Half of the Senate, led by Sens. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, introduced a bipartisan bill on Tuesday to impose sanctions against Russia if the Kremlin refuses to negotiate a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.
The 50 Senate original co-sponsors are equally split among Republicans and Democrats, showing broad bipartisan support.
“The dominating view in the United States Senate is that Russia is the aggressor, and that this horrific war and Putin’s aggression must end now and be deterred in the future,” the senators said in a joint statement.
The sanctions measure comes as President Trump and his envoys are trying to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine to end the war that Russia started three years ago.
Mr. Trump has threatened to impose secondary sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin won’t agree to a peace deal. Mr. Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he was “very angry” and “pissed off” at Mr. Putin for questioning whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be replaced with a temporary United Nations-run government.
The Senate legislation would include both primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting the Kremlin’s aggression in Ukraine.
The sanctions would be triggered if peace negotiations fall apart or a deal is reached but violated by Russia. That could provide some assurances to Mr. Zelenskyy, who has said he wants protections against another Russian military invasion to be baked into a deal.
Among the penalties the legislation could trigger is a 500% tariff on imported goods from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products.
“They are hard hitting for a reason,” the senators said, citing Russia’s violation of past deals it agreed to with regard to Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“It is our hope that in 2025, President Trump and his team will achieve what has eluded the world in the past: ending Russian aggression against Ukraine permanently and ensuring the survivability of a free and democratic Ukraine,” they said. “These sanctions against Russia are at the ready and will receive overwhelming bipartisan, bicameral support if presented to the Senate and House for a vote.”
