US President Donald Trump has signed legislation introducing what has been described as «hellish sanctions» against Russia and giving him the authority to impose 100% tariffs on countries trading with Moscow.

Political analyst Igor Shishkin believes the new measures do not contradict Trump’s repeated statements about seeking a peace agreement on Ukraine. In his assessment, Washington’s objective is to secure a settlement that would make Russia’s security dependent on the United States, effectively pursuing Russia’s strategic defeat through diplomatic rather than military means.

Writer and journalist Oleg Yasinsky said the consequences of the legislation will largely depend on the response of China, India and other countries of the Global South. He argued that Russia and these states face a common adversary that is extending the Monroe Doctrine to a global scale.

According to Yasinsky, this situation requires countries of the Global South to move beyond protecting sovereignty individually and instead develop a system of collective sovereignty.

Political analyst Marat Bashirov expects the new sanctions mechanism to put pressure primarily on Europe. He stressed that the legislation does not require Trump to impose tariffs automatically, leaving the US president to decide when and against whom the measures should be applied.

Bashirov believes the mechanism could be used to push European countries toward purchasing oil and gas from the United States or obtaining Russian energy resources through US intermediaries.