New Delhi: Tension between Moscow and Washington has reached its peak after America passed a new sanctions bill against Russia. In the US House of Representatives, Lindsay O. The Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 bill was approved by a margin of 262-159. Expressing strong objection to this decision, Russia’s Kremlin on Thursday warned America that such unreasonable and harsh steps will make the ongoing efforts towards a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war more complex and confusing.
bill passed by parliament
The US Senate passed this bill in August with an overwhelming majority of 86-11. Now after the approval of the House of Representatives, it has been sent to President Donald Trump for signature.
The legislation is named after the late South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, who worked on it for more than a year in July 2026. Trump’s signature would give him broad powers to impose economic sanctions on buyers of Russian energy.
Threat of 100% tariff on India and China
This new law mainly targets Russia’s energy sector, defense system, top officials close to President Vladimir Putin, major banks and their shadow fleet. The most worrying thing about this law is that it allows the US President to impose customs duties (tariffs) up to 100 percent on the top five countries in the world purchasing Russian oil and gas. India and China are currently the largest buyers of Russian crude, so this provision could directly affect the trade security of New Delhi and Beijing. The law provides relief only to those countries which buy less than 15 percent of their total gas from Russia and are continuously cutting it.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted sharply to the move in Moscow, calling it a grossly ‘unfriendly action’ by the US.” Have agreed. Peskov made it clear that the American intention to bring Moscow to the negotiating table by increasing economic pressure will never be fulfilled, rather it will further divert the peace talks. On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has wholeheartedly welcomed this US bill to stop Russia’s economic funding. While this poses a threat of 100% tariffs for India, the Indian government has already made it clear that it will continue to take independent and strong action to ensure the energy security of the country’s 140 crore citizens. Amidst this terrible war, which has been going on since February 2022 and has now entered its fifth year, negotiations have stalled despite the efforts of American envoys.