So, like, Lindsey Graham, who’s like a big buddy of President Donald Trump, was all like, “Yo, I got 72 of my Senate pals on board for this super intense new sanctions bill against Russia.” Apparently, this bill is supposed to be like, really tough on Russia to push them to make peace with Ukraine. The US has been slapping sanctions on Russia since 2014 when they grabbed Crimea and then ramped it up when they invaded Ukraine in 2022. These sanctions go after individuals supporting the war, banks, certain tech used in the war, and the energy sector.
Now, the new bill wants to hit countries that keep buying Russian oil, gas, and uranium with a crazy 500% tariff. It’s like a way of saying, “Hey, stop supporting Russia if you want this war to end.” China, India, and Iran are in the crosshairs because they’re still importing Russian energy. Before the invasion, only a small chunk of China and India’s oil came from Russia, but then they started guzzling up a huge chunk of Russia’s oil after the invasion. This bill could seriously mess with Russia’s economy and push them to negotiate for peace.
Lindsey Graham was all like, “Trump’s into ending this war through negotiations, but we’re all about putting the heat on Russia.” He warned Putin not to mess with Trump because this bill is like Trump’s secret weapon. Graham thinks Putin will have to choose between making a deal with Trump or watching the Russian economy tank.
Trump even told Putin he’s thinking about slapping big banking sanctions and tariffs on Russia until they stop fighting and make peace with Ukraine. That came after Russia did a major attack on Ukraine’s energy stuff. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy wants a fair peace that gives Ukraine back its independence and punishes Russia for its war crimes. But people aren’t sure if Russia will actually give up on its crazy demands.
Back in April, Trump’s crew dropped tariffs on a bunch of stuff from different countries, including a 10% tax on Ukrainian goods. But they left out Russia and Belarus because their stuff doesn’t really get sold in the US. They didn’t want to mess up the peace talks with Russia by hitting them with tariffs.
So, like, these tariffs and sanctions are supposed to make Russia rethink their actions and come to the table for peace talks. Let’s see if it works out, right?
