Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the threat of further Western sanctions against Russia on Monday, despite international outrage at Russia’s second deadly air attack on Kyiv in as many weeks.
Peskov told Russian state media that “no sanctions will be able to force the Russian Federation to change the consistent position that our president has repeatedly spoken about,” according to Reuters.
On Sunday, Russia launched its largest air attack of the full-scale war, with 805 drones and 13 missiles raining down across the country. Although the majority were intercepted by Ukraine’s air defenses, four people – including a mother and infant – were killed in Kyiv, and the government’s Cabinet of Ministers office was hit by missile debris and set alight.
On the same day, US President Donald Trump told reporters that he was “not happy” about the situation.
Since meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month, and despite Russia’s continuing attacks on Ukrainian cities, Trump has repeatedly claimed that Putin is open to coming to the table for peace talks.
On Sept. 4, in the wake of a mass missile attack on Kyiv that claimed 25 lives, including those of four children, Trump told CBS that – although neither Putin nor President Volodymyr Zelensky were “ready yet” for peace – “we are going to get it done.”
Zelensky has called for direct talks with Putin since May, starting with his trip to Istanbul, but the meeting has yet to happen, as Putin rejected it for various reasons and made proposals Kyiv deemed unacceptable – such as hosting it in Moscow.
After Sunday’s attack, Trump’s patience finally appeared to be running short. When asked whether he was prepared to move to a “second phase” of sanctions against Moscow, the US president simply replied: “Yeah, I am.”
No further details have been forthcoming.
Peskov also claimed that Western sanctions have “turned out to be absolutely useless in terms of exerting pressure on Russia,” despite evidence that the Russian economy is struggling.
European Union sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan will travel to Washington on Monday to discuss coordinating further sanctions on Russia with his US counterparts.