Richard Blumenthal are urging quick action by the US as Russia escalates its war in Ukraine, including the passage of a bipartisan bill they’ve introduced implementing sanctions on Moscow that they say could be the “sledgehammer” President Donald Trump needs to end the conflict.

Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine within his first 24 hours in office. His patience with Russia's Putin now appears to be wearing thin.

Russian authorities have confiscated assets worth some $50 billion over the past three years, underscoring the scale of the transformation into a "fortress Russia" economic model during the war in Ukraine,