Sanctions — 2026-07-12

Bipartisan US senators announce deal with White House to advance Russia sanctions bill targeting energy purchasers

BLUFEighty-five co-sponsors and a handshake with the White House replicate conditions that have persisted without floor action for over a year, leaving passage contingent on procedural commitments no principal has yet made.

Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal, Lindsey Graham and Roger Wicker announced an agreement with the Trump administration to advance the Sanctioning Russia Act, saying the updated legislation would soon be released 123. Graham, speaking in Kyiv after his tenth wartime visit, said the bill has 85 co-sponsors and targets five countries that purchase discounted Russian oil for resale, though he did not specify what changes were made to the original text, which had proposed 500 percent tariffs on purchasers of Russian petroleum and uranium 23. Senior US officials told RFE/RL that Trump has expressed support for the revised bill, though the White House has not released details of the agreement 2. Zelenskyy's sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk told RFE/RL that Russia earned roughly $58 billion from oil and petroleum exports to China and India in the first half of the year 2.

Analysis
The agreement banks political credit before legislative mechanics are settled. Graham's rollout from Kyiv, timed to his visit rather than delivered from Washington, reads as much as a diplomatic signal to Zelenskyy as a legislative milestone, particularly since neither sponsors nor the White House have released bill text. Confidence is low given the gap between announcement and process, as the measure has held 85 co-sponsors for over a year without floor action, and unnamed officials citing Trump's support through RFE/RL fall short of a formal Statement of Administration Policy. Sourcing rests on a single primary release, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee statement, with RFE/RL, UPI and Kyiv Independent amplifying rather than independently verifying deal terms. Where May's House discharge petition forced procedural movement against leadership's wishes, this marks the first confirmed White House engagement on Senate sanctions text, though passage still depends on floor time Senate leadership has withheld for over a year.

4 sources

Shaheen, Blumenthal, Graham, Wicker Announce Agreement on Legislation to Hold Purchasers of Russian Oil Accountable - Senate Foreign Relations Committee
US Senators, Administration Agree To Advance Russia Sanctions Bill; Kyiv Hails Move - RFE/RL
Bipartisan senators reach deal on stalled Russian sanctions bill - UPI
US senator claims White House backing for Russia sanctions bill - Kyiv Independent