The US Senate has passed a bill to impose sweeping sanctions against Russia and procurers of its petroleum products, including India and China, claiming that such trade is helping Moscow fund its war against Ukraine. The bill was passed by the Senate by an overwhelming 86-11 vote.
The bill, renamed the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, will now be sent to the House of Representatives. Graham was a Republican senator who passed away on July 11 and strongly pushed for sanctions against Russia due to it the Ukraine war.
However, a vote in the House of Representatives will take place only in September because of the congressional summer recess.
"This could finally bring Russia to the negotiating table and end this conflict," Republican Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was quoted as saying by AFP. "It will make a decisive impact that goes beyond what can be achieved on the battlefield. It will cut off the flow of cash that powers Putin's war machine."
Bill to target India, China?
The bill's target is Russia's energy sector and would allow the Trump administration impose tariffs up to 500 per cent on imports from Russia, including gas and oil. It also allows the US to impose 100 per cent tariffs on five major importers of Russian crude.
Currently, the five main importers of Russian oil and gas are China, India, Azerbaijan, Hungary and Slovakia.
Other than the energy sector, the bill would also target Russian leaders and officials, including President Vladimir Putin, and oligarchs and financial institutions. It would also extend till 2031, the expiration date of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, which penalises companies that invest in Iran's energy sector.
However, Democrats have criticised the bill and accused President Donald Trump of once again weaponizing tariffs. "We welcome our Senate colleagues' urgent effort to support Ukraine and punish Russia for its continued illegal war, but this bill would not achieve those goals. Instead, it would allow President Trump to dodge holding Russia accountable and impose yet more tariffs in his destructive trade wars, leaving Americans to foot the bill," news agency PTI quoted Democrat Congressmen Gregory Meeks and Don Beyer as saying.
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