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Just hours after the United States passed a fresh bill to sanction the purchase of Russian crude, the Kremlin on Thursday warned that the bill would have
an impact on the negotiations to end the Ukraine war. Releasing a statement, the Kremlin said Russia considers the adoption in the US of the so-called "hellish sanctions" bill to be an "unfriendly action". It added that if introduced, the new US sanctions would complicate efforts to find a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.
US House Gives Nod To Russia Sanctions Bill
The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would authorise President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russia and steep tariffs on its trading partners in oil and gas, including India and China.The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, passed by the US Senate last month, was approved by the House in a 262-159 vote on Wednesday evening and will now go to Trump to be signed into a law.
Besides 203 Republicans, 58 Democrats and one Independent voted in favour of the legislation. Seven Republicans and 152 Democrats opposed it.
Notably, the bill is named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July after spending more than a year building support for it.
The bill seeks to impose sanctions not only on Russia's leadership and energy sector, but also on the "shadow fleet" of vessels that enable Moscow to evade sanctions on oil deliveries. It also seeks to authorise Trump to impose stiff tariffs on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas, as well as additional sanctions on Iran.
"China and India, you better buy your oil and gas somewhere else," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, told reporters after the passage of the Bill.
