US Senator Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday that sweeping new sanctions targeting Russia could pass the House of Representatives as early as September, describing the legislation as a “sledgehammer” capable of putting greater pressure on President Vladimir Putin.
Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, made the remarks during a visit to Kyiv, where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials.
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“Putin understands only force,” Blumenthal told a news conference in Kyiv. “And the Russia sanctions bill is a sledgehammer that can have the kind of force Putin understands.”
The legislation has strong Republican support in the House, Blumenthal said, after comfortably clearing an initial Senate vote last month.
The bill would impose sanctions on senior Russian officials and authorize US President Donald Trump to levy tariffs of up to 100% on major purchasers of Russian oil and gas, including China and India.
The measure is designed to restrict the energy revenues Moscow relies on to finance its full-scale war against Ukraine.
While Democrats broadly support tougher sanctions on Russia, some lawmakers have raised concerns that the legislation could give Trump broad authority to impose additional tariffs, including against US allies.
Blumenthal said exemptions included in the bill would protect European allies from such tariffs.
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The senator also said he asked Zelensky to personally lobby members of the House to support the legislation.
According to Blumenthal, Zelensky “heartily and readily agreed” to make the case for its passage.
Zelensky had already spoken with several US senators in Washington last month ahead of the Senate vote on the legislation.
That vote took place on the day of the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham, who co-authored the sanctions legislation.
The proposed measures would significantly expand US economic pressure on Moscow by targeting not only Russia itself but also countries that continue providing the Kremlin with crucial revenue through purchases of Russian energy.