April 2, 2025
“If Moscow wants a lasting peace with Ukraine, the door is open, and, if they refuse, I support sanctions that would make the consequences severe and certain.”
WASHINGTON – Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) joined Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and a bipartisan group of senators in introducing legislation to levy primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors that support Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
“Russia launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine more than three years ago, and they have been savagely killing Ukrainians and kidnapping their children ever since. If Moscow wants a lasting peace with Ukraine, the door is open, and, if they refuse, I support sanctions that would make the consequences severe and certain,” said Husted.
These sanctions would be imposed if Russia refuses to engage in good faith negotiations for a lasting peace with Ukraine or initiates another effort—including military invasion—that undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty after peace is negotiated. The legislation would also impose a 500% tariff on imported goods from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products.
“The dominating view in the United States Senate is that Russia is the aggressor, and that this horrific war and Putin’s aggression must end now and be deterred in the future. We share President Trump’s frustration with Russia when it comes to obtaining a ceasefire, and support President Trump’s desire to achieve a lasting, just and honorable peace,” said Graham.
In 1994, Ukraine gave up approximately 1,700 nuclear weapons based on a promise to honor Ukraine’s sovereignty from the U.S., Russia and the United Kingdom. This was part of the Budapest Memorandum, but it did not deter aggression from Russia, which illegally occupied Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and invaded parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014. After violating years of ceasefire agreements, in 2022, Russia again invaded Ukraine. The result has been the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions.
The sanctions are cosponsored by Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Angus King (I-Maine), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.).
Companion legislation is being introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio).