Washington, DC [US], July 15, 2026: A bipartisan group of US senators has unveiled
a long-awaited bill imposing sweeping sanctions on Russia, naming India among five
countries that could face tariffs for continuing to buy Russian oil.
The legislation, dubbed by some colleagues the “Lindsey Graham Russia
Accountability Bill,” was formally announced on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, July 15, by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen, along with Republicans Roger Wicker,
Katie Britt, and more than a dozen other lawmakers from both parties.
On July 10, just days before the death of Sen. Graham, U.S. Senators Wicker (R-MS), Blumenthal (D-CT), Graham (R-SC), and Shaheen (D-NH) had released the following statement:
“We are proud to announce that we have reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to move our updated Russia sanctions legislation forward. We are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon. As Russia intensifies its slaughter of civilians, it is imperative that the legislative and executive branches work together to create tools to exact a heavy price on those who buy Russian oil and natural gas, fueling the Putin war machine.”
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The current bill comes promptly after the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, who spent nearly two years negotiating the measure and whom colleagues repeatedly credited as its
driving force.
Senator Blumenthal, the lead Democratic sponsor, said the bill goes far beyond
tariffs, imposing full blocking sanctions on large parts of Russia’s economy, its
energy and financial sectors, its defense industry, oligarchs, businesspeople, and
Russian President Vladimir Putin himself.
Separately, the bill authorises the administration to impose tariffs, set at a rate above
zero but capped well below full value, on countries identified as the largest buyers of
Russian oil. Blumenthal named five: China, India, Slovakia, Hungary, and Azerbaijan.
A related provision targets buyers of Russian natural gas, though it exempts
countries importing less than 15 per cent of their gas from Russia if they are already
reducing purchases, a carve-out that shields most European allies.
Senators were clear that the actual rate has not been decided and will be set by the
US Trade Representative, not fixed in the bill itself.
Blumenthal said he expected it would be set high enough “to discourage China,
India, and other major purchasers of Russian oil and gas strongly,” but declined to
give a figure.
The bill also includes waiver authority, along with reporting requirements to Congress
if tariffs are later lowered.
Senator James Risch, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said
he had pushed for a separate provision cracking down on Russia’s “shadow fleet”
tankers used to evade existing sanctions and keep exporting oil.
Lawmakers stressed that the bill has been significantly narrowed from earlier
versions, which reportedly could have applied tariffs to as many as 63 countries.
Blumenthal said the current draft focuses on a “very discreet number” of five oil and
five gas buyers, with some overlap, a change he said reflected input from the Trump
administration, which he said has now endorsed the bill in writing.
Senators said they hoped the redesign would win over House Democrats who had
criticized the bill’s broader, earlier version.
The announcement carried an emotional undertone, with senator after senator
invoking Graham’s memory.
Senator Wicker, who served alongside Graham for over three decades, called it
“Lindsey Graham’s greatest achievement.”
Senator Ted Cruz said Graham had personally negotiated the bill’s terms directly with
President Trump before his death and urged colleagues to honor him by passing it
“overwhelmingly.”
Senators argued that the bill’s timing is urgent, pointing to what they described as
Ukrainian battlefield gains and continuing Russian strikes on civilian areas.
Several said they expect the Senate could act before the end of August and that they
had received assurances from the Senate Majority Leader that a vote will proceed
once sufficient support is secured.
Asked about President Trump’s suggestion that sanctions on Iran or Hezbollah could
be added to the bill, Blumenthal said senators would prefer to move the current text
forward rather than reopen negotiations, though he did not rule out separate
legislation later.
India has so far resisted Western pressure to curb its purchases of discounted
Russian crude, which have surged since 2022 and now account for a significant
share of its oil imports.
New Delhi has previously defended the trade as a matter of energy security and
consumer affordability, arguing that it also helps keep global oil prices stable.
The bill must still clear procedural hurdles in the Senate and pass the House of
Representatives before reaching President Trump’s desk.
Earlier, a White House official told ANI that the Trump administration has signaled its
backing for the sweeping Russia sanctions bill.
Responding to a query from ANI on whether Trump would support the bill and
whether India could face fresh penalties for buying Russian crude, a White House
official said, “President Trump supports the bill.”