Sanctioning Russia Act
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| Long title | A bill to impose sanctions and other measures with respect to the Russian Federation if the Government of the Russian Federation refuses to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine, violates any such agreement, or initiates another military invasion of Ukraine, and for other purposes. |
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| Enacted by | the 119th United States Congress |
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The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 (S.1241) is a proposed bipartisan bill introduced in the 119th U.S. Congress 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.[1][2]
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.[3][4]
The legislation was introduced in the Senate by Lindsey Graham (R‑SC) and co-sponsored by a bipartisan supermajority of at least 81 senators. In the House of Representatives, a companion bill (H.R. 2548) was introduced by Brian Fitzpatrick (R‑PA 1st) with 26 cosponsors.[5]
Background
[edit]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.[6][7] 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.[8][9] As Trump conceded to more of Moscow's demands, Putin refused to compromise and his conditions for ending the war expanded.[10][11][12]
This negotiation strategy has been widely criticized by members of Congress, particularly Democrats and a number of Republicans.[13][14][15] In response to continued Russian aggression, including a deadly drone attack on Kyiv in May 2025, 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.
Legislative history
[edit]On April 1, 2025, Senator Lindsey Graham (R‑SC) introduced the Sanctioning Russia Act in the Senate. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.[16] The legislation has been co-sponsored by at least 81 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.[17][18]
References
[edit]- ^ Dennis, Steven (May 1, 2025). "Graham Says He Has Broad Senate Support for New Russia Sanctions". Bloomberg.
- ^ "'Bone-Crushing' Sanctions: Graham Pushes Bill With 500% Tariff on Russian Oil Buyers if Putin Shuns Peace Talks". Kyiv Post. May 1, 2025.
- ^ Fields, Ashleigh (2025-04-01). "Bipartisan senators introduce primary, secondary Russia sanctions". The Hill. Archived from the original on 2025-04-29. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ "'Bone-chilling to Putin': Senators push tough new Russia sanctions". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ "Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 (H.R. 2548)". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Korshak, Stefan. "Failed Peace: The Trump Bid to End the Russia-Ukraine War Fast Ends in Shambles". www.kyivpost.com. Archived from the original on 2025-05-02. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Zeleny, Kevin Liptak, Alayna Treene, Jeff (2025-04-24). "A frustrated Trump privately concedes ending the Ukraine war has been harder than he thought". CNN. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Sanger, David E.; Shear, Michael D.; Landler, Mark (2025-04-23). "Trump Pressures Ukraine to Accept a Peace Plan That Sharply Favors Russia". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Swan, Jonathan (2025-04-24). "Trump Urges Russia to 'STOP!' After Deadly Attack on Ukraine's Capital". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Baker, Peter (2025-04-26). "How Trump Plays Into Putin's Hands, From Ukraine to Slashing U.S. Institutions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "'Crimea will stay with Russia,' Trump tells Time". POLITICO. 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "A US-led effort to end the war in Ukraine looks favorable to Russia, but mixed signals emerge". AP News. 2025-05-02. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Ewing, Giselle Ruhiyyih (2025-03-01). "Murkowski rebukes Trump over Ukraine: 'Walking away from our allies'". POLITICO. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Trump faces pushback in Washington over Ukraine aid freeze". www.bbc.com. 2025-03-04. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Mackey, Robert; Stein, Chris; Salam, Erum; Ambrose, Tom (2025-03-06). "Senate Democrats condemn Russia over Ukraine war and dare Republicans to object – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 (S. 1241)". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Bipartisan group of US senators readies new sanctions to hit Russia". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ S.A, Telewizja Polska. "US senators push for 'bone-chilling' sanctions on Russia's oil". tvpworld.com (in Polish). Retrieved 2025-05-04.