EU and US sanction officials meets after Trump threatens to punish Russia for massive attack on Ukraine

Europe’s top sanctions envoy met with US officials on Monday to discuss economic options against Moscow after President Trump threatened to punish Russia over the largest-ever air attack on Ukraine.

David O’Sullivan, the EU sanctions envoy, discussed the terms of Europe’s 19th package of sanctions aimed at crippling Moscow’s war machine, the European Commission said, with the items set to deal a blow to Russian oil sales.

EU Council President Antonio Costa said the new sanctions were being closely coordinated with the US after Trump announced Sunday that he was ready to move forward with a second phase of restrictions against Moscow.

Costa said he was hopeful that the US and Europe can create a united front against Putin after Trump had dodged efforts to coordinate earlier this year to pursue his own peace talks with Russia instead.

The US is one of the notable standouts among the G7 nations who did not join to lower the price cap on Russian crude oil before sanctions were levied at $47.60 a barrel.

As Trump calls for a new wave of restrictions against Moscow, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled Sunday that the US and Europe could work together to attack Russian oil sales and “collapse” Moscow’s economy.

“We are prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us,” Bessent told NBC New’s “Meet the Press.”

“We are in a race now between how long can the Ukrainian military hold up versus how long can the Russian economy hold up,” he added.

“And if the U.S. and the EU can come in, do more sanctions, secondary tariffs on the countries that buy Russian oil, the Russian economy will be in total collapse, and that will bring President Putin to the table.”

The Trump administration has already imposed 50% tariffs on India, one of the highest levied against any nation, over its continued purchase of Russian oil.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky touted the tariffs on buyers of Russian oil as he reiterated that economic blows to Moscow were a key strategy to hurt the invasion effort.

“I’m very thankful to all the partners, but some of them, I mean, they continue [to] buy oil and Russian gas, and this is not fair,” Zelensky told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday.

“I think, what I think, I think the idea to put tariffs on the countries who continue [to] make deals with Russia. I think this is [the] right idea,” he added.

The Kremlin said Monday that no sanctions would ever force Russia to change course on its invasion of Ukraine.

The move to apply more economic pressure to Moscow comes after Russia fired 810 drones and decoys and 13 missiles at Ukraine over the weekend, the largest aerial assault of the war to date.

More than 700 of the Russian drones were intercepted by Ukraine’s air forces, as were at least some of the missiles in the bombardment, which struck more than 30 locations around the country, killing four people and wounding more than 40 others.

The devastating assault included a first-ever strike on Ukraine’s central government headquarters in Kyiv, causing a “huge” fire and blasting a massive hole into the top two floors of the building, officials said.

With Post wires