Graham among senators escalating calls for severe Russia sanctions bill to advance

Senators are escalating calls for a severe Russia sanctions bill to advance, with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham claiming -- after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy -- that the chamber will move ahead with legislation this week that would impose strict tariffs on Moscow.

Graham took a trip to Kyiv over the weekend with Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who cosponsored the Senate sanctions measure that would slap 500% tariffs on any country that buys Moscow's energy products.

"I would expect next week that the Senate will start moving the sanctions bill," Graham said during a press conference in Ukraine on Friday. "There are House members that are ready to move in the House and you will see congressional action."

President Donald Trump has yet to endorse the sanctions bill. ABC News' Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz asked Zelenskyy if he were satisfied with the administration's involvement in the conflict, and the Ukrainian leader called on Trump's support for the sanctions and a ceasefire.

"We are looking for very for strong steps on the part of President Trump to support the sanctions and to force President Putin to stop this war, or at least proceed with the first stage of putting an end to this war -- that is the ceasefire," Zelenskyy said.

Graham and Blumenthal's visit came just before Ukrainian officials on Sunday claimed that their country's drones struck and damaged more than 40 warplanes in attacks on four military airports inside Russia.

Graham, a Putin critic, applauded Ukraine's drone warfare tactics and urged action against Russia in a post on X following the reports.

"Russia indiscriminately kills men, women and children. It's time for the world to act decisively against Russia's aggression by holding China and others accountable for buying cheap Russian oil that props up Putin's war machine," Graham wrote.

Blumenthal also responded on X, urging a crackdown on Russia through the sanctions.

"When I visited President Zelenskyy & his team only a few days ago with @LindseyGrahamSC these extraordinary qualities of courage & capability were clearly evident. Russians have spread misinformation that they're winning. Time to pass our sanctions bill."

Graham wrote a letter last week in the Wall Street Journal, saying the Senate was "prepared" to place proposed sanctions on Russia depending on how the country responded to Trump's recent request for Putin to "provide a term sheet outlining the requirements" for a ceasefire.

"Depending on how Russia responds, we will know which course to take," Graham wrote in the letter.

Graham said he has coordinated with the White House on the Russia sanctions bill -- the "Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025" -- which has around 80 co-sponsors and bipartisan support.

"The bill would put Russia on a trade island," Graham said. "The consequences of its barbaric invasion must be made real to those that prop it up. If China or India stopped buying cheap oil, Mr. Putin's war machine would grind to a halt."

Graham also highlighted recent comments from Majority Leader John Thune that also suggest the upper chamber would act against Russia if "Putin continues to play games."

"As Thune said last week, if Mr. Putin continues to play games, the Senate will act. I'm hoping for the best, but when it comes to the thug in Moscow, we should all prepare for more of the same," Graham wrote.

Thune, speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Monday, said that there's a "high level" of interest in the bill, and that the Senate might be able to work on it before the end of the month.

"We are in conversations with the White House, obviously, about that subject and that issue … there's a high level of interest here in the Senate, on both sides of the aisle and moving on it, and it's very well could be something that we would take up in this work period," Thune said. "Obviously we're working with the White House to try and ensure that what we do and when we do it works well with the negotiations that they've got underway."

Other Republican senators, too, are going on offense when it comes to sanctions on Moscow.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley called for sanctions in a post on X last week -- advocating that they are strong enough so Putin knows it "game over."

In May, Senate Majority Whip John Barasso spoke on the Senate floor, calling for an end to Russia's war in Ukraine and threatening Russia with sanctions through the Senate bill.

"Russia faces a stark choice: peace or crippling sanctions. President Trump has spoken forcefully of swift, severe consequences if Russia fails to honor a ceasefire. A bipartisan group of senators agrees," Barasso said.

"Energy is the cash cow of Putin's war machine. Cut it off, and Russia cannot continue to fight. Russia's biggest customer is Communist China. The next is India. They will be hit hard," Barasso continued.

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman called for sanctions on Russia during a discussion in Boston on Monday with Republican Sen. Dave McCormick.

"Russia continues to kill innocent civilians in Ukraine and so here we are -- and we have to sanction them and hold Russia accountable," Fetterman said.

McCormick said he'd back the sanctions package because it continues to pressure Putin to engage in negotiations about ending the conflict.

"The only way to keep the pressure on is for things to happen like what happened today with Ukraine having a very successful military capability and operation, but in addition to that, the kinds of sanctions that are proposed in this legislation, and that is meant to help President Trump deliver on the vision and the deal he's talked about," McCormick said.