Senators Reach Deal with Trump on Russia Sanctions

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators announced on July 10, 2026, that they have reached an agreement with the Trump administration to advance long-delayed legislation aimed at imposing tougher economic sanctions on Russia. The breakthrough, announced as Republican Senator Lindsey Graham visited Kyiv, could pave the way for a powerful new tool to pressure the Kremlin as the war in Ukraine continues into its fifth year.

The agreement, announced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), clears a path for the updated "Sanctioning Russia Act" to move forward in Congress. The senators said they expect to release the final text of the legislation soon. The core objective is to close what lawmakers describe as a major weakness in the existing sanctions regime by targeting countries that continue to purchase Russian oil, natural gas, and uranium, thereby helping Moscow fund its military campaign.

The original version of the bill, introduced in April 2025, proposed granting the president authority to impose tariffs as high as 500 percent on imports from nations that buy Russian energy. The revised legislation is...