US President Donald Trump signaled Sunday that Washington is ready to launch a new wave of sanctions against Russia—just as European leaders struggle to find unity over how far to go in punishing Moscow after its largest air assault of the war.
The remarks came after Russia unleashed 818 drones and missiles overnight, surpassing its previous July record and striking Kyiv’s government quarter for the first time. Four people were killed across Ukraine, including an infant, and dozens injured, according to officials.
Speaking in New York before the US Open final, Trump confirmed his administration was preparing “additional measures” against Russia, though details remain under wraps. His blunt tone stood in contrast to the more cautious posture from Paris and Berlin, where leaders are divided on how much economic risk they are willing to shoulder.
Trump presses the sanctions accelerator
For Trump, the overnight barrage was proof that Moscow must be hit harder. US Treasury officials are reportedly drafting penalties targeting Russia’s energy revenues and foreign intermediaries accused of helping the Kremlin dodge existing sanctions. The measures could be announced within days.
“Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil,” Trump said last week, pointing to billions in revenue still flowing to Moscow despite sanctions. That pressure has irritated European capitals already reeling from recession and soaring energy costs.
Europe drags its feet
EU leaders met in Paris just days ago to discuss a collective response, but their communiqué offered little beyond calls for tighter enforcement of existing sanctions and pledges to boost arms deliveries to Kyiv. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Sunday’s attack, but his government has so far resisted sweeping new economic restrictions. Germany remains even more cautious, fearing deeper deindustrialization.
The contrast is stark: Trump is signaling escalation, while Europe’s fractured economies fuel hesitation. Analysts warn this gap risks handing Russia strategic breathing room at a moment when Ukraine is desperate for robust Western backing.
A widening rift
The Kremlin, meanwhile, is exploiting the transatlantic split. Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed European talk of new measures as “hysteria,” while warning again that any Western troops in Ukraine would be treated as “legitimate targets.”
For Kyiv, the stakes are existential. “The world can make the Kremlin’s criminals stop killing, all we need is political will,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the strikes.
Whether that political will is shared across the Atlantic remains the defining question. Trump is promising to squeeze Moscow harder. Europe, divided and economically weakened, seems less certain it can afford the cost.
