SUB Lindsey Graham has called his sanctions bill an “economic bunker buster” aimed at the three countries
US Senator Lindsey Graham is doubling down on a sanctions bill that would impose penalties on India, China, and Russia for their alleged actions in furthering the Ukraine conflict.
The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 was introduced in the US Senate in April, and would place significant tariffs on goods and services exported by countries that buy oil, natural gas, uranium, and petroleum products originating from Russia. ”I’ve got 84 co-sponsors for a Russian sanctions bill that is an economic bunker buster against China, India, and Russia for Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine,” Graham told MSNBC on Sunday. “I think that bill’s going to pass. It will be a tool in (US President Donald Trump’s) toolbox to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the table.”
US lawmakers are aiming to stop both India’s and China’s oil purchases, which they believe are fueling Russia’s advances in Ukraine. In an interview with CBS News on June 15, Graham said, “They should pay a price for propping up Putin’s war machine. We should crush their economy.”
Since 2022, both Asian countries have significantly upped their oil purchases from Russia. Russian crude accounted for over 35% of India’s total oil imports in March 2025. In May, India emerged as the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels, with estimated purchases totaling 4.2 billion euros, of which crude constituted about 72% of the total value, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 has been referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and will need to pass further legislative hurdles, including passage by the full Senate and House of Representatives, before making it to the desk of the president. The legislation, if passed, would lead to a 500% tariff on countries that buy Russian energy, uranium, and other raw materials.
Before the G7 Summit in Canada, US President Donald Trump told journalists that he had a “deadline” in his “brain” and would decide when to act if it became clear that a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev could not be reached. He also stated that he was willing to impose sanctions against both Russia and Ukraine.
