Senator Lindsey Graham quickly moves to a bill to strike Russia with new sanctions and punish any country always buying its oil, gas or uranium, while President Donald Trump continues to put pressure for a peace agreement that did not occur.
The bill, called the sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, would force enormous economic consequences if President Vladimir Putin continues to ignore the talks of peace or invades Ukraine again.
According to The Wall Street JournalGraham said on Wednesday that the bill already has more than 60 co-sponsors, which erases the barrier of obstacles to the Senate. He awaits at least 67 donors by the end of the week, which would be enough to win on a veto of Trump if that became necessary.
Support comes from both parties. He includes the head of the majority of the Senate, John Thune, who joined without promising a vote on the ground. The head of the Senate minority, Chuck Schumer, is also on board.
Graham said the growing list should send a clear message to the White House and Russia that the Senate is ready to act if peace talks collapse.
“I let him know what we are doing,” Graham said about Trump. “And I'm not going to speak for the president, but I will say that I hope he succeeds. I am a little optimistic, we can get there. But we cannot let it continue forever.”
Graham responds to peace efforts at neutral with sanctions
The moment of Graham's movement is part of Trump's effort to stop the war in Ukraine, which started when Russia launched its full invasion in 2022.
Ukraine had offered a 30-day ceasefire in March if Russia agreed, but Putin refused. Instead, he proposed a short break in the fighting between May 8 and 10, during the annual parade of Russia honoring the end of the Second World War.
Trump said earlier this month that Putin could drag him and had no intention of stopping war. Graham supported this thought. “It is clear for me, and I think it becomes clear for President Trump, that the Russians play games”, he said.
Even if Trump has already talked about possible sanctions, he has not taken solid measures. Graham joined Senator Richard Blumenthal to present the bill earlier in April.
He imposed primary and secondary sanctions on Russia and any government supporting war in Ukraine. It also takes advantage of a price of 500% on the goods from countries which still buy Russian oil, gas or uranium.
Graham’s office said that the bill of the bill would hit China, India and Iran the hardest. Taylor Reidy, his spokesperson, said it could also have an impact on certain European allies, but discussions with officials from Germany, France, Poland and the United Kingdom showed that they were contained that it was time to take sides.
Graham says Bill's pressure increased after new Russian attacks
Although some European countries have reduced dependence on Russian energy, the EU reported that in 2024, Russia still provided 17% of gas and 18% of liquefied natural gas imports.
Graham described the sanctions of the “bone crushing” bill. He said that if Putin did not accept a negotiated peace soon, the Senate would respond aggressively. “Unless there is a negotiated peace soon, I am convinced that the Senate would evolve overwhelmingly to strike hard from Russia.”
He added that he prefers to see a diplomatic end and said that the bill gave Trump to finish his talks. But he insisted that the Senate was tired of waiting.
“Most of the Senate members believe that Putin has resisted a solution negotiated in war and has been cheeky and barbaric in its actions against Ukraine,” said Graham. “By co -sponsoring this bill, I think that a senator makes a fairly clear statement that he considers Russia as the biggest offender here.”
In the House, the representative Brian Fitzpatrick presented a paired bill, which now has 26 co-sponsors, also distributed between the Republicans and the Democrats. Graham thinks that if he gets a vote, he will easily pass.
Blumenthal said: “This bill has legs, really strong legs.” He said he spoke directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Blumenthal said the bill sent a “scary message to Putin that the congress is firm and resolved behind the inhabitants of Ukraine”. When they asked him how long the congress was waiting before moving, Graham said: “We are talking about weeks.”
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