US Senate passes sweeping Russian energy sanctions bill amid Ukraine war

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkSenator Lindsey Graham, who had lobbied for the sanctions bill, before his death, in Washington, DC [File: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo]By AFP and ReutersPublished On 8 Aug 20268 Aug 2026The United States Senate has passed an aggressive sanctions package targeting Russia’s energy revenues amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.The legislation passed on Friday, dubbed the “Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026”, sets 100 percent tariffs on major nations importing Russian oil and gas. It further targets clandestine maritime networks used to evade Western embargoes.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran’s grip on trade is a potent weapon, but it has an expiry datelist 2 of 3Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkiye defence pact challenges US rolelist 3 of 3Democrats gain momentum in pivotal US Senate and governor’s races in Texasend of listThe Senate voted 86–11 to pass the bill, which now heads to the House of Representatives. A vote in the 435-seat lower chamber will not take place until at least early September due to the congressional summer recess.“This could finally bring Russia to the negotiating table and end this conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” Republican Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech on the Senate floor before the vote.“It will make a decisive impact that goes beyond what can be achieved on the battlefield. It will cut off the flow of cash that powers Putin’s war machine,” he added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the move, saying “real, strong American pressure and sanctions against Russia are what will help the most” to bring “this insane Russian war against our independence and our people to an end”.In a post on the social media platform X, Zelenskyy explicitly extended his gratitude across political lines, noting that Ukraine deeply appreciates the continuous support “from both parties and the entire American people”.The bill was named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator who died on July 11 and who had strongly advocated for new sanctions against Moscow amid its invasion of Ukraine.The day before his death, Graham, along with a bipartisan group of senators, announced they had secured the White House’s approval to pass new sanctions on Russian hydrocarbons. The measures had previously been blocked by President Donald Trump.Reacting to the vote on Friday, Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, who has been appointed to fill his seat in the Senate, said the bill “hits Putin where it hurts”.Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, added in a statement that the bill sent “Vladimir Putin an unambiguous and bipartisan message in the only language he understands: pressure”.The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also welcomed the passage of the bill.“Together, let us drain Russia’s means to continue a war it cannot win,” she wrote on X. However, several House members have expressed reservations about the bill, suggesting that passage in the lower chamber could be more difficult.The new tariff powers could be used without restraint by Trump, Democratic Representatives Gregory Meeks and Don Beyer said in a joint press release, calling the version adopted on Friday “unacceptable”.The Russian Embassy in Washington, DC, had previously condemned the legislation.In a statement last month, it pointed to knock-on energy constraints from the US-Israel war on Iran. It added that “with an impending energy crisis and rising gas prices on the eve of the [US] midterm elections, sanctioning Russia and its trading partners… would be extremely counterproductive for the United States”.