Congress Must Sanction Putin's War Machine
Russia's ongoing rhetoric and military aggression make it clear that its aim is not peace, but domination and destruction. President Vladimir Putin and his regime are not merely opposed to NATO's expansion—they are actively pursuing the elimination of Ukrainian sovereignty and identity. In a televised address in February 2022, Putin questioned Ukraine's legitimacy as an independent nation. In September 2022, Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. During a ceremony at the Kremlin, he declared that the residents of these regions were now Russian citizens "forever," emphasizing that their choice to join Russia was irreversible.
In his book, On Tyranny, professor Timothy Snyder accurately said, "To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights."
One way to shift the tide is to squeeze the wallet. This is what Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) proposed with their Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 (S.1241), introduced in April. The bill would impose severe economic penalties on Russia and countries that continue to support its energy exports. Over 80 senators have voiced support for the bill, reflecting a strong bipartisan consensus. In addition to economic sanctions, Senators Graham and Blumenthal have introduced legislation to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, a move that would further isolate Russia diplomatically and economically.
This is the common sense approach to the war against Ukraine, but so far, the sanctions package against Russia has been shut down at the highest level. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said that sanctions risk pushing Russia away from peace talks. What peace talks? Russia has yet to demonstrate in any significant way that it is actually interested in peace. Every time the various delegations have met to discuss "peace," Russia makes wild demands and simply gains more time to murder Ukrainian citizens—including many children…
