Trump sanction pause allowed Putin to prolong Ukraine war: Senate Democrats
Trump promised while on the campaign trail to resolve the dispute between the two nations quickly, but peace talks thus far have not been fruitful.
'Six months later, our allies and adversaries are waiting to see whether President Trump will follow through on belated and continued threats to act against Russia's ongoing aggression,' Warren and Shaheen wrote. 'They are waiting to see whether his Administration's actions will be sustained and targeted in a way that focuses costs on Russia and its enablers.'
'While the next steps may be uncertain, the Trump Administration's pattern of inaction over the past six months is clear,' the duo continued in their report. 'The American people should understand the extent of the President's reluctance to use his broad authorities to help end Russia's war.'
The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment.
The president last month threatened to increase sanctions on Russia and buyers of Russian oil and gas if a ceasefire was not reached in the more than three-year-long conflict.
Warren and Shaheen slammed Trump for backing out of basic sanctions and export control actions upon his return to the Oval Office, accusing him of signaling a 'lack of commitment' after urging Group of Seven leaders to reduce Russia's sanctions and declining a G7 proposal that planned to crack down on Russian oil exports.
According to data analyzed by minority staffers, the Trump administration 'did not execute a single Russia rollout' in the first six months of his second term, dropping to zero from a minimum of 16 'sets of action' in prior six-month periods.
'Before taking office, senior Trump Administration officials had forcefully argued that the Biden Administration should have enacted stronger restrictions on Russian oil exports, a major Kremlin revenue source,' the analysis reads. 'More than half a year into the President's term, however, the new Administration has failed to ramp up sanctions against Russian oil targets — even as experts point out that there is now greater scope for sanctions to drive down Russian oil revenue without significant adverse impacts on global or U.S. energy prices.'
'The Trump Administration has left the European Union and the United Kingdom to forge ahead with more forward-leaning actions against Russian oil,' it adds.
Russian leaders have balked at the idea of harsher sanctions from Trump and have continued to launch strikes against Ukraine.
'Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences,' Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, wrote in a post on the social platform X after Trump threatened 'severe' tariffs.
'Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn't care,' Medvedev, who also previously served as president and prime minister of Russia, added.
Republican lawmakers have considered imposing economic restrictions on the Kremlin but have left the decision to the president, who in recent months has said his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin could help resolve the conflict.
'I think he's going to be very careful about what he does,' Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said when asked by The Hill if Trump can be trusted to impose costs on Putin. 'But I think he is clearly disappointed in Putin, and I think he is now coming around to recognizing that many of us were right.'
Putin has largely refused to entertain a ceasefire unless portions of Ukraine are turned over to Russia, a measure which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected.
Instead of direct economic assaults on Russia, Trump on Wednesday said he would increase tariff prices on India, a major trading partner for Moscow, by 25 percent. Special envoy Steve Witkoff also met with Putin on Wednesday, two days before sanctions are set to go into effect.
Warren and Shaheen pressed the Trump administration to do more.
'The Administration should be marshaling a united front, making clear to Russia that our global coalition will only unlock access to our major economies and financial centers once we, including the European Union and its member states, see that Russia has committed credibly to a just peace that preserves Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its ability to defend itself,' they wrote.
'But aside from breaking with our G7 partners in refusing to identify Russia as an aggressor, the Trump Administration has reportedly offered broad sanctions relief, among other concessions, without directly involving partners that have also imposed unprecedented sanctions and export controls,' the duo continued.
The Democrats added, 'This only benefits the Kremlin, which is eager to divide the United States and Europe.'
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