The vote came just hours after the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, the legislation’s chief architect, and followed a closed-door meeting between senators and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Graham had worked on the bill for more than a year alongside Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.

The procedural vote allows the Senate to begin formal debate and consider amendments before holding a final vote on the legislation. If approved, the bill will then move to the House of Representatives. Because the House has already adjourned for its summer recess, the legislation is not expected to reach President Donald Trump’s desk before September.

“It is symbolic that today, as we bid farewell to Senator Lindsey Graham, the Senate held a procedural vote on a bill imposing sanctions against Russia that he had worked so hard on,” Zelensky stated. “It was an honor to be present as the votes were counted – 86 senators supported the bill. This is the first step toward implementing Lindsey’s plans, and certainly a step toward peace.”

The sanctions initiative was originally introduced in April 2025 by Graham and Blumenthal. After months of negotiations with the White House and lawmakers from both parties, the legislation was revised and reintroduced in July 2026 following Graham’s death. It has since gained broad bipartisan support.

The bill would impose new primary and secondary sanctions on Russian officials, financial institutions, oligarchs, the country’s “shadow fleet,” and individuals or entities helping Moscow evade existing restrictions. It would also authorize the U.S. president, for five years, to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the world’s largest purchasers of Russian oil and gas, as well as on countries facilitating sanctions evasion.

The proposed measures could have significant implications for major economies that continue purchasing Russian energy, including China and India, making the bill a potentially far-reaching instrument of U.S. economic pressure.

President Trump had previously opposed earlier versions of the legislation, arguing that the executive branch should retain greater flexibility over sanctions policy. However, after negotiations with Graham shortly before the senator’s death, the White House backed a revised version that grants the president broader discretion over implementing the tariff measures.