Over the past two weeks, US President Donald Trump has shown the world that he can get Russian President Vladimir Putin to the table to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine, and he can coordinate and communicate with Western leaders. But the pageantry of these meetings does not hide the fact that the US president has not been able to successfully negotiate a peace deal. Nor does it hide Trump’s growing frustrations with Putin. To achieve such a deal, which would represent a signature strategic victory, Trump will need more leverage over Putin. He can create this leverage by imposing secondary sanctions on Russia’s oil. Russia’s economy is struggling. Nearly four years of war expenses combined with Western sanctions have put Moscow’s economy on a wartime footing. Inflation and interest rates remain high at 8.8 percent and 18 percent, respectively. The Russian government continues to draw down its National Welfare Fund to cover its fiscal deficit. Energy exports, especially oil, remain a lifeline for Russia even though they are declining. Putin, quite literally, cannot afford to lose his remaining oil revenue.
To end Putin’s war on Ukraine, Trump should sanction Russian oil – Atlantic Council
