Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that the United States is considering imposing sanctions on Russia due to its ongoing attacks on Ukraine.
Bessent: US Weighing All Sanctions As Russia Intensifies Attacks
Bessent, in an exclusive interview with Fox News on Monday, stated that the U.S. is evaluating all possible options for sanctions in response to Russia’s continued bombing of Ukraine. “I think everything’s on the table,” Bessent said.
He also mentioned that the Trump administration will be closely examining all options in the coming week. Bessent’s remarks follow a recent deadly aerial assault in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, which resulted in the deaths of at least 21 people, including four children, and left over 50 others injured.
Bessent said that since the historic Anchorage meeting and the subsequent phone call, when European leaders and President Zelenskyy visited the White House the following Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin has acted “opposite” to what he had indicated he intended to do.
“As a matter of fact, he has, in a despicable, despicable manner, increased the bombing campaign.”
Putin Blames Ukraine Coup, West's NATO Push for Crisis
Meanwhile, Putin, at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) on Monday, argued that the war was not caused by Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but rather by "a coup in Ukraine, supported and provoked by the West,” reported The Guardian.
He also claimed that the crisis stemmed from the West's ongoing efforts to bring Ukraine into NATO.
Leaders Voice Concern Over Russia's Influence on Trump, Ukraine
The U.S. has been closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine, with several key figures expressing concerns about Russia’s actions. French President Emmanuel Macron recently warned that the world would know if Putin had manipulated President Donald Trump again by a certain deadline.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Mike Pence has been pushing for “bone-crushing” sanctions on Russia, despite Trump’s efforts to broker peace in Ukraine.
Price Action: Brent crude rose $1.17, or 1.7%, at $69.32 a barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate crude climbed nearly 2% on Tuesday amid intensifying tensions in Russia-Ukraine. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, told Reuters, “Crude trades higher as U.S. pressure on Russia to stop the war continues, focusing on curbing supply flows to India.”
Longer-term investors can look for growth in energy equity ETFs. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) and iShares U.S. Energy ETF (NYSE:IYE) climbed 4.30% and 4.13%, respectively, as per data from Benzinga Pro
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