The US will enact a legal ban on recognizing Ukrainian territory as part of the Russian Federation and assert new sanctions.

Senators-democrats Michael Bennet, Dick Durbin, and Jeff Merkley have introduced a bill aimed at officially prohibiting US recognition of the occupied Ukrainian regions as Russian territory.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that if there is no advancement in ceasefire negotiations with Russia concerning Ukraine soon, the US Senate will pass a new sanctions bill targeting the Russian Federation. He highlighted that the Senate would work independently of the White House’s stance. Rubio pointed out that the Senate already possesses ample support for the sanctions bill proposed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, which is expected to secure backing from 80 senators, enabling it to withstand a potential presidential veto.

At the same time, President Donald Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia if peace talks fail. Ukraine asserts that the new sanctions package against Russia should target the aggressor nation’s oil export revenue via new restrictions on the shadow fleet, the Russian Central Bank, and the Rosatom and Roscosmos corporations.