US senator blasts Trump over Russia sanctions rollback
Photo: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
The 30-day suspension of oil sanctions against Russia was a reward for Russian President Vladimir Putin for providing Iran with intelligence to strike US troops, according to Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and The New York Times.
He calls the decision to grant Russia a significant windfall by lifting oil sanctions for 30 days "one of the strangest & stupidest missteps made by Trump".
"Seemingly rewarding Putin for enabling more accurate strikes on our troops by providing Iran with valuable intelligence," the senator notes.
$100 million for Russia every day
The NYT reports that the Kremlin received over $100 million in additional revenue every day during the temporary US sanctions exemption. The grace period for Russian oil ended on April 11.
In April alone, tax revenues from oil sales amounted to at least $12.8 billion. This figure was double that of March.
The temporary easing, introduced by the Donald Trump administration, allowed for the sale of oil that was already at sea at the time the restrictions were imposed.
On March 13, the US Department of the Treasury temporarily eased oil sanctions against Russia. It allowed Russia to sell oil resources that had already been shipped, effectively temporarily easing the pressure of sanctions on Moscow.
The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, allowing Russia to double its oil revenues in a month. The Russians were able to earn about $9 billion due to the oil crisis caused by the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that there are currently no grounds for easing sanctions pressure on Russia, as this would only encourage the Kremlin's aggression.
