{"id":150153,"date":"2025-06-01T18:56:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T18:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/150153\/"},"modified":"2025-06-01T18:56:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T18:56:13","slug":"after-talks-with-zelenskyy-and-macron-us-senators-warn-putin-is-preparing-for-more-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/150153\/","title":{"rendered":"After talks with Zelenskyy and Macron, US senators warn: Putin ‘is preparing for more war\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS (AP) \u2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin is stalling at the peace table while preparing a new military offensive in Ukraine, two senior U.S. senators warned Sunday, arguing that the next two weeks could shape the future of a war that has already smashed cities, displaced millions and redrawn Europe\u2019s security map.<\/p>\n

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal spoke to The Associated Press in Paris after meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a> and touring neighborhoods shattered by what they called the worst Russian bombardments since the full-scale invasion began.<\/p>\n

In Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> \u2014 who they say is \u201c100% aligned\u201d<\/a> with them on the war \u2014 the senators warned the window to prevent a renewed assault is closing. <\/p>\n

A sweeping U.S. sanctions bill could be the West\u2019s last chance to choke off the Kremlin\u2019s war economy, they said \u2014 adding that they hope their firsthand findings will shift momentum in Washington and help bring a skeptical President Donald Trump<\/a> on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I learned on this trip was he\u2019s preparing for more war,\u201d Graham said of Putin. Blumenthal called the sanctions proposed in legislation \u201cbone-crushing\u201d and said it would place Russia\u2019s economy \u201con a trade island.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is crunch time for Putin and for the world because Russia is mounting a new offensive,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

At the heart of their push is a bipartisan sanctions bill, backed by nearly the entire U.S. Senate but still facing uncertain odds in Washington. It would impose 500% tariffs on countries that continue buying Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports \u2014 targeting nations like China and India that account for roughly 70% of Russia\u2019s energy trade and bankroll much of its war effort.<\/p>\n

Graham called it \u201cthe most draconian bill I\u2019ve ever seen in my life in the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world has a lot of cards to play against Putin,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to hit China and India for propping up his war machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peace talks or stalling tactic?<\/p>\n

With peace talks yielding little and Trump\u2019s approach to Ukraine highly uncertain, Graham and Blumenthal have stepped into the breach \u2014 blunt emissaries on a lonely mission. Political opposites moving in lockstep, they\u2019re crossing Europe, and the aisle, with the moral urgency of two men trying to forestall another Russian offensive before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

Peace talks are scheduled to resume Monday in Istanbul. But Ukrainian officials say Moscow has yet to submit a serious proposal \u2014 a delay both senators described as deliberate and dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutin is playing President Trump,\u201d Blumenthal said. \u201cHe\u2019s taking him for a sucker.\u201d The senator said Putin \u201cis, in effect, stalling and stonewalling, prolonging the conversation so that he can mount this offensive and take control of more territory on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham added: \u201cWe saw credible evidence of a summer or early fall invasion, a new offensive by Putin. … He\u2019s preparing for more war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump has yet to endorse the sanctions bill, telling reporters Friday: \u201cI don\u2019t know. I\u2019ll have to see it.\u201d Graham said the legislation was drafted in consultation with Trump\u2019s advisers.<\/p>\n

Graham backed the president\u2019s diplomatic instincts but said, \u201cBy trying to engage Putin \u2014 by being friendly and enticing \u2014 it\u2019s become painfully clear he\u2019s not interested in ending this war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blumenthal hoped the bipartisan support for Ukraine at least in the Senate \u2014 and the personal testimonies they plan to bring home to Congress and the Oval Office\u2014 may help shift the conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe needs to see and hear that message as well from us, from the American people,\u201d he said of Putin.<\/p>\n

A moral reckoning<\/p>\n

In Kyiv, the senators said, the war\u2019s human toll was impossible to ignore. Graham pointed to what Ukrainian officials and Yale researchers estimate are nearly 20,000 children forcibly deported to Russia \u2014 calling their return a matter of justice, not diplomacy.<\/p>\n

Blumenthal described standing at mass grave sites in Bucha, where civilians were executed with shots to the head. The destruction, he said, and the stories of those who survived, made clear the stakes of delay. \u201cPutin is a thug. He\u2019s a murderer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both said that failing to act now could pull the U.S. deeper into conflict later. If Putin isn\u2019t stopped in Ukraine, Blumenthal said, NATO treaty obligations could one day compel American troops into battle.<\/p>\n

They see resolve in Europe<\/p>\n

After a one-hour meeting with Macron in Paris, both Graham, of South Carolina, and Blumenthal, of Connecticut, said they left convinced Europe was ready to toughen its stance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis visit has been a breakthrough moment because President Macron has shown moral clarity in his conversations with us,\u201d Blumenthal said. \u201cToday, he is 100% aligned with that message that we are taking back to Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blumenthal pointed to the rare bipartisan unity behind the sanctions bill. \u201cThere are very few causes that will take 41 Republicans and 41 Democrats and put them on record on a single piece of legislation,\u201d he said. \u201cThe cause of Ukraine is doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead, Ukrainian military leaders are set to brief Congress and a sanctions vote could follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump said we\u2019ll know in two weeks whether he\u2019s being strung along,\u201d Graham said. \u201cThere will be more evidence of that from Russia on Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS (AP) \u2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin is stalling at the peace table while preparing a new military…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[32,34,1699,4179,8614,10546,47778,1411,285,64187,7659,7661,64188,657,7662,49,7150,36767,978,659,333,2601,7660,10673,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-150153","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-donald-trump","9":"tag-emmanuel-macron","10":"tag-european-union","11":"tag-general-news","12":"tag-international-agreements","13":"tag-kyiv","14":"tag-lindsey-graham","15":"tag-paris","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-richard-blumenthal","18":"tag-russia-government","19":"tag-russia-ukraine-war","20":"tag-u-s-democratic-party","21":"tag-ukraine","22":"tag-ukraine-government","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-united-states-congress","25":"tag-united-states-senate","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa","28":"tag-vladimir-putin","29":"tag-volodymyr-zelenskyy","30":"tag-war-and-unrest","31":"tag-washington-news","32":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114609637830968054","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}