President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he felt it "was time" to hit Russia with tougher sanctions, a major escalation amid his latest push to pressure Vladimir Putin into ending his war on Ukraine.

"Today is a very big day in terms of what we're doing. These are tremendous sanctions. These are very big," Trump said as he met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office. "They're against their two big oil companies, and we hope that they won't be on for long. We hope that the war will be settled."

"I just felt it was time. We've waited a long time," Trump said when asked why he was taking action now after months of threats and delays.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

The Treasury Department said the new economic penalties will target Russia's two largest oil companies, Open Joint St

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