Senate Democrats Criticize Trump for Halting Russia Sanctions
Senate Democrats released the results of their investigation as Donald Trump's deadline for Russia to cease hostilities in Ukraine under threat of harsh financial sanctions approached.
The Gaze reports this, referring to The Washington Post, citing a report of the Senate Democrats.
In the report published on Tuesday, ahead of the president's deadline for Moscow, the Democrats argued that the Trump administration's disregard for sanctions imposed on the Russian economy during Biden's tenure had allowed the Kremlin to rebuild its military forces and continue the war in Ukraine.
Democrats in the Senate have launched a campaign to force Trump to fulfill his ultimatum to Putin, using the deadline he set as a test of his policy toward Russia, while the report accuses the president of losing key leverage to end the war in Ukraine.
The vigorous enforcement of sanctions and export controls that had previously kept up and intensified US pressure on Russia amid its aggression in Ukraine was suddenly stopped during the Trump administration. “The Administration let pressure dissipate despite a growing number of Russian circumvention efforts and has stood by as evaders in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and other countries have profited from their support to the Kremlin’s war machine,” the report states.
The Сommittee report reviewed public announcements from the Treasury, State, and Commerce Departments regarding new sanctions and export control measures against Russia from February 2022 to July 2025. Each rollout typically included dozens or even hundreds of designations, often targeting companies and individuals in third countries assisting the Kremlin. While the number of actions does not fully reflect their impact, the frequency of these announcements illustrates the pace at which the U.S. identified and disrupted Russia’s evolving methods to evade sanctions.
These figures demonstrate a six-month suspension of sanctions and export controls by the Trump administration, which had previously been actively implementing new measures in cooperation with G7 partners to put pressure on Russia over the war in Ukraine.
“If Trump is serious about ending the war in Ukraine, he should start using the tools he already has,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, whose staff co-wrote the report.
It is worth recalling that Trump sent a special envoy to Moscow for negotiations and warned of secondary sanctions against countries that buy Russian gas if no progress is made by Friday. He also announced an increase in tariffs for India due to its purchases of Russian oil.
The Democrats' report notes that the Biden administration has established an effective sanctions regime over the past three years aimed at limiting Russia's revenues and cutting off supplies of critical materials. At the same time, it emphasizes the need to constantly update sanctions, as the Kremlin has learned to circumvent them. Moreover, additional restrictions should not be the administration's sole priority.
“Sanctions [are] not the entire solution, but it’s certainly giving away a huge lever that Trump could be using,” one aide said, speaking like some others on the condition of anonymity to discuss the report.
The Democrats' report states that the end of sanctions is partly due to significant staff cuts in the US government during Trump's presidency, despite attempts to protect national security personnel. A hiring freeze at the Treasury Department and cuts at the State Department led to the transfer or dismissal of employees involved in sanctions policy.
At the same time, the Treasury Department denied these allegations, stating its readiness to enforce existing sanctions and impose fines of more than $200 million against illegal entities that attempted to evade sanctions related to Russia.
Read more on The Gaze: New Sanctions against Russia – How they Reduce its Ability to Wage War