Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) called on President Trump to place sanctions on Russia, saying he’s had enough of Russian President Vladimir Putin killing innocent people.
Grassley said in a Monday post on social platform X that Trump should “Take action AT LEAST SANCTIONS.”
The longtime senator’s call comes after Trump has increased his criticism of Russia and Putin, accusing the Russian president of having gone “absolutely” crazy recently despite a strong relationship in the past. He said “something has happened to him,” specifically pointing to the Russian military’s attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine amid the ongoing three-year war.
“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,” he said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reportedly said in response to Trump’s comments that Russia is “grateful” to the United States and Trump for their assistance in organizing negotiations to bring an end to the war. But he said now is a “crucial” moment and warned of an “emotional overload” and “emotional reactions.”
During the campaign, Trump regularly spoke of quickly bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to an end, but it has continued for months under Trump’s second term in office, possibly leading to some indications that he’s losing patience with the Russian leader.
Talks took place earlier this month between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey, but Putin balked at attending and sent lower-level officials in his place. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would only attend if Putin did.
Trump has pushed for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, which Zelensky has declared his support for, but Putin has said he wants talks to begin before discussing the details of a potential ceasefire.
The Associated Press reported that Russia launched a record number of drones into Ukraine overnight, similar to another attack that happened Saturday, in which the Ukrainian capital Kyiv faced an onslaught of drones and missiles.
Grassley has been among the stronger proponents of opposing Russia and Putin within the GOP. He called on Trump to issue the “toughest of sanctions” on Putin last month, arguing that the Russian leader is playing the U.S. “as a patsy.”
Grassley is the president pro tempore of the Senate, the most senior Republican in the body.