U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has returned from his seventh trip to Ukraine. He wants Congress to pass new sanctions on Russia and the countries supporting it.
His sanctions bill was introduced alongside Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a staunch supporter of Ukraine with whom Blumenthal traveled last week.
The bill puts a 500% tariff on any country buying Russian oil or gas.
“We need to put Russia on an economic island, isolated from the world economy, targeting China and India that buy 70% of Russia's oil and gas, which is the way it fuels its war machine,” Blumenthal said.
More than 80% of the Senate is co-sponsoring the legislation.
The sanctions would be imposed if Russia refuses to negotiate on a peace deal or re-invades Ukraine after the deal is done.
Blumenthal said he expects a vote in the coming days. President Donald Trump, who has been extremely critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is reportedly open to the idea of Russian sanctions.
While in Ukraine, Blumenthal met with Zelenskyy and toured war-torn areas. He also met children who had been kidnapped by Russian soldiers.
“What I saw on this trip was a level of destruction on a different order of magnitude directed against civilians,” Blumenthal said. “I visited a site where an entire neighborhood was decimated.”
Blumenthal said peace in the region was still far off, but Ukraine is doing better than Putin is letting on.
“What I saw in Ukraine are maps and evidence that disprove Putin's false narrative that Russia is winning in Ukraine, and that its victory is inevitable,” Blumenthal said.
After they left Ukraine, Blumenthal and Graham traveled to France. Blumenthal said they had productive conversations with European leaders who are “aligned 100%” on the sanctions bill.
