US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “all options are on the table” on possible new sanctions against Moscow after Russia stepped up its bombardment of Ukraine.
In an interview with Fox News aired Tuesday, Bessent condemned what he called Russia’s “despicable” attacks and accused President Vladimir Putin of backtracking on commitments he made to former President Donald Trump during an August meeting.
“I think everything’s on the table,” Bessent said.
“President Putin, since the historic meeting in Anchorage, since the phone call, when the European leaders and President Zelensky were at the White House the following Monday, has done the opposite of following through on what he indicated he wanted to do,” he added.
Bessent said the Trump administration would review possible actions “very closely” in the coming week.
His comments came after a Russian missile and drone barrage on Thursday killed at least 25 people in Kyiv, including four children between the ages of 2 and 17. More than 50 others were wounded, some critically.
The attack came as another deadline set by Trump for a Ukraine ceasefire expired without any public response from Russia or new US sanctions.
The latest ultimatum, which sought to pressure Russia into peace talks, followed a similar demand that also passed in early August, leading instead to a meeting between Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Despite the failed deadlines, Putin was in Tianjin, China, attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, where he claimed his talks with Trump could “open the path toward peace” in Ukraine.
Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who chairs a House Armed Services subcommittee on cyber issues, said Putin is using diplomacy to stall while intensifying strikes on Ukrainian cities.
He called on Trump to take a tougher stance against Russia, arguing that the administration’s current diplomatic strategy has failed to stop Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
“It is clear Putin doesn’t want peace unless he can dominate Ukraine,” Bacon told Kyiv Post in Washington on Monday.
“President Trump needs to have moral clarity and be the leader of the free world and take action now,” he emphasized.