“It will be a blow to the Russian economy”: Expert assesses whether Trump will finally impose “hellish sanctions” against Russia

Political expert and Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman Oleksandr Musiienko said that the process of adopting Lindsey Graham’s bill has gained momentum and explained how these sanctions would hit the Kremlin, according to Politeka.

He spoke about this in his blog.

“Trump did not reject this (editor’s note — the adoption of Lindsey Graham’s bill) and said that Iran should also be added. We have no objections — let’s add it, let’s fight together. It is our common adversary, regardless of anything else, and we should strengthen the sanctions,” Oleksandr Musiienko said.

The expert also recalled that Lindsey Graham’s bill on “hellish sanctions” has changed. Initially, it envisaged 500% tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil and gas. Now, he explained, it refers to 100% tariffs and allows the U.S. president to cancel or limit sanctions if it is in the interests of the United States. In other words, the expert said, the proposed arrangement is that Congress would pass the law, and then the sanctions would be implemented through executive orders by the U.S. president.

“But if this is introduced, if Trump decides to go ahead with it, it will be a blow to Russia in any case, because the bill proposes imposing sanctions on practically the entire Russian shadow fleet, strengthening sanctions against the banking and financial systems, and adding new sectors to the list, including crypto exchanges and many other areas. So, without a doubt, this will be a blow to the Russian economy. And this needs to be done now,” Oleksandr Musiienko said.

He also noted that it is important to maintain momentum after the NATO summit and after the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris, where many decisions were made, including granting Ukraine licenses to produce air-defense missiles and presenting the Freya anti-ballistic missile project. The expert added that it is also important for the EU to finally adopt the 21st package of sanctions against Russia, and it would be beneficial if it were synchronized with the adoption of Lindsey Graham’s bill — in that case, it would represent a very powerful blow.