Senators demand that the Trump administration explain the 17-month pause in sanctions against Russia
Kyiv • UNN
Democrats Warren and Coons are demanding an explanation of why the United States suspended sanctions against Russia for 17 months despite fruitless peace negotiations. They point out that the last serious restrictions were imposed in October 2025, and that Russia easily evades them.
Two senior Democratic U.S. senators on Wednesday pressed Trump administration officials on why they had paused imposing new sanctions on companies, banks and other entities helping Russia circumvent existing restrictions over the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, despite peace talks proving unproductive, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
Senators Elizabeth Warren, the senior Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and Chris Coons wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The senators say the administration has paused regular, targeted sanctions against Russia for 17 months.
The last time the United States imposed major sanctions against Russia was in October 2025, when the U.S. Treasury Department imposed restrictions on the oil companies "Rosneft" and "Lukoil." The senators believe these sanctions were a one-off and that Russia is easily evading them.
In response to a Reuters inquiry, a U.S. Treasury Department spokesperson pointed to the sanctions against Russian oil companies and said the Trump administration would continue to act in the interests of U.S. national security and a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine. A State Department spokesperson said the department was not considering potential sanctions actions.
The senators’ letter quotes Bessent, who told Congress in February that the administration wanted to "see where the peace talks go" before resuming some counter-sanctions against evasion, even though the administration had "imposed sanctions on Iran and Cuba during negotiations with those countries."
The letter also quotes Rubio, who said in May that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine had not been productive, and that there were no such talks at that time.
The letter says that from the invasion in February 2022 through January 2025, the month President Donald Trump took office for a second time, 111 sets of sanctions were imposed against Russia.
The sanctions imposed during the tenure of former President Joe Biden did little to stop Russia.
The senators are asking officials to respond by August 28 to the following question: "If the administration paused regular sanctions against Russia because of peace talks, and those talks reached an impasse several months ago, why has the administration not resumed routine and frequent U.S. sanctions to restore leverage for a just peace in Ukraine?"
The Senate passed new legislation on sanctions against Russia this month, but its future is uncertain, as Democrats and some Republicans are concerned that it could allow Trump to gain new powers to impose tariffs on goods from U.S. allies, including Japan and some European countries.