US Congress passes sweeping Russia sanctions bill

WASHINGTON, DC

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a televised address in Moscow on September 16, 2026 (AFP Photo)

U.S. lawmakers approved broad new sanctions on Sept. 16 designed to squeeze Russia over its war in Ukraine, sending the legislation to President Donald Trump after months of delay.

The Republican-led House of Representatives passed the package by 262-159, giving a final congressional green light to the most substantial U.S. legislative effort against Moscow since Trump returned to office.

Trump has said he will sign the measure, which sailed through the Senate in an 86-11 vote last month.

The legislation targets Russia’s energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

It also gives Trump authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, including potentially China and India, in an effort to choke off revenue financing Moscow’s war.

But its sweeping tariff powers produced an unusual split among Democrats, who overwhelmingly support Ukraine but have resisted handing Trump greater authority over trade.

Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the bill “deeply flawed.”

“White House lawyers drafted the current text to maximize President Trump’s authority to impose new import taxes on the American people, and to minimize any obligation to actually impose new sanctions on Russia or its enablers,” he said.

Dozens of Democrats nevertheless backed the measure, offsetting opposition from a handful of Republicans who objected to sanctions on free-market or non-interventionist grounds.

Supporters argue that tougher economic pressure is needed, with Russia’s full-scale invasion grinding through its fifth year and no peace settlement in sight.