RT reported that according to the executive decree issued by the White House on February 27, sanctions related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict are aimed at dealing with the "unusual threat" to US national security.
Initially imposed in 2014 after Crimea's absorption into Russia, the measures have been expanded through various executive decrees and are now extended by another year, until March 6, 2026.
Under these executive decrees, related actions and policies continue to pose an unusual and serious threat to US national security and foreign policy, the document published in the Federal Reserve said.
Therefore, I have decided to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13660 for another year, President Donald Trump said.
The document also mentions a 2022 decree signed by then- Presidents Joe Biden, which extended sanctions in response to the annexation of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics into Russia. The decree said that the development threatened Ukraines peace, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and therefore created an unusual and serious threat to US national security and foreign policy.
The four former regions of Ukraine - the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, Kherson and the Zaporizhzhia region - were annexed by Russia after a series of refer refer referrals in 2022. Crimea had previously voted to join Russia in 2014. Ukraine still claims sovereignty over these regions.
Recently, President Donald Trump has warned that Ukraine could reclaim lost territory, but returning to the border before 2014 is difficult. He also hinted that Washington could lift Russian sanctions at some point as part of peace talks on Ukraine.
On February 26, the US President said he wanted Ukraine to reclaim as much territory as possible as well in a potential peace deal with Russia. He said Moscow would make a concession, but stressed that any deal must represent the best possible outcome for both sides.
Russia and the US are taking part in talks following a phone call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, along with high-level talks between Russian and US delegations in Saudi Arabia.
In June, President Putin set conditions for peace talks with Kiev, including a complete withdrawal of troops from all Russian territories, including four areas that were once part of Ukraine that had been annexed by Russia in 2022.
He also asked Ukraine to legally commit that it would never join NATO or any other Western military bloc.
Russia has repeatedly argued that one of the reasons for the Ukrainian conflict is NATO's expansion towards the country's borders.
