Russia Issues Stern Response to Trump’s Sanctions Threat

“Sanctions are the agenda supported by the Kyiv regime and European countries. They are doing everything to bring Washington into their orbit and impose these sanctions,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalist Alexander Yunashev on Monday morning, during an interview shared via Telegram.

Read More: Zelensky Hails ‘America’s Readiness to Provide Support to Ukraine’ as World Leaders Map Out Security Guarantees

The renewed talk of sanctions comes after Russia launched its largest air attack against Ukraine since its invasion of the country in 2022. Over 800 drones and 13 missiles were reportedly launched, killing at least four people and injuring more than 44 others.

The strikes hit a number of residential buildings in Kyiv, as well as the government headquarters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.

U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said that “Russia appears to be escalating,” in response to the latest strikes.

“The attack was not a signal that Russia wants to diplomatically end this war,” concluded Kellogg, adding that Trump is “working to stop this war.”

“Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have already begun long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war. It has been repeatedly said in Washington that sanctions will follow a refusal to talk,” argued Zelensky.

The weekend strikes came after Zelensky joined representatives from more than 30 countries at the “Coalition of the Willing” meeting in Paris on Thursday to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump, one of the key figures who dialled into the call, emphasized to the Coalition that the E.U. should stop purchasing Russian oil, citing concern it is funding the war, according to a White House official. The President also stated that European leaders must place economic pressure on China for funding Russia’s war efforts.