A bipartisan pair of US senators, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday, urging stronger sanctions against Russia. The visit came just days after Russia launched its biggest aerial assault against Ukraine since the start of the war, and as the US ramps up pressure on Moscow to end the three-year conflict.
According to a statement from the Ukrainian presidential office, the senators discussed ongoing peace talks and proposed legislation to strengthen US sanctions against Russia. Graham and Blumenthal are co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill to impose more sanctions on Russia, which has gained support among a number of Republican lawmakers in recent weeks. The bill, supported by 82 senators from both sides of the aisle, would impose a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other products.
However, President Donald Trump has yet to commit to supporting the bill, saying “I don’t know, I’ll have to see it. I’ll take a look at it.” Graham mentioned that he had talked with Trump before his trip, and the US president expects “concrete action” from Moscow. The bill must pass both chambers of Congress and be approved by Trump to become law.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have raised questions about planned peace talks in Istanbul on Monday, citing Russia’s failure to send its negotiating proposals, a key demand of Kyiv’s. “For a meeting to be meaningful, its agenda must be clear, and the negotiations must be properly prepared,” Zelensky wrote on X. He also emphasized that “neither we in Ukraine nor Turkey as the host side have any information about Russia’s so-called memorandum,” accusing Russia of “hiding” its memorandum from both countries.
Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the possibility of organizing a four-way meeting with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the United States to further facilitate peace negotiations. Erdogan and Zelensky “share the view that this meeting cannot and should not be empty”. The US president has become visibly frustrated with Russia over its deadly attacks on Ukraine and the lack of progress on peace talks, with Trump previously voicing frustration with Putin, saying “We’re in the middle of talking, and he’s shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities”.