On July 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Washington to attend the funeral of one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in Congress — the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
At the same time, the Senate is set to begin considering the Russia sanctions bill that Graham spent more than a year shepherding through Congress — a measure that, after months of negotiations with the White House, could finally clear its first major hurdle just weeks after the death of its chief architect.
The bill, re-named the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026,” now has the backing of the Trump administration and 62 bipartisan co-sponsors.
Graham, the bill’s Republican co-author and its most outspoken champion, died suddenly on July 11 — a day after announcing that he and his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, had reached a breakthrough agreement with the Trump administration to move the legislation forward.
At a July 14 news conference with a group of the bill’s bipartisan sponsors, Blumenthal argued the timing is critical because, in his view, Ukraine has regained momentum on the battlefield.
“Ukraine is at a crossroads,” he said, pointing to Kyiv’s deep strikes inside Russia, damage to Russian manufacturing and oil refining facilities and mounting Russian battlefield losses. “The wind is in its sails. Now is the time for this sweeping sanctions bill.”
A Narrower But Tougher Bill
The legislation, which is likely to be headed to the Senate floor this week, differs significantly from the version introduced last year, which eventually attracted 85 co-sponsors.
Following negotiations with the White House, lawmakers narrowed its scope.
Instead of threatening tariffs on more than 60 countries purchasing Russian energy, the revised bill targets only the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas — China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan — with tariffs of up to 100%. Countries importing less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia while actively reducing that dependence are exempt, shielding most of Washington’s European allies.
The legislation also strengthens sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet, bars Russian companies from accessing U.S. capital markets, prohibits transactions involving Russian sovereign debt, and introduces new penalties for countries and vessels that help Moscow evade sanctions.
Perhaps the most consequential change is political. The original version conditioned new sanctions on Russia refusing to negotiate a peace agreement.
The revised bill makes sanctions mandatory regardless of the status of diplomatic talks.
It also codifies existing executive sanctions into law, making them significantly harder for a future administration to lift unilaterally.
Under the legislation, a president seeking to terminate sanctions would first have to report to Congress and certify that Russia had ended its military aggression against Ukraine and signed a peace agreement accepted by Ukraine’s government.
Supporters See Sanctions as Leverage
For Blumenthal, the legislation is intended not only to punish Moscow economically but also to strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating position.
“Sanctions will be a decisive factor in this war,” he said earlier this month, arguing they would cripple Russia’s economy, cut off its oil and gas revenues, and penalize countries that openly support the Kremlin or help it evade existing restrictions.
He also describes the legislation as an important source of leverage for Kyiv.
“It gives Ukraine a critically important lever in any peace negotiations, because our ultimate goal is peace.”
Republican Sen. Jim Risch, R-ID, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, likewise framed the measure as part of a coordinated strategy with the White House.
“This legislation has long been part of a joint strategy and negotiations with the president on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. Given the current situation on the front lines, passing this document is more important now than ever.”
If the Senate does approve the legislation this week, a House vote will not take place until the end of the summer — the lower chamber is not scheduled to return from its recess until August 31.
Not a Silver Bullet
Despite broad bipartisan support, the bill still faces political hurdles.
Melinda Haring, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, said in an interview with Independence Avenue Media that some Democratic resistance stems from opposition to tariffs themselves rather than disagreement over Russia policy.
Democrats have argued that tariffs should not become a regular foreign policy tool.
Haring argued, however, that the provision that makes the legislation especially important is stronger sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet.
“It’s not a 10 out of 10,” she said of the sanctions package. “But Congress hasn’t passed any Ukraine-related legislation since Donald Trump returned to office. The fact that Congress would pass something is, in itself, an important step forward.”
Blumenthal has also acknowledged the bill’s limits. Despite bipartisan efforts, it contains no new military assistance for Ukraine.
“Ukraine is desperate for air defense and longer-range weapons platforms. We’ve advocated for them,” Blumenthal said. “Sen. Graham and I spent a lot of time, sweat, and tears advocating for those. And this is the limit of what we can achieve, but it is a bill that will pass.”
