A large bipartisan group of US lawmakers — half of the Senate, led by top Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Democrat Richard Blumenthal (R-Connecticut) — has introduced legislation designed to increase pressure on Russia to force it into peace talks.
The bill would impose both primary and secondary sanctions on Russia and its proxies if the Kremlin refuses to hold genuine peace talks with Ukraine, “or engages in other efforts, such as military intervention, that undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty after peace talks,” the document says.
The bill, called the “Russia Sanctions Act of 2025,” also would impose a 500 percent tariff on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other products. “This is no coincidence,” Graham and Blumenthal said in a joint statement.
“The dominant view in the United States Senate is that Russia is the aggressor, and that this terrible war and Putin’s aggression must end now and be restrained in the future,” they added.
The authors also hope that in 2025, President Trump and his team will be able to permanently end Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Senator Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), who is one of the co-sponsors of the bill, told reporters that while Ukraine expressed a willingness to support the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, Russia did not.
“This bill sends a clear message: the perpetrators must pay a price for their actions. “Vladimir Putin and Russia must face serious consequences for their destructive and unprovoked war against Ukraine,” Kramer said.
The list of senators who signed the legislation includes Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Katie Britt (R-AL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Todd Young (R-IN), Angus King (I-ME), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Curtis (R-UT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Maisie Girono (D-HI), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tom Tillis (R-NC), Peter Welsh (D-VT), Marquan Mullin (R-OK), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), John Hasted (R-OH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), John Cornyn (R-TX), Michael Bennett (D-CO), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), John Goven (R-ND), John Fetterman (D-PA), John Boozman (R-AR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), James Lankford (R-OK), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Rick Scott (R-FL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jim Justice (R-WV), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Jack Reed (D-RI).
The House bill is also being introduced with bipartisan support, led by Republicans Joe Wilson and Brian Fitzpatrick and Democrats Marcy Kaptur and Mike Quigley.
Alex Raufoglou is a special correspondent for the Kyiv Post in Washington, D.C.
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