American Senator Lindsey Graham on Thursday said that US President Donald Trump has given a green light to the bipartisan Russia Sanctions Bill, which he said would give leverage against India, China and
Brazil to stop them from purchasing Russian oil and punish countries “fueling Putin’s war machine”.
In a post on X, Graham said the move comes amid ongoing peace negotiations for Ukraine and indicated that the bill could be taken up for a bipartisan vote next week.
“After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Blumenthal and many others.This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent. This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin’s war machine. This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivize them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine. I look forward to a strong bipartisan vote, hopefully as early as next week.”
After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Blumenthal and many others.
This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace…
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 7, 2026
According to the official website of the US Congress, the proposed legislation—titled Sanctioning of Russia Act 2025—seeks to impose several provisions, including penalties on individuals and entities, and an increase in the rate of duty on all goods and services imported from Russia into the United States to at least 500% of their value.
The development comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts around the Russia-Ukraine conflict. On January 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met members of the US delegation, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, where both sides discussed a diplomatic approach to ending the war.
Earlier, President Trump had claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unhappy over high tariffs imposed on India due to its purchases of Russian oil. Speaking at the House GOP Member Retreat, Trump said the tariff issue had created tension despite otherwise cordial ties.
“I have a very good relationship with PM Modi, but he is not happy with me as India is paying high tariffs. But now they have reduced it very substantially, buying oil from Russia,” Trump said.
The tariffs, totalling 50%, were imposed due to India’s significant purchases of Russian oil, which the US views as supporting Russia’s economy amid the Ukraine conflict. Trump has also warned that Washington could further raise tariffs on Indian goods if New Delhi does not address US concerns over Russian oil imports.
“They wanted to make me happy, basically. Modi is a very good man; he is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy,” he said.
India has earlier rejected Trump’s assertion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that New Delhi would stop purchasing Russian oil, clarifying that no such conversation or assurance had taken place.
