Sanctioning Russia Act
The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 is a proposed bipartisan bill introduced in the 119th U.S. Congress that gives the US president the option to impose extensive new sanctions on Russia and countries that purchase Russian energy and other critical exports, in response to the continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russia's refusal to engage in peace negotiations.
Its proposed measures include a 500% tariff on imports from nations buying Russian oil, natural gas, petroleum products, or uranium, along with expanded restrictions on Russian sovereign debt and financial transactions involving sanctioned entities.
The legislation was introduced in the Senate by Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, and co-sponsored by a bipartisan supermajority of 84 senators. In the House of Representatives, a companion bill was introduced by Brian Fitzpatrick with 151 bipartisan cosponsors.
Background
Since the beginning of 2025, peace efforts led by President Donald Trump to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian war have repeatedly failed to achieve a peace treaty. Trump's approach has been characterized as lenient toward Russia, with most of the pressure falling on Ukraine thus creating little incentive for President Vladimir Putin to compromise. As Trump conceded to more of Moscow's demands, Putin refused to compromise and his conditions for ending the war expanded.This negotiation strategy has been widely criticized by members of Congress, particularly Democrats and a number of Republicans. In response to continued Russian aggression, the Sanctioning Russia Act was introduced as a bipartisan effort to pressure Putin into serious and conclusive peace negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine. China and India are the major consumers of Russian energy, which is crucial to fund Russia's war effort.
A deadly three-day wave of drone and missile attacks on Kyiv in May 2025 helped galvanize the introduction of the bill. These strikes were part of a broader pattern of Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians throughout the war, and their devastation and indiscriminate nature prompted action in the Senate.
In June 2025, Graham said in a television interview: "I’ve got 84 co-sponsors for a Russian sanctions bill that is an economic bunker buster against China, India, and Russia for Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine." Donald Trump showed some support for the bill in his reposting of a Washington Post article on Truth Social. Majority Leader John Thune said that senators "stand ready to provide President Trump with any tools he needs to get Russia to finally come to the table in a real way."
Legislative history
On April 1, 2025, Senator Lindsey Graham introduced the Sanctioning Russia Act in the Senate. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The legislation has been co-sponsored by 84 senators, crossing the two-thirds threshold required to override a presidential veto. The scale of bipartisan support it has attracted is explained with the quick traction it gained given the growing frustration in Washington over Russia's actions related to the peace process.The bill has been the subject of prolonged negotiations involving Graham, Senate leadership, and the Trump administration. Since its introduction, Graham has repeatedly suggested the measure was nearing a final vote, but those timelines have continually been delayed as Trump pursued unsuccessful efforts to negotiate with Vladimir Putin.
In January 2026, Trump officially supported the legislation after a meeting with Graham.