft, remain largely untouched by sanctions.
Freezing the foreign accounts of these companies could take tens of billions of dollars out of play.
Imposing additional sanctions on any companies or individuals doing business with them would significantly complicate operations for Moscow’s oil firms, says Nataliia Shapoval, head of policy research at the Kyiv School of Economics.
US Senator Lindsey Graham claims that a Senate bill he has proposed to tighten sanctions against Russia has support. According to The Wall Street Journal, Graham wants to impose 500% tariffs on goods imported from any country that buys Russian oil, gas, uranium, or other natural resources.
On 14 May, the European Union agreed on its 17th package of sanctions against Russia, including blacklisting 189 additional vessels of Russia’s shadow fleet and sanctioning 75 individuals and over 30 companies supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex.
However, this package has not yet been formally adopted. The final approval by the EU Foreign Affairs Council is scheduled for 20 May.
