US senator hopes 'sledgehammer' Russian sanctions will pass next month

A U.S. senator sponsoring a bill for ​wide-ranging sanctions on Russia said ​on Wednesday he was hopeful it ‌would ​pass the House of Representatives next month, and be a "sledgehammer" to President Vladimir Putin's efforts to fund his war in ‌Ukraine. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut who met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and senior officials during a visit to Kyiv, said the bill had strong Republican support in ‌the House, after comfortably passing an initial Senate vote last month.

"Putin understands only force," ‌Blumenthal told a news conference. "And the Russia sanctions bill is a sledgehammer that can have the kind of force Putin understands." Though Democrats are broadly supportive of the sanctions, some have expressed concern that it ⁠would give ​Republican President Donald Trump ⁠leeway to impose additional tariffs, including on U.S. allies.

The bill would sanction top Russian officials and allow Trump ⁠to set tariffs of up to 100% on the top buyers of Russia's oil and ​gas, which include China and India, in an effort to stem revenue flows ⁠to Moscow. Blumenthal said exemptions in the bill would spare European allies from the imposition of tariffs, allaying concerns ⁠raised by ​some Democratic legislators.

Blumenthal said he had asked Zelenskiy to lobby members of the House of Representatives to support its passage. Zelenskiy spoke to several senators in ⁠Washington last month ahead of the vote on the bill, which took place on the ⁠day of the funeral ⁠of its co-author, the late Senator Lindsey Graham.

Blumenthal said Zelenskiy had "heartily and readily agreed" to his request. Ukraine's presidency did not ‌immediately respond to ‌a request for comment.