US Treasury Scott Bessent says tougher sanctions can bring the Russian economy to ‘full collapse.’
United States President Donald Trump has expressed his frustration with Russia following Moscow’s largest-ever aerial assault on Ukraine, as his administration floats tougher sanctions to “collapse” the Russian economy.
Speaking on Sunday after Russia launched its biggest missile and drone attack yet on Ukraine, Trump said he was not happy about “the whole situation”.
“It’s such a horrible waste of humanity. I am not thrilled with what’s happening there, I will tell you,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
“I think it’s going to get settled.” Trump’s comments came hours after he indicated that he was prepared to ramp up sanctions against Moscow.
Asked at the White House whether he was ready to move to “the second phase” of sanctions, Trump replied, “Yeah, I am,” without elaborating.
Speaking to NBC News earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said tougher sanctions, including secondary measures targeting buyers of Russian oil, could weaken Russia’s economy and bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
“We are prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us,” Bessent said.
“We are in a race now between how long the Ukrainian military can hold up versus how long the Russian economy can hold up.”
“And if the US and the EU can come in, do more sanctions, secondary tariffs on the countries that buy Russian oil, the Russian economy will be in full collapse,” Bessent added.
Russia’s barrage of drone and missile attacks on Saturday night and Sunday morning killed at least four people, including an infant, according to Ukrainian officials, and set fire to the government complex housing Ukraine’s cabinet.
Russian forces launched at least 810 drones and 13 missiles during the assault, the most in a single barrage since the war began, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
The US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, condemned the attack, saying it was “not a signal that Russia wants to end this war diplomatically”.
Trump, who last month slapped a 50 per cent tariff on India over its continued purchases of Russian oil, has repeatedly threatened to increase pressure on Russia as he struggles to deliver on promises to end the war quickly.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the prospect of penalties on states still doing business with Moscow.
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Zelenskyy said: “I’m very thankful to all the partners, but some of them, I mean, they continue [to] buy oil and Russian gas, and this is not fair… I think the idea to put tariffs on the countries that continue to make deals with Russia is the right idea.”
Trump has been pushing for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict for months.
Last month, the US president hosted Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss an end to the war, in their first face-to-face meeting since Trump’s return to the White House.
Shortly afterwards, he hosted Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington, DC, for discussions on a settlement.
Despite the diplomatic blitz, there has been little progress towards a peace deal, with Moscow and Kyiv remaining far apart on key issues and Russia persisting in its bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
