Senators push for immediate action on new Russia sanctions before Oct. 18 deadline
Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Roger Wicker urged the administration to start enforcing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act now, rather than waiting for the Oct. 18 start date.
U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Roger Wicker sent a letter to the administration demanding that the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act be applied immediately, ahead of the Oct. 18 effective date. Citing Russia's escalated missile strikes on Ukrainian civilians and energy sites, as well as new North Korean deployments, they said urgent pressure is needed. The lawmakers urged the United States to match the EU and U.K. in designating shadow-fleet vessels, noting a gap of hundreds of tankers still able to move oil.
They highlighted that Russia has circumvented earlier sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft by using intermediaries in the UAE and Hong Kong, and asked for those networks to be targeted. Additional requests included secondary sanctions on suppliers in China, the UAE and Türkiye of advanced tools and microelectronics used in Russian weapons, and sanctions on firms supporting Russia's Rassvet satellite system. Finally, they warned the Treasury to clarify that financing Russian state-linked assets would breach the law’s investment restrictions.
Why it matters
Prompt enforcement could tighten economic pressure on Russia's war effort and close loopholes used to evade sanctions.
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