All 100 senators invited to Capitol meeting with Zelensky as Russia sanctions bill advances

The Senate voted 86-12 on Tuesday night to advance a bipartisan sanctions bill aimed at increasing economic pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine, shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed senators on Capitol Hill and following the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The legislation, renamed for Graham after his death, would sanction Russian leaders, the energy sector and the “shadow fleet” used to move oil outside restrictions, while also extending certain preexisting sanctions on Iran after a same-day deal broadened the measure. The bill has 62 co-sponsors and is widely expected to pass the Senate later this week, though its route through the House is less certain after lawmakers left for the August recess. The latest push came after months of negotiations led by Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal since April of last year, with the White House ultimately backing revised text that expands mandatory sanctions on Russian entities while granting Trump broad waiver authority. The measure also uses tariffs to pressure top buyers of Russian energy, a provision that drew objections from some Democrats concerned it would expand Trump’s tariff powers, though most Democrats still voted to advance it.