Congress Ready to Move on New Russian Sanctions

“Both top Republican congressional leaders said Wednesday they are prepared to move forward with new sanctions targeting Russia this month after President Donald Trump signaled this week he is willing to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine,” Politico reports.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports Russian President Vladimir Putin “is brushing aside President Trump’s professed disappointment in him and is pushing ahead in Ukraine with renewed intensity, having already priced in the possibility of new U.S. pressure.”

“The Russian leader is convinced that Russia’s battlefield superiority is growing, and that Ukraine’s defenses may collapse in the coming months.”

Playbook: “Analysts and sources close to the Kremlin tell them that Putin is willing to jettison a better relationship with Trump to bend Ukraine to his will and extract maximum concessions from Kyiv and NATO — without offering his own.”