Senator Lindsey Graham announced plans for sweeping tariff legislation targeting countries that purchase Russian oil, telling reporters aboard Air Force One on 4 January—with President Donald Trump at his side—that the bill would let Trump impose tariffs from zero to 500% on any nation buying Russian crude.
The proposed bill signals a strategic pivot from military aid to economic coercion—using America's market leverage to squeeze Russia's remaining revenue streams by punishing its customers rather than confronting Moscow directly. If enacted, the legislation would transform every Russian oil transaction into a calculation about US trade relations.
"If you want to end this conflict, then put pressure on Putin's customers," Graham said.
India already buckled
Graham pointed to India as proof the approach works. A 25% tariff on New Delhi has already pushed the country to reduce Russian oil imports.
"I was at the Indian Ambassador's house about a month ago and all he wanted to talk about is how they're buying less Russian oil," Graham said. "'Would you tell the President to relieve the tariff?' This stuff works."
Trump confirmed the pressure was intentional, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi "wanted to make me happy" and understood the stakes.
"We can raise tariffs on them very quickly and it would be very bad for them," Trump said.
The tariff strategy builds on sanctions Trump imposed on Russia's two largest oil companies, which Graham called "the biggest pressure anybody's put on Putin since the war started."
30,000 deaths a month
Trump cited the war's human toll as his motivation for seeking a rapid resolution: 30,000 soldiers killed in December 2025, following 27,000 the previous month.
"This isn't an economic thing for us, this is a soul," Trump said. "25,000 to 30,000 soldiers are being killed every single month. And they're not from America; they're from Russia and they're from Ukraine. And if I can get it stopped, I'd like to get it stopped."
Trump did not cite a source for the figures. Independent casualty estimates have varied widely, with neither Moscow nor Kyiv releasing comprehensive data.
Trump reverses on Putin claim
Asked why he initially appeared to believe Vladimir Putin's claim that Ukraine struck his residence, Trump said he now doubts the attack happened.
"I don't believe that strike happened," Trump said, walking back his earlier anger at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "That was the first I heard about it. He said that his house was attacked; we don't believe that happened, as you know, now that we've been able to check."
Rare earths to recoup aid
Trump said a rare earth mineral deal with Ukraine would recover funds sent under the Biden administration, which he put at $350 billion.
"We're going to get a lot of that money back, maybe all of the money back, maybe more than all of the money back," Trump said. Ukraine now pays for any new assistance, he added.
Trump declined to set a deadline for ending the war but expressed confidence a deal would come "hopefully in the not-too-distant future."
