Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) urged President Donald Trump on Monday to impose sanctions on Russia after it launched large-scale strikes on Ukraine.
“I’ve had enuf of Putin killing innocent ppl. Pres Trump Take action AT LEAST SANCTIONS,” Grassley said in a post on X Monday.
Grassley’s request comes after Trump said Sunday in a Truth Social post that Russian President Vladimir Putin has gone “absolutely crazy” and that “something has happened to him” over his military’s increased attacks on Ukrainian civilian areas, an escalation in the three-year war.
“I’m not happy with what Putin is doing. He’s killing a lot of people, and I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin. I’ve known him a long time. Always gotten along with him. But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all. We’re in the middle of talking, and he’s shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities,” Trump said Sunday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has expressed hesitation about pursuing sanctions against Russia, claiming they could possibly derail peace talks. Trump, however, also said on Sunday that he would “absolutely” consider them.
Russia already faces extensive sanctions from the U.S. and other nations. The U.S. has imposed a freeze on billions of dollars in Russian central bank reserves and assets held abroad and bans on importing Russian oil.
Trump, who repeatedly said he would end the war within 24 hours of starting his presidency, has in recent weeks pushed for an immediate 30-day ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his support for this plan. Putin, however, has said he wishes for talks to start before discussing the details of a possible ceasefire.
Putin called for peace talks in Turkey earlier this month but did not show up for them and sent a low-level delegation instead.
