According to a senior White House official, there was no single moment that dramatically changed Trump's mind. His view was said to have been influenced by repeated disappointments when the US president saw that Putin was clearly unwilling to end the war.
"For months, Trump has been telling his advisers that one day he will decide it's time to take tougher action against Russia. And now the president has suggested that his gut feeling is that it's time to change course on Putin," the article says.
As is known, just a few hours before the sanctions were announced, Russia struck a kindergarten in Kharkiv.
"These measures were the culmination of conversations with Putin, reading newspapers and watching Russia's massive bombing of Ukraine," a senior White House official told CNN.
It is also noted that Trump was motivated to take these actions by his success in Gaza, which he believes was only possible by increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Rigorousness led to action," the official said.
Republican senators such as Lindsey Graham have urged Trump to impose sanctions on Russia.
"We want to do everything we can to support the efforts of the president, his team and our allies to stop the bloodshed and reach a peaceful resolution," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Tuesday.
CNN recalled that Trump first spoke about sanctions against Russia on January 22 - two days after his inauguration and the day after his deadline for ending the war.
He then said he might have no choice but to “impose high taxes, duties and sanctions” on Moscow. The threats continued throughout the spring and summer, but never escalated into concrete measures.
According to officials, Trump avoided taking drastic steps so as not to further discourage Putin from peace talks.
Whether the new position of the US president is permanent or just a temporary phase remains an open question, writes CNN.
It is noted that since returning to the presidency, he has repeatedly changed his attitude towards V. Putin.
