Has Trump Finally Lost Patience With Putin? Inside The Sanctions, Summit Fallout, & Moscow’s Fury

Last Updated:October 24, 2025, 09:50 IST

As Moscow doubles down on its defiance and diplomacy collapses, questions are rising over whether Trump’s patience with Putin has finally run out

US President Donald Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Image: Reuters/File)

The Kremlin has responded with unambiguous fury to the sanctions imposed by the United States on Wednesday, and made clear it has no intention of changing course in Ukraine or engaging in negotiations under duress.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin described the sanctions as an “unfriendly act", he dismissed their potential economic damage. “They are serious for us, of course, that is clear. And they will have certain consequences, but they will not significantly impact our economic well-being," he said.

More tellingly, he rejected their premise altogether: “This is, of course, an attempt to put pressure on Russia. But no self-respecting country and no self-respecting people ever decides anything under pressure."

His message was echoed by the foreign ministry, with spokesperson Maria Zakharova calling the sanctions “counterproductive from the point of view of the Ukrainian settlement."

The language turned even more combative through Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and close Putin ally. “The US is our enemy," he declared, “and their talkative ‘peacemaker’ has now fully embarked on the warpath with Russia." He went on: “The decisions taken are an act of war against Russia. And now Trump has fully aligned himself with loony Europe."

The message was unambiguous: Russia will neither retreat from its war aims nor submit to economic coercion.

What Pushed Trump To Act Now?

The escalation from Washington has been dramatic. After months of restraint, US President Donald Trump cancelled his proposed summit with Putin in Budapest and then authorised sweeping sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, a move long discussed but never previously executed.

What changed was not a single incident but a pattern Trump could no longer ignore. Repeated conversations with Putin had yielded what Trump described as “good conversations" that “don’t go anywhere". One moment he was praising progress, the next watching footage of Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets, including, most recently, a kindergarten in Kharkiv.

Faced with a summit that increasingly looked pointless and pressure mounting from within his own administration, Trump made the decision. “It just didn’t feel right to me," he said. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it."

Sanctions That Hit The Heart Of Russia’s War Machine

The new US sanctions directly target Rosneft and Lukoil, two oil giants that underpin Russia’s ability to fund its war in Ukraine. For months, plans to hit the energy sector had been ready inside the US Treasury Department, waiting only for presidential approval. Trump was presented with three options: a light-touch package, a maximalist one targeting top officials and entire sectors, and a middle path focused on energy. He chose the middle route.

The sanctions are expected to have significant economic ripple effects, particularly if secondary enforcement is introduced. According to US officials cited by Reuters, Indian oil refiners have begun taking steps to reduce Russian imports, while Chinese state oil companies have temporarily paused purchases.

The European Union has added its own measures, including a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas and action against the Kremlin’s shadow tanker fleet.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, announcing the measures, declared: “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war."

Is Diplomacy Now Off The Table?

Publicly, the White House insists it is not. While the Budapest summit is shelved for now, officials say Trump has not ruled out a future meeting with Putin, if it can deliver results.

“I think the president and the entire administration hopes that one day that can happen again," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “But we want to make sure that there’s a tangible positive outcome out of that meeting, and that it’s a good use of the president’s time."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters on Wednesday night, said sanctions haven’t changed their overarching goal of pushing Moscow to the negotiating table. “We’d still like to meet with the Russians. The president has said repeatedly for months that at some point he’d have to do something if we didn’t make progress on the peace deal. Today was the day he decided to do something."

How Is Ukraine Responding?

At the heart of the diplomatic paralysis lies an unresolvable deadlock. Zelenskyy has flatly ruled out territorial concessions, and told European leaders in Brussels that Ukraine would not cede “any of Russia’s temporarily occupied areas".

“A ceasefire is still possible, of course, and all of us need a ceasefire," he said, “but we need more pressure on Russia."

That pressure is now coming not only from Washington, but also from Europe. EU leaders are working on a plan to redirect over $225 billion in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s war effort. However, countries like Belgium, where a significant share of those assets are held, have raised concerns about retaliatory risks if the plan proceeds unilaterally.

At the same time, some of Trump’s earlier positions have unnerved Ukraine’s European backers. His suggestion that Zelenskyy should consider land-for-peace has been rejected by the so-called “coalition of the willing", a bloc of over 30 European nations that firmly opposes rewarding Russian occupation with territorial legitimacy.

What Is Putin’s Red Line Now?

The Kremlin has made clear it views US and European sanctions not as tools of negotiation, but as provocations. Putin has warned against any move to supply Ukraine with long-range strike capabilities. “If such weapons are used to attack Russian territory, the response will be very serious, if not overwhelming," he said.

There is little sign that Russia sees the sanctions as a reason to back down. Speaking to Euronews, Professor Donnacha Ó Beacháin, a political scientist at Dublin City University, argued that Putin “will only contemplate a ceasefire or negotiations when he believes he is at risk of losing territory or power." Until then, he said, Moscow will hold out for a deal that reflects its gains on the battlefield, however minor.

Ó Beacháin also noted the role of Russia’s external backers: “North Korea has deployed tens of thousands of troops and supplied more ammunition to Russia than the entire EU has provided to Ukraine," he said.

So, Has Trump Reached His Breaking Point With Putin?

Trump’s cancellation of the summit and sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil represent the most decisive rupture in his approach to Russia since he returned to office. After months of alternating threats and outreach, he has acted, and provoked a ferocious response from Moscow.

Yet this is not a clean break. Trump has deliberately held back from maximum escalation: long-range weapons to Ukraine, broader financial sanctions, and full enforcement of secondary measures remain unused. He appears to be signalling frustration, not finality.

Whether this becomes a sustained rupture or a calculated pause depends on what happens next, on the battlefield, in oil markets, and in backchannel diplomacy.

Karishma Jain

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar...Read More

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar...

Read More

News explainers Has Trump Finally Lost Patience With Putin? Inside The Sanctions, Summit Fallout, & Moscow’s Fury

Read More