Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason, Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Republicans are using soaring gas prices to their advantage in the 2016 congressional election cycle. President Joe Biden and his team have a counter-narrative strategy. They blame Vladimir Putin for this.

Biden and his Administration have come to rely on the expression “Putin price rise” as a way of describing the challenges posed by Russia’s invasion in Ukraine and the retaliatory Western sanction, White House officials claimed.

Biden tweeted Tuesday that he was going to try his best to limit Putin’s price rise here at home.

Biden on Tuesday banned U.S. imports Russian oil from the United States, increasing pressure for crude prices to hold near a 14 year high.

This move will likely drive up U.S. fuel prices, which have risen to $4 per gallon many times. Biden faces a major political problem, and Republicans want to take advantage of it ahead of the November midterm congressional elections.

The American response to Russia’s oil ban has encouraged the White House so far. Wall Street Journal’s Tuesday poll found that 79% Americans support a ban on Russian oil imports, even though it could increase energy costs in the United States. The poll found that 13% of respondents were against.

An official stated that Americans across the nation understand the price of the sanctions and that they are supporting the President’s approach.

These figures may change as oil prices rise, however. A senior official in the Administration told Reuters that the government has begun to look at options where oil could reach $200 per barrel.

White House believes that Americans will see Putin as the true culprit after being shocked by photos of Ukrainian civilians being attacked and killed by Russian troops. Biden sent a clear message to journalists on Tuesday while he was in Fort Worth, Texas.

He said that gasoline prices would rise. Russia is to blame.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, oil prices have risen more than 30% and sanctions imposed by the United States and others on Ukraine are still in effect.

Republicans who hope to challenge the control of Congress in November’s mid-term elections have been relentless in criticizing Biden’s energy policy handling.

They have started selling stickers in recent weeks. These stickers can be placed beside gas pump prices and depict Biden pointin’ at the camera, saying “I did that!”

Republicans claim that Biden can unleash more energy than what is happening in the United States at the moment, but administration officials state that U.S. oil firms aren’t taking full advantage of available drilling permits.

Although the Biden administration considers a range of options to minimize the effects of the high prices of pumps, they are realistic about the potential pain.

“Obviously there are scenarios in which they could go higher. We are trying to make sure that those scenarios don’t .. happen, and (are) trying to do our best to mitigate the effects of Russian aggression,” the official said.