Trump weighs sanctions against Putin as Russia continues bombardment of Ukraine

Over the weekend and into Monday, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin traded comments over the Russia-Ukraine war after the Kremlin attacked Kyiv with a barrage of drones and missiles, killing at least 12 people. Trump is now weighing sanctions against Russia as Putin responded to Trump's comment that the war will lead to Russia's "downfall."

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, sources familiar with Trump's thinking said that he is weighing heavy sanctions against Moscow as Putin has refused to come to the table to negotiate for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The sanctions would not likely include sanctions regarding banking, but other options are being considered by the Trump administration, the outlet reported. “President Trump has been clear he wants to see a negotiated peace deal," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. "President Trump has also smartly kept all options on the table.”

Over the course of the last several weeks, Ukraine has been willing to call a ceasefire if Russia comes to the table as well, however, the efforts have been stalled as the Kremlin has engaged in continuous attacks on Ukraine.

Trump's weighing of sanctions follows an attack from Russia on Ukraine over the weekend with drones and missiles launched at Kyiv, killing at least 12 people in the process. According to Fox News, the attack was one of the largest aerial assaults of the war, with 298 drones and 69 missiles.

After the attack, Trump responded, saying that he was "not happy" with Putin, and later posted to Truth Social, "I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever. I've always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that's proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!"

Some have said that the "downfall of Russia" portion of Trump's statement was something of a veiled threat against Putin. In response, the Russian leader claimed there is "emotional overload" in the war right now as the US is attempting to broker a peace deal between the two countries.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at Reuters when asked about Trump's comments, "We are really grateful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organizing and launching this negotiation process. Of course, at the same time, this is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of everyone absolutely and with emotional reactions."