Newt Gingrich said on Fox Business Tuesday that the West can effectively cripple Russia’s economy by implementing secondary boycotts and using sophisticated weapons to dismantle Russia’s military infrastructure.
Russia’s strikes on civilian areas killed at least 27 people across Ukraine, including 16 inmates in a prison hit by Russian glide bombs, despite President Donald Trump’s threat to impose sanctions and tariffs. During an appearance on “Kudlow,” Gingrich laid out a strategy for how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions to rebuild the Soviet Empire could be thwarted.
“My hunch is if you go to very strong secondary boycotts, you can cut off an amazing amount of resources and almost create a heart attack for the Russian economy. If at the same time they start having very sophisticated weapons landing inside Russia, beginning to take apart the Russian military complex. At some point, he’s going to have to look at the wall and realize he’s not going to win,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich said Putin must decide whether to accept a loss early or allow the situation to worsen, potentially leading to a significant loss of life and further destabilizing Russia.
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“And the question is, how big a loss does he want to take? And does he agree early? Or does he allow the Ukrainians to regain the advantage and allow, gradually, the Russian people to break up just because the number of casualties they’re going to take if we get serious is going to be terrifying?” Gingrich asked.(RELATED: After Last Week’s Big Win, Gingrich Shares What Trump Does Next)
Gingrich said Putin’s failure to account for the balance of power has left him vulnerable.
“It’s truly a tragedy that Putin, who really should know better, has now put himself in this position and has not behaved in any way in terms of what the Soviets would have called a correlation of forces. In this fight, if we’re serious, he has no forces,” Gingrich said.
Trump said Monday that he would shorten the deadline for Putin to reach a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, reducing it from 50 days to “10 or 12 days.” Trump said that failure to reach a deal would result in severe secondary tariffs and sanctions targeting key Russian industries.
In recent months, Trump has accused Putin of delaying peace talks to press on with his war efforts, which have escalated in recent days with ongoing missile and drone attacks from both sides. On July 11, Trump resumed arms shipments to Ukraine through NATO, aiming to push the Kremlin toward negotiations.
Despite Trump’s warnings, Putin remains unfazed, claiming that Russia can withstand the West’s economic measures. While Russia insists that any peace agreement must include recognition of territory seized during the war, Ukraine firmly rejects the idea of conceding any land to the Kremlin.
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