Senators urge Trump administration to accelerate imposition of sanctions on Russia – AP
Nearly a month after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the sanctions bill against Russia—named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham—bipartisan Senate leadership called on the administration to more quickly restrict the flow of financial resources that are aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine.
This is stated in a letter from the senators to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to the Associated Press, as reported by Censor.NET.
Senators' Appeal to the Administration
"Every day that passes without maximum economic pressure allows Moscow to sustain this military escalation," wrote Senator Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The senators note that most of the law's provisions will take effect on October 18, following the expiration of the 30-day review period set by the administration.
In their letter, Shahin and Vicker call on the administration to take a series of specific steps to implement the sanctions regime. Many of these steps align with the goals advocated by the Ukrainian side.
In particular, the senators emphasized that it is important for the U.S. to focus on several hundred shadow tankers that "transport Russian oil with impunity and thereby provide financial support to the Kremlin."
They also wrote that it is extremely important "for the administration to paralyze the global financial networks that allow Russia to evade U.S. sanctions."
According to them, the Kremlin continues to "move billions of dollars through networks that shield it from scrutiny." They called on the administration to focus, in particular, on banks' overseas branches—notably in Shanghai—and on "financial institutions in Kyrgyzstan, whose network is expanding."
"Foreign banks must make a clear choice: either they do business with the United States, or they finance Russia's war. They cannot do both," the senators emphasized.
U.S. lawmakers also noted that the United States must halt the flow of dual-use technologies and electronics to Russia’s advanced operations and use existing sanctions tools to "punish entities that fuel the Russian military-industrial complex."
Lindsey Graham's Bill on Sanctions Against Russia
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In early April 2025, a bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate proposing new sanctions against Russia, which would impose a 500% tariff on imports of goods from countries that continue to purchase Russian oil and other raw materials. The bill was co-sponsored by Senators Lindsey Graham (Republican) and Richard Blumenthal (Democrat).
- On July 10, 2026, during a visit to Kyiv, Senator Lindsey Graham announced that an agreement had been reached with the White House administration on a new version of the bill imposing sanctions against Russia.
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On July 28, the U.S. Senate held its first procedural vote on a bill to impose new sanctions against Russia and Iran. The bill was supported by 86 senators.
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On August 7, a bill calling for sweeping sanctions against Russia and Iran was supported by an overwhelming majority of the U.S. Senate. It passed with 86 votes in favor and only 11 against.
- On September 16, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill imposing sanctions on Russia, named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham. The bill received 262 votes in favor and 159 against.
- The bill calls for a significant increase in sanctions pressure on Russia. In particular, it grants the U.S. president the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that continue to purchase Russian energy resources.
- On Friday, September 18 (in Kyiv, late Friday night into Saturday, November 19), U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a bill introduced by the late Senator Lindsey Graham imposing "hellish sanctions" against Russia, which the U.S. House of Representatives had approved the day before.
