U.S. Approves New Sanctions Package on Russia, With Impact on China and India

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a new sanctions package against Russia, paving the way for President Donald Trump to sign into law the most significant American legislative action against Moscow since his return to the White House.

Lawmakers approved the measure by 262 votes to 159, following the Senate’s own overwhelming approval, 86 to 11, last month. Trump has hinted he will sign it.

The sanctions target Russia’s energy and defense industries, President Vladimir Putin and senior officials around him, as well as the so-called “shadow fleet” of tankers Moscow uses to evade existing Western restrictions.

Critically for global energy markets, the bill also gives Trump the power to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that continue to buy large volumes of Russian oil and gas, a measure aimed directly at China and India, two of Moscow’s largest remaining customers.

The tariff provision proved controversial even among Ukraine’s supporters in Washington. Several Democrats, while backing tougher action against Russia, opposed giving the president such broad authority over trade policy.

Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the bill’s drafting, arguing it prioritized presidential tariff powers over binding sanctions commitments. He said he would have supported the legislation had the tariff measures been removed, but Republicans blocked efforts to amend them.

Despite these reservations, most Democrats ultimately voted for the bill, while a small number of Republicans opposed it on free-market grounds. Supporters say the added pressure is necessary as Russia’s full-scale invasion enters its fifth year with no ceasefire on the horizon.

The vote came as Russian drone strikes hit civilian transport in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing five people, according to officials in Kyiv, an attack that added urgency to calls from pro-Ukraine activists to pass the bill.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had lobbied Congress directly to pass the sanctions, arguing that only sustained economic pressure would push Moscow toward negotiations. Speaking in Washington in July, he said Russia was losing around 30,000 soldiers a month but showed no sign of ending the war, adding that the battlefield initiative had slipped from Putin’s hands.

India responded on Thursday by signaling it would not change course, saying it would continue to buy Russian oil “through diversified sources and based on evolving market dynamics.”

Russia remains one of India’s most important strategic and military partners, complicating Washington’s efforts to isolate Moscow economically.

The legislation also targets foreign companies and entities supporting Russia’s military effort and expands existing sanctions related to Iran. The law comes after more than a year of delay, reflecting Trump’s general preference for keeping personal control over sanctions and tariff policy rather than leaving it to Congress.

Ukrainian advocacy groups welcomed the bill’s passage, calling for swift enforcement. “Once the bill is quickly signed and becomes law, we hope that strong U.S. enforcement will finally cut off the money flows into the Kremlin’s war chest,” said Svitlana Romanko of the energy lobby group Razom We Stand.