The sanctions bill named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham must be passed as soon as possible, and sanctions against Russia should be imposed immediately, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an online discussion at the YES conference, LB.ua reports.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the initiators of the sanctions bill against Russia, died in 2026. The US Senate approved the document on 7 August, but as of early September it remains under consideration in the House of Representatives.
“With all due respect, first and foremost to Lindsey. He gave his life defending American values, European values, Ukrainian values,” the President said, adding that he considers it symbolic to pass a law bearing his name.
According to Zelenskyy, America is institutionally capable of imposing the sanctions envisaged by this bill. At the same time, he stressed that the issue is not limited to a specific document: “Sanctions must be imposed now. Whether it is Lindsey’s law or an administration decision. But the sanctions must be strong,” the President said.
Zelenskyy described sanctions as a non-military tool capable of depriving Russia of the ability to finance the war against Ukraine on a daily basis.
“Why do we all talk about sanctions only in terms of commenting on whether the United States Congress will pass and support Lindsey’s sanctions law or not,” he said, adding that in wartime it is better to adopt an imperfect decision than to do nothing.
In the President’s view, decisions on sanctions, Russia’s economic and energy restrictions, as well as limits on its construction of ballistic missiles and other weapons, should be taken immediately. He recalled that Russia uses ballistic missiles every day — “10, 20, 50” — and every human loss matters.
The President stressed the need for Congress to pass the law, but noted that this would not be enough — strong personal decisions by US President Donald Trump are also required. “We very much want to hope for that,” Zelenskyy said.
- "The Graham–Blumenthal Act" provides for the possibility of imposing a 100% tariff on imports from countries that do not stop buying oil and gas from Russia. Donald Trump promised to sign this document after its passage as a mark of respect for Senator Graham’s memory.
- According to Bloomberg, next week the US House of Representatives will consider a bill on sanctions against Russia, which the Senate passed last month by an overwhelming majority.