A group of Democratic senators led by Robert Menendez has introduced a bill in the US Congress that would impose sanctions on Russia’s leaders if the Russians dare to invade Ukraine. The initiative is titled the “Ukraine Sovereignty Protection Act of 2022.”
The bill envisages imposing sanctions in the event of war on President Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, the foreign and defense ministers, the chief of the general staff of the armed forces, and other senior leaders.
The draft is to be considered in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, whose chairman is Menendez.
Under current procedure, the Senate and the House of Representatives must approve the bill, after which it is sent to President Joe Biden for ratification.
The Russian side has already warned that the adoption and implementation of the bill would be seen as an unprecedented step that would deal an extremely heavy blow to the already complicated relations between the two superpowers.
“Imposing sanctions against the head of state, the leader of Russia, is an extreme measure, comparable only to breaking off relations,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, and stressed that Moscow would immediately give an equivalent response to such a step by Washington.
According to the spokesman, the publication of the news about the sanctions during the days of the talks in Geneva, Brussels and Vienna is not accidental and pursues the goal of exerting pressure on Moscow.
