Donald Trump aide reveals 1 crunch move that can 'crush' the Russian economy

A Republican senator has revealed how Donald Trump should "crush the Russian economy" if Vladimir Putin doesn't take Ukraine peace negotiations seriously. Lindsey Graham, who represents South Carolina, said Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio must convince the Russia's president to end the war or go after countries that buy his country's oil and gas.

He wrote on X: "My advice to President @realDonaldTrump and @SecRubio is to convince Putin that if this war does not come to an end, we will crush the Russian economy by going after countries that buy their cheap oil and gas." The senator also told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo: "My advice to President Trump and [Rubio] is, you’ve got to convince Putin that if this war doesn’t end justly and honorably with Ukraine making concessions also, we’re going to destroy the Russian economy. We have the ability to do it." Mr Graham pinpointed China - a major consumer of Russian oil - as a potential recipient of tariffs. He is also sponsoring a Senate bill that would allow the US president to impose levies of 500%.

He said: "If we take it to the next level and tell China 'you’re next', then I think we can have an end to this war. The second most important person on the planet to end this war is President Xi in China.

"If he went to Putin and said it’s time to end this war, I can’t help you anymore because you’re putting my country at threat, this war would end."

Mr Trump already increased tariffs on India to 50% in April over the country's consumption of Russian oil, which Mr Graham claimed was the reason why Putin agreed to the Alaska summit last Friday.

The meeting between the two presidents was yet another that ended without a ceasefire, but Mr Graham slammed those who called it a failure.

He said: "To all these media analysts who say this was a bust, that’s ridiculous. We have progress we didn’t have before. We have momentum for peace. We’ll see where it goes. So I’ll leave it up to Trump."

The senator also called on Europe to "up your game" when it comes to support for Ukraine, and "quit complaining" about how Mr Trump is choosing to handle the ongoing war.

He added: "To our European allies, up your game. Quit complaining about what we’re not doing in America and do more yourself.

"Put tariffs on every country that buys Russian oil and gas cheaply to benefit Putin’s war machine. Do what Trump’s doing."