No Pain (for Putin), No Gain

President Trump’s May 19 phone call with Vladimir Putin does not appear to be two hours well-spent. According to readouts, the Russian ruler agreed to continue talking about talking.

Around the same time, Putin launched a massive drone strike against Ukrainian soldiers defending their country and civilians attempting to survive the long war waged against them by an enemy seeking to destroy their freedom and identity.

Despite President Trump’s multiple threats to impose “devastating” sanctions on Russia if Putin continues to refuse even a temporary ceasefire — to which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed — Putin does not appear to be taking Trump’s threats seriously.

If Trump isn’t bluffing, a new FDD Memo details exactly how the president can exert significant economic pain on Russia to give Putin pause — and maybe even pause the missiles strikes.

Joining host Cliff May to discuss are memo co-author John Hardie and FDD’s RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, who just returned from the frontline in Ukraine.