Senator Lindsey Graham says President Donald Trump is ready to dramatically escalate pressure on Russia after peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine hit another dead end.
Appearing on CBS’s Face The Nation Sunday, Graham warned that the administration is considering a sweeping set of actions — including tougher sanctions, asset seizures, and a major ramp-up in arms sales to allies — to force Russian President Vladimir Putin back to the negotiating table.
“I don’t want to get ahead of the president, but stay tuned,” Graham said. “Seized Russian assets, new sanctions, massive weapons sales to Europe — it’s all on the table.”
Graham said Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Putin’s posturing and empty rhetoric. “We get a lot of bulls*** thrown at us by Putin,” Trump reportedly told his Cabinet last week. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
Graham, along with Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, recently introduced bipartisan legislation authorizing Trump to slap up to 500% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, gas, and uranium. The move targets economic enablers of the Russian war effort — especially China, India, and Brazil.
“The only way this war ends is if you hit the people propping up Putin,” Graham said. “India’s reselling Russian oil. That’s despicable. Make them choose between access to the U.S. economy and helping Putin.”
Trump has not yet publicly endorsed the bill but has signaled support — if it’s revised to give him full authority to waive or adjust sanctions. Graham said he’s open to amending the bill to meet the president’s terms.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is reportedly preparing a more aggressive plan to move beyond simply freezing Russian assets, looking instead to fully transfer them for Ukraine’s benefit. The European Union has resisted that move, but Trump’s team appears ready to lead on the issue.
With diplomacy stalled and Putin unmoved, Graham suggested it’s only a matter of time before Trump unleashes what he called a “sledgehammer” strategy to end the war on American terms.
U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said during an interview today with CBS News that people should “stay tuned” for tomorrow’s announcement from President Trump regarding Russia, with him adding, “The game, regarding Putin’s invasion of Russia, is about to change. I expect,… pic.twitter.com/i9wafmCMc1
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 13, 2025