CNN: Republicans Increase Pressure On Trump To Impose New Sanctions On Russian Federation

The Kremlin is not interested in peace.

Republican senators are ramping up pressure on US President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions against Russia. This was reported by CNN, which spoke to US lawmakers. North Carolina Senator Tom Tillis, speaking to the channel, opined that Moscow is actually manipulating Washington. "Russia is playing us like a piano. Putin got everything he wanted: a meeting with President Trump and a red-carpet reception, followed by a grand reception with Si Jinping and talks with Kim Jong-un," he said, adding that Putin's strategy is to "pull us along."

These words from Tillis - who co-chairs NATO's Senate Observer Group - came shortly after the alliance's fighter jets shot down several Russian drones that violated Polish airspace in an attack on Ukraine. CNN notes that Senator Lindsey Graham's earlier attempts to push for sanctions stalled due to a lack of interest in the White House, but now the ranks of Republicans demanding a tougher stance from the president are visibly expanding.

Tillis emphasized that Putin's desire to "undermine Western democracy" and "weaken the United States" must be recognized. He recalled massive Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities and noted that the Kremlin is not interested in peace: "He (Putin. - Ed.) wants to lead us around by the nose, kill, rape and murder more Ukrainians, and that has to stop."

Tillis said the Republican leadership should bring to a vote in the Senate a bill by Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, which has already garnered broad bipartisan support. The document allows the U.S. president to impose duties of up to 500% on imports from countries that buy Russian energy.

Russian drones once again violated Polish airspace on the night of September 10. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at least 19 UAVs flew into the country, of which four were shot down. Trump, however, limited himself to a vague response in Truth Social. "What is it Russia is violating Polish airspace with drones again?" he wrote.

Afterward, Lindsey Graham directly addressed the US president on social media X, saying that Congress was ready to pass legislation for "crushing sanctions and duties" that Trump could use at his discretion.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune earlier said the Senate was waiting for a signal from the White House on sanctions as the US administration pursues diplomatic contacts with Moscow. However, commenting on the incident in Poland, he acknowledged that the drone attack had "heightened interest in advancing a bill" on restrictive measures. Asked by CNN if he was ready to bring the initiative to a vote without consulting the U.S. administration, Thune said, "We'll see. I have some consultations to do. But our members are very interested. This was a provocative act, certainly testing the mettle of the United States and our NATO allies."

North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer also expressed a willingness to speed up the process, "I would like to see the sanctions package introduced next week. But in my opinion, it should have been brought forward as early as last month." According to the senator, Russia's behavior clearly demonstrates a lack of interest in de-escalation, so it's time to "use all levers of pressure."

As CNN notes, leading Republicans on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have also come out in favor of toughening the U.S. administration's course toward Russia.

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