Life.ru: Kremlin sees 'no positive' in Trump's 'hellish sanctions'; Espreso and Censor.NET: a law that punishes the deportation of Ukrainian children

One law, two readings. Life.ru quotes one person: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He told RIA Novosti that the law will do nothing positive for Moscow–Washington relations or for peace talks on Ukraine. Espreso TV and Censor.NET say the law widens sanctions over the deportation of Ukrainian children.

What the law does, says Espreso. It freezes assets under US control. It bars entry to the US. It covers people who took part "directly or indirectly". Bring Kids Back UA says that reaches carriers, guardianship bodies and officials who signed papers. The US president decides who goes on the list.

The trade weapon. Espreso says the same law lets the US president put tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy Russian energy. It puts this in a closing reminder. Life.ru and Censor.NET do not mention it in the parts we hold.

What is not settled. No report names a country that would face the tariff or says when it could start. We hold only the opening lines of the Life.ru and Censor.NET reports. Peskov's remark reaches us through one report, which cites RIA Novosti. We hold nothing from the US government.

What this is about. The United States has passed a law that punishes people involved in taking Ukrainian children to Russia. The same law gives the US president a trade weapon against countries that buy Russian oil and gas.

How it got here. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and backed armed separatists in eastern Ukraine. On 24 February 2022 it launched a full-scale invasion. Since then, Ukraine has said Russia took thousands of Ukrainian children from occupied areas to Russia. Russia says it moved children away from the fighting for their safety. In March 2023 the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova. The court alleges the unlawful deportation of children. Russia does not recognise the court.

Western governments have used sanctions against Russia since 2014, mostly by executive decision. Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, wrote a bill to go further. Espreso TV and Censor.NET both call him the late senator. Espreso says Donald Trump signed the law on 18 September 2026.

Who is involved. The US president, who decides under the law who is listed. The Kremlin, whose spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks for President Putin. Ukraine's government, and Bring Kids Back UA, a Ukrainian initiative that works to bring deported children home. And, through the tariff power, every country that buys Russian energy.

What is at stake. Bring Kids Back UA says the grounds for these sanctions now sit in a law, not an executive order. It says a later administrative decision therefore cannot cancel them. For trade, the question is whether the tariff power is used, and against whom. Energy sales are central to Russia's income, and several large economies still buy Russian oil.

Where it stands. The law is signed. The reports we hold name no one listed under it yet and no country facing a tariff yet.