Graham backed Ukraine sanctions push in final Kyiv visit before death

Sen. Lindsey Graham died Saturday shortly after returning from Kyiv. The South Carolina Republican, 71, was in the middle of one of the Senate’s most aggressive pushes to choke off Russia’s energy revenue when a brief, sudden illness ended his trip and cut short a scheduled Sunday appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Graham’s stop in Kyiv was his 10th trip to Ukraine. He met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the capital on July 10 to discuss strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses and adding pressure on Russia through the sanctions bill he was advancing with Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Graham also told Zelenskyy that the White House backed the latest version of the draft.

The legislation would authorize tariffs of up to 500% on countries that keep purchasing Russian oil and gas, a sweeping secondary-sanctions approach designed to hit the financial lifeline that helps sustain Vladimir Putin’s war. India and China, the two biggest buyers of Russian oil, would sit at the center of any economic shock from the measure, and Graham and Blumenthal said it was meant to force the Kremlin toward negotiations by tightening pressure well beyond Russia’s borders.

The Trump administration’s support gave the bill new momentum in the U.S. Senate. Graham had already been using his final days in office to argue that the fight was moving toward a decisive phase.

In his last conversation with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on Friday, Graham told her the latest sanctions push was gathering force, saying a turning point in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was coming.