The United States is preparing a new package of sanctions against russia's energy sector to increase pressure on the aggressor state of russia if russian dictator vladimir putin rejects a peace deal with Ukraine.
This was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources.
According to the sources, who wished to remain anonymous to discuss the closed negotiations, the US is considering various options, in particular, imposing sanctions on ships of the so-called "shadow fleet" of russia, which is used to transport russian oil, as well as on traders who facilitate these operations.
At the same time, the new measures could be announced as early as this week, some of these people said.
They also added that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent discussed the plans during a meeting with a group of European ambassadors earlier this week. However, sources warned that the final decision rests with US President Donald Trump.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, meanwhile, that the Kremlin is aware that some US officials are considering new sanctions against russia, and added that any sanctions would harm the process of restoring relations.
The publication stressed that a series of sanctions imposed on russia after it launched a full-scale war against Ukraine had not yet changed putin's calculations. However, the measures aimed at Moscow's major oil companies and trade have led to a drop in oil prices to their lowest level since the invasion, significantly worsening the country's already difficult economic situation.
The publication noted that, according to some participants in the peace talks, controversial issues remain over the future status of territories in eastern Ukraine, the use of frozen assets of the russian central bank and the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Kyiv also wants to receive written confirmation of what exactly its allies will do in the event of a second russian invasion of Ukraine.
As we will recall, on December 15, US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff reported on significant progress achieved following the negotiations in Berlin between American and Ukrainian representatives.
In particular, Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukraine was ready to abandon NATO membership in exchange for legally supported security guarantees from the US, similar to Article 5 of NATO, as well as from European countries. He added that "this is already a compromise on our part."
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said that he currently does not know what the terms of security guarantees for Ukraine will be within the framework of a peace agreement. At the same time, he emphasized that Ukraine seeks to receive guarantees similar to Article 5 of NATO.
At the same time, the Foreign Minister of the aggressor state russia, Sergey Lavrov, made a loud statement, claiming that during recent contacts with the US regarding Ukraine, Washington allegedly agreed to support Moscow's territorial claims and exclude Kyiv's accession to NATO.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.