WASHINGTON, Aug 12 - Two senior Democratic senators on Wednesday demanded an explanation from administration officials for a long pause in targeted measures meant to curb Russia's ability to sidestep U.S. sanctions related to its invasion of Ukraine.
Senators Elizabeth Warren, the lead Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and Christopher Coons sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent questioning why the White House has halted routine counter-evasion sanctions for 17 months even though negotiations to end the war have not yielded productive outcomes.
The senators note that the most recent major U.S. sanctions against Russia were applied in October 2025, when Treasury actions singled out Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. Warren and Coons contend those measures were effectively isolated moves rather than the resumption of a steady, systematic program of counter-evasion actions, and that Moscow has been able to evade the restrictions.
In their letter, the lawmakers cite Mr. Bessent as having told Congress in February that the administration wanted to "see where the peace talks go" before restarting some counter-evasion sanctions. The senators contrast that comment with the administration's approach in other diplomatic contexts, noting it continued to impose sanctions on Iran and Cuba even while engaging in talks with those governments.
The correspondence also refers to remarks attributed to Secretary Rubio in May, in which he said peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were not fruitful and that no substantive negotiations were occurring at the time.
Warren and Coons detail the breadth of earlier measures, saying that from the time of Russia's February 2022 invasion through January 2025 - the month the current president took office for a second term - the United States issued 111 sets of sanctions targeting Russia. The senators further assert that sanctions enacted during the prior administration did little to halt Russian activity.
The letter asks Rubio and Bessent to respond to a specific question by Aug. 28: "If the administration paused regular Russia sanctions because of peace talks, and those talks stalled months ago, why hasn’t the Administration resumed routine and frequent U.S. sanctions to rebuild leverage for a just peace in Ukraine?"
The senators also point to recent congressional activity: the Senate passed new sanctions legislation this month, but the measure's future is uncertain because some Democrats and Republicans have voiced concern that the bill could give the president expanded authority to levy tariffs on goods from U.S. allies, including Japan and several European countries.
Requests for comment to the Treasury Department and the State Department did not receive immediate responses, the senators' letter notes.
Contextual note: The correspondence focuses on the pause in routine counter-evasion sanctions and the lawmakers' request for clarity on administration policy rather than proposing new sanctions in the letter itself.