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Trump signals ‘second stage’ of sanctions as Russia hits Kyiv government building, killing four, including a three-month-old baby
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Russia has said no amount of sanctions will be enough to force it to back down in its war against Ukraine amid threats of new measures from US President Donald Trump.
“No sanctions will be able to force the Russian Federation to change the consistent position that our president has repeatedly spoken about,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Petrov told reporters on Monday.
It comes after Trump has said he is ready to push ahead with a new round of sanctions after Russia targeted the main government building in Kyiv for the first time since the Ukraine war began in 2022.
The aerial attack was the largest of the war so far, involving a total of at least 805 drones and 13 missiles fired at cities across Ukraine, killing four people, including a three-month-old baby.
He said European leaders are set to visit the United States this week to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine, adding he would speak with Russian president Vladimir Putin “soon”.
Trump did not specify what he envisions as the “second stage” of sanctions against Russia, the New York Post reported.
It is the second time Putin has launched a mass Russian drone and missile attack targeting the capital in a span of two weeks, despite claiming to want a peaceful end to the war.
Russia is set to manufacture close to 2,500 high-precision missiles in 2025, according to a top Ukrainian intelligence official.
Major General Vadym Skibitskyi told Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform that the weapons span cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic classes.
“In addition, we are observing a significant growth in the output of unmanned aerial vehicles, primarily such as Geran, Garpiya, and FPV drones,” Skibitskyi added.
Sunday saw Russia launch over 800 drones and missiles across Ukraine in its largest aerial assault of the war so far.
New analysis from The Independent shows the intensity of Moscow’s strikes has shot up since the beginning of June – and if this trend continues in September, it could be Ukraine’s most difficult month yet.
Federico Borsari, a Fellow with the Transatlantic Defence and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), has told The Independent that Russia has been trying to “instil fear and create a sense of panic among the population”.
Washington has told European countries they must stop importing Russian oil and gas if they want the US to place further sanctions on Russia, the Financial Times has reported.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the FT that Europe barring Russian imports and instead choosing American liquefied natural gas (LNG) would have a “positive impact” on Washington’s decisions.
“If the Europeans drew a line and said: ‘We’re not going to buy more Russian gas, we’re not going to buy Russian oil.’ Would that have a positive influence on the U.S. leaning in more aggressively (on sanctions) as well? Absolutely,” Wright said.
President Zelensky has marked a day celebrating Ukrainian intelligence agencies with staff members.
The Ukrainian leader presented state awards at a ceremony on Monday, pictures posted to his X showed.
US President Donald Trump has said he is ready to impose a new wave of sanctions on Russia following its huge aerial attack on Ukraine on Sunday.
Our reporter Steffie Banatvala has been looking at what those could actually involve and how they could impact Russia.
The European Commission is expected to propose a 19th package of sanctions against Russia by Friday and list banks in two central Asian countries, EU diplomats said.
The EU has stepped up its listings and is no longer shying away from larger entities in third countries.
In its 18th package, the bloc listed two Chinese banks and India’s major Nayara refinery at Vadinar.
The diplomats declined to provide further details of the upcoming new package.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will visit the UK on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG), the organisation said.
The UDCG is an alliance of 56 nations, including all NATO member states, which aims to provide military support to Ukraine.
The United Nations human rights’ chief warned on Monday that “disturbing trends”, including the glorification of violence, are undermining human rights and the international order worldwide.
“Rules of war are being shredded – with virtually no accountability,” said Volker Turk, who heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in his opening address to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
He condemned widespread violations in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as well as the conflicts in Sudan, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gaza.
Foreign diplomats have visited Ukraine’s damaged government building that was hit by Russian strikes over the weekend.
On Monday, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said diplomats were given a briefing on the “destruction and deaths” caused by the Russian attack.
“We emphasized to our foreign colleagues that with such barbaric attacks, Russia is rejecting peace efforts and diplomacy,” he wrote in a post on X. “Therefore, to achieve peace, it is necessary to increase sanctions on Moscow and strengthen Ukraine.
“I am grateful to all the foreign diplomats who condemned Russian terror and affirmed their governments’ readiness to take concrete steps to support our country and pressure Moscow.”
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