U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is pushing for tougher sanctions against Russia ahead of President Donald Trump’s expected summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 is co-sponsored by Blumenthal, who is a Democrat, and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina.
The bill would be more effective in securing an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine than Trump’s anticipated summit with Putin, Blumenthal said at a press briefing outside Saint Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hartford on Friday.
“This proposed summit is a ploy. It's a Putin ploy. It's one more ruse by Vladimir Putin, stringing along Donald Trump, playing him and the United States for fools. And we should not tolerate Vladimir Putin mocking our great country,” Blumenthal said.
“Eighty-five United States senators are bipartisan in supporting the Graham-Blumenthal bill. Because we know the best way to bring Putin to the table is to undercut his money sources. He can’t finance his war machine without those sales of oil and gas,” he said.
The bill, which is pending action in the U.S. Senate, would impose a 500% tariff on imported goods from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products.
It would be implemented if Russia refuses to engage in good-faith negotiations.
