Trump could trigger a financial crisis in Russia—if he wants to—but has backed off from his threat of ‘very severe consequences’

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• President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended their meeting in Alaska on Friday without a ceasefire deal. Despite Trump’s earlier threat that Moscow would face “very severe consequences” if the summit didn’t produce an agreement, he said he would hold off on imposing new sanctions. But a tougher U.S. crackdown on tankers delivering Russian oil would cripple Putin’s war machine, an expert said.

The U.S. holds immense leverage over Russia’s economy and ability to continue waging war on Ukraine, but President Donald Trump has backed off from earlier warnings that lack of progress on a ceasefire would result in harsh penalties for Moscow.