Trump Extends US Sanctions on Russia, Calls It an “Extraordinary Threat”

US President Donald Trump has extended sanctions against Russia for another year, citing Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the war in Donbas, and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, The Moscow Times reported on February 19, referring to a document published in the Federal Register.

The document ensures that the sanctions will remain in effect beyond March 6, 2026.

The sanctions, originally imposed by the Obama administration in 2014 in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, have been extended and expanded over the years.

Under President Trump, the measures were further tightened in 2018, and again by President Joe Biden in February 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In his notification, Trump emphasized that Russia’s actions continue to pose “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy” of the United States.

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Opinion

Russia Under Sanctions—From Survival to Strategic Alliances

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The sanctions have affected a wide range of sectors, including Russian banks, companies, and high-ranking officials. Export bans on various goods, technologies, and services to Russia have also been imposed.

Earlier, it was reported that, under sanction pressure, Russia’s trade exposure to the outside world had fallen to its lowest level in more than three decades, slipping back to figures last seen in the final years of the Soviet Union.

According to the statistics, exports accounted for just 17.8% of Russia’s GDP in 2025, down from 22.2% a year earlier, while imports fell from 17.8% to 15.2%. Economist Olga Belenkaya of Finam described the export share as an “absolute minimum” in modern Russian history.

It was also stated that western sanctions are exerting a “significant impact” on Russia’s economy, according to European Union’s sanctions envoy.

David O’Sullivan, a veteran Irish diplomat who serves as the EU’s special envoy for sanctions, acknowledged that restrictions are “not a silver bullet” and remain vulnerable to circumvention. Still, he said he is increasingly confident the measures are weakening Russia’s economic foundations.

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