Senate to set up key vote on Russia sanctions

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 12, 2024. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | Via ReutersThe Senate on Tuesday is expected to begin setting up votes on a long-awaited sanctions bill aimed at hobbling Russia's war effort in Ukraine. The bill, named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, is a package of sanctions and tariff authority targeting Russian oil sales. Proponents say oil is the top commodity Moscow uses to fund its war machine, and targeting it now will help Kyiv turn the tide on the battlefield. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, along with Sens. Darline Graham, R-S.C., Katie Britt, R-Ala., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H, Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, announced on Tuesday they had reached a deal to combine the Russia sanctions package with sanctions on Iran. That move allows a first vote to be expected on Tuesday night, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Washington for Graham's funeral services. "We are proud to announce an agreement on legislation to stop purchasers of Russian oil and gas from ...