President Donald Trump is reportedly reviewing additional sanctions against Russia this week, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 26th (local time).
WSJ cited multiple sources as saying that new sanctions are unlikely to include the banking institutional sector, but several other options to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin are being discussed.
It also noted that President Trump is growing frustrated with the ceasefire negotiations and is considering abandoning talks altogether if his final pressure on President Putin proves ineffective.
Earlier, on the 25th, President Trump directly criticized President Putin through Truth Social, saying, “He has completely lost his mind. He is killing unnecessarily too many people.”
President Trump stated, “Putin is attacking Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones for no reason, and if he wants all of Ukraine, not just a part, it will lead to 'the downfall of Russia.'”
According to WSJ, Senator Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) and other close aides of President Trump recently persuaded him that the only solution to get President Putin to engage in serious negotiations is through pressure.
Russia has recently intensified its offensive against Ukraine. According to Ukrainian media outlets like Kyiv Independent, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine using 355 Shahed-type attack drones and 9 cruise missiles starting from the night of the 25th. This attack resulted in at least 6 deaths across several provinces in the last 24 hours.
Kyiv Independent reported, “This attack is the largest drone attack that Russia has launched against Ukraine since the outbreak of all-out war.” Russia also targeted Ukraine with drones and missiles on the nights of the 23rd and 24th.