Key facts
- Senator Lindsey Graham announced an agreement with the White House on a Russia sanctions bill.
- The bill aims to provide President Trump with tools to help end the war in Ukraine.
- It also seeks to punish countries that support Russia's war efforts.
- The bipartisan measure would enable the White House to impose tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil and gas.
- Graham and Senator Richard Blumenthal will discuss advancing the bill with Congressional leaders.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham announced on July 10 that an agreement has been reached with the White House on a version of a Russia sanctions bill that the administration will support. Graham stated during a visit to Kyiv that the bipartisan package, which he is spearheading with Senator Richard Blumenthal, would provide President Donald Trump with tools to help end the war in Ukraine and punish countries that profit from it.
The proposed legislation aims to counter countries that prop up Russian President Vladimir Putin by imposing tariffs and sanctions on those purchasing Russian oil and gas, thereby undermining Moscow's wartime revenue. Graham has been advocating for such a bill since last year, though it faced lukewarm reception from the Trump White House previously.
Details of the latest version of the bill remain unclear, but an earlier proposal sought to impose 500% tariffs on imports from countries buying Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other products. Graham and Blumenthal plan to discuss moving the package forward with Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders soon. This development follows President Trump's recent agreement to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missiles.