A bill sanctioning Russia reached a critical agreement between the White House and a bipartisan coalition of senators, paving the way for its formal introduction.
“We are proud to announce that we have reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to move our updated Russia sanctions legislation forward,” Sens. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican; Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat; Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat; and Roger Wicker, Mississippi Republican, said Friday in a statement. “We are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon.”
After wrapping up his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday, Mr. Graham told reporters that by coming to an agreement, “It means it’s going to become law.”
He added that the four lawmakers have been working closely with the Trump administration on a version of the bill that was “written in a way they could support.”
The new version of the legislation sanctions buyers of Russian oil — a tactic to pressure Moscow to end its four-year war against Kyiv.
“As Russia intensifies its slaughter of civilians, it is imperative that the legislative and executive branches work together to create tools to exact a heavy price on those who buy Russian oil and natural gas, fueling the Putin war machine,” the senators’ statement read.
The success of the bill has been intertwined with President Trump’s efforts to mediate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, but the Kremlin’s refusal to end the war has dampened any progress.
Previous efforts to move the bill forward failed, including Democratic opposition after reports detailed Mr. Trump’s negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin favored Moscow.
Despite gaining more than 80 bipartisan co-sponsors, the bill stalled in the Senate for more than a year, repeatedly put on hold as Mr. Trump pursued talks to end the war.
Mr. Graham touted White House support in January, but nothing happened.
Last month, House Democrats, joined by a bloc of 18 Republicans, passed a bill to deliver fresh aid to Ukraine and impose sanctions against Russia, going over the heads of GOP leadership. Now it’s sitting in the Senate.
After meeting with Mr. Graham, Mr. Zelenskyy thanked his U.S. partners, stressing the importance of using sanctions to end the war.
“The stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield, the greater the chances that diplomacy will ultimately succeed. And right now, it is important that our long-range sanctions pressure on Russia be reinforced through new sanctions steps by our partners,” Mr. Zelenskyy said on social media.
At the recent NATO summit, Mr. Trump committed to letting Ukraine domestically co-produce Patriot air defense interceptors and announced a strategic drone agreement — a milestone in their previously rocky relationship, which included a tense Oval Office meeting in February of last year.
“We’ve actually developed a good relationship,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday, referring to him and Mr. Zelenskyy. “It’s hard to believe, right? From the Oval Office to now, I think we’ve developed a very good relationship.”
