The Harshest Blow Yet: U.S. Prepares Devastating Sanctions to Break Kremlin Resistance
As diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine continue to stall, the United States appears ready to unleash a new wave of powerful economic sanctions against Russia, should Vladimir Putin be deemed the primary barrier to peace.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to The Telegraph.
In a recent interview, Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy to Ukraine, revealed that Washington has a comprehensive sanctions package prepared, signaling that the Kremlin has been warned of the consequences should it continue obstructing negotiations. The message comes ahead of peace talks in Istanbul, which Putin is notably skipping, sending lower-level officials in his place.
At the center of this looming sanctions blitz is the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham. The proposed legislation would slap a 500% tariff on U.S. imports from any country that continues to buy Russian oil or gas, effectively forcing major buyers like China, India, and Turkey to choose between cheap energy and access to the world’s largest economy.
“This is no longer about marginal pressure,” one senior European diplomat said. “It’s about delivering a knockout blow to the financial engine of Putin’s war.”
Despite heavy sanctions already in place, Russia has continued to generate enormous revenue from energy exports – an estimated £760 billion since the full-scale invasion began, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. That figure dwarfs the combined Western aid pledged to Ukraine and nearly triples Russia’s annual military spending.
Previous attempts to curtail this income, such as the 2022 G7 oil price cap and measures targeting Russia’s “shadow fleet” of tankers, had limited effect. Russia quickly adapted by reflagging ships, redirecting trade, and building alternative export routes to Asia. While LNG (liquefied natural gas) revenues dipped and some deliveries faced delays, overall fossil fuel earnings remained largely stable.
The new bill, however, would dramatically raise the stakes. Modeled on the U.S. sanctions regime that crippled Iran’s oil industry, it seeks to isolate Russian energy on a global scale. The legislation also calls for additional sanctions on Russia’s central bank and key financial infrastructure. Yet despite the decisive approach, it’s unclear whether Donald Trump would back the plan.
As The Gaze reported earlier, EU ambassadors have officially approved the bloc’s 17th package of sanctions against Russia, significantly expanding restrictive measures in response to Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine.