‘Enough Is Enough!’ – Call for Action Rings out in Washington as Trump Signals Readiness for Russia Sanctions

WASHINGTON DC – US President Donald Trump on Sunday signaled his readiness, without providing further details, to impose new sanctions on Russia in the wake of the largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the war began.

The attack, which left a government building in Kyiv ablaze and killed at least a mother and her infant, has sent a clear message to Washington. Asked if he intended to impose more sanctions against Moscow, Trump told reporters upon departing the White House, “Yes, I am.”

Trump’s comment was bolstered by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told NBC News that the US was open to partnering with European countries to impose new sanctions on nations buying Russian oil. 

“We are in a race now between ‘How long can the Ukrainian military hold up?’ versus ‘How long can the Russian economy hold up?’” Bessent said.

“And if the US and the EU can come in, do more sanctions, secondary tariffs on the countries that buy Russian oil, the Russian economy will be in total collapse, and that will bring President Putin to the table,” he added.

Bessent also revealed that Vice President JD Vance had a “very productive call” with European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen following the attack.

“We are talking about what can the two – the EU and the US – do together,” he said.  told NBC. “And we are prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us.”

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EU Approves New Russia Sanctions Listings

European Union ambassadors approved several new sanctions measures against Russia, including fresh blacklists targeting individuals and entities accused of destabilizing activities and human rights violations. The bloc also extended its investment ban on occupied Crimea for another year.

Last month, the Trump administration imposed 50 percent tariffs on India, some of the highest measures it has imposed on a foreign nation.

“Senseless killing”: US officials respond to assault

The US Embassy in Kyiv released a statement condemning the “senseless killing of a mother and an infant as well as destruction on an unprecedented scale,” and restating Trump’s claimed priority to “end the war through a just, durable negotiated settlement.”

Trump’s special envoy on Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, also reacted to the Kyiv attack on social media, writing: “The danger in any war is escalation. Russia appears to be escalating with the largest attack of the war hitting offices of the [Ukrainian] Cabinet in Kyiv.”

Kellogg recalled that he had visited Ukraine’s Prime Minister two weeks ago “in that building.”

“History shows events can escalate out of control through actions [such] as these. It is why President Trump is working to stop this war. The attack was not a signal that Russia wants to diplomatically end this war,” he said.

Bipartisan outcry from Capitol Hill as lawmakers demand a response

The strikes drew a rare, unified outcry from Capitol Hill. Republican Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) took to social media, writing:

“President Trump met with Putin three weeks ago. Since then, Putin met with his fellow authoritarians to conspire against the US. Then he returned to Moscow to authorize the largest air strike on Ukraine since the start of his illegal invasion. It’s time to stop this liar and murderer.”

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) echoed the sentiment, sarcastically noting, “In another peace gesture by Putin: Russian Strike Breaks Through Most Protected Part of Kyiv.“

Democrats also expressed their fury. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the leading Democrat on foreign policy, called for “sanctions now,” writing on social media that Trump’s inaction on yet another deadline is a green light for more atrocities.

She emphasized: “Putin just launched the largest drone attack yet on innocent Ukrainians. These will continue unless Trump acts. Other aggressors are taking note. No more lapsed deadlines.”

Republican Congressmember Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) shared a similar view, calling the strike an “act of terror” and stating, “This is not military strategy. This is terror. Deliberate and calculated.”

He added, “And every nation that bankrolls Putin by buying Russian oil carries the blood of innocents on its hands. Enough is enough.”

Fitzpatrick concluded: “We must cut off Putin’s war chest, stand firmly with Ukraine, and show the world that freedom will always endure and democracy will always prevail. Peace through strength means standing with democracy—and against dictators who seek to burn it down.”

Experts warn of escalation, say Putin feels ‘emboldened’

Yuriy Boyechko, the CEO of the US-based humanitarian organization Hope for Ukraine, told Kyiv Post on Sunday that the attack on Ukraine’s Cabinet building sends a “clear message from Putin to Western allies that his goal in this war is to pro-western Ukrainian government and install his puppet government.”

Boyechko said Putin “is going all out now because he knows there will be no consequences for his actions.”

He added that this is the first time government buildings in Kyiv have been targeted, and that Putin “feels emboldened after his meeting in Alaska and Beijing.”

He further speculated that after meeting Trump in Alaska, Putin “realized that now is the right time to act because the US president is very weak and he was able to see it with his own eyes during the Alaska meeting.”