Zelensky’s sanctions envoy hits Capitol Hill to push Russia oil tariff bill through the House

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Ukraine’s presidential commissioner for sanctions policy, arrived in Washington in early September to lobby House lawmakers on a bill that already sailed through the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. His mission: convince holdouts that the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 deserves the same warm reception on the other side of the Capitol. The Senate passed the legislation 86-11 on August 7. That kind of margin would make most bills a formality in the House. This one, though, has a problem that no amount of bipartisan Senate goodwill can easily fix. What the bill actually does At its core, the legislation gives the president authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five countries purchasing Russian oil. Beyond the headline tariff provision, the bill lays out a broad sanctions architecture targeting Russian officials, financial institutions, and entities involved in sanctions evasion. A particular focus is Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, the network of aging tankers and opaque shipping arrangements that Moscow has used to keep selling oil above Western price caps. The legislation includes both primary sanctions, which...