Lawmakers in the Senate are eager to capitalize on current developments as President Trump intensifies his stance against Russian leader Vladimir Putin. However, Republicans are treading carefully, ensuring they align with the president’s strategy.

On Wednesday evening, Trump revealed a significant shift by announcing sanctions against Russia for the first time. This move was warmly received by Ukraine and its allies, indicating a shift from Trump’s prior conciliatory gestures toward Putin to a more aggressive strategy aimed at securing a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Bipartisan efforts in the Senate are underway to formulate additional sanctions targeting Putin. Both Republicans and Democrats are preparing measures to further pressure the Russian regime.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday advanced several legislative proposals designed to penalize Russia and its collaborators. These include designating Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism for abducting Ukrainian children, enhancing U.S. capabilities to confiscate frozen Russian assets, and expanding sanctions to include Chinese entities aiding Russia’s military.

However, these proposals are unlikely to reach the Senate floor without President Trump’s approval.

“I’m not sure anything will move forward without the president’s approval; we’re still trying to be a team on this,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), told The Hill. 

“But we talk about it every day. I think when the time is right, we will execute on this stuff, but we want to make sure we do it correctly and are specific with the authorities that we give the president with regard to sanctions. We want to do it right.” 

Trump’s hold on the Republican-controlled Congress has made the body largely irrelevant in his efforts to end the war in Ukraine and Gaza. With the government shut down and no clear date for the House to return, any vote in the Senate would stall in the lower chamber.

“I don’t think Putin is as moved by Congress as he is by conversations with the president,” said Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he agreed with Risch “to a point,” but said any delay on a sanctions bill targeting Russia was part of coordinating with the White House to demonstrate a unified front. 

“What I want to do is make it clear that we’re in lockstep with the president and I do believe that a vote of the U.S. Senate on a sanctions package that is consistent with what the administration wants to do provides more weight. And that they [Russia] do take notice,” Tillis said. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Wednesday signaled that he could move to put on the floor a veto-proof bill sanctioning foreign countries that purchase Russian oil – a measure that has remained on ice for months over Trump’s opposition. 

“John said we’ll do it in 30 days, we’ll do it in 30 days,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Hill on Wednesday. Graham is the original co-sponsor of the sanctions bill along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Among its provisions is a 500 percent tariff on countries that help finance Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

Trump’s first sanctions against Russia targeted two of its largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, and their subsidiaries. The sanctions announcement left open the possibility of secondary penalties on purchasers of Russian oil and appeared to have a chilling effect on Russia’s main benefactors – China and India. 

Chinese national oil companies on Thursday suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil, and Indian refineries are expected to sharply curtail imports of Russian oil, Reuters reported. 

“These sanctions are a step in the right direction but nowhere near enough to stop oil and gas revenue fueling Russia’s murderous war machine,” Blumenthal wrote on X. 

“This action must be followed by sledgehammer sanctions like the Graham-Blumenthal Sanctions bill to halt China, India, Brazil, Hungary and others from buying oil and gas.” 

Graham, speaking to The Hill before Trump’s announcement, said his sanctions bill could be used as further pressure to get Putin to agree to the president’s proposal for an immediate ceasefire at the line of contact. 

“The best way to end this war is to dismantle Russia’s energy sector, which is virtually the only source of revenue for Putin’s war machine. Keep going after Russian oil companies and the customers that buy their cheap oil and refuse to help Ukraine,” Graham posted on X after Trump’s sanctions announcement. 

But Republican senators are still deferring to Trump. 

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okl.) welcomed Trump’s oil sanctions but said he would only move forward on the Graham-Blumenthal sanctions bill with approval from the president. 

“We don’t want to get ahead of the president,” he said. 

While a meeting last week between Trump and Zelensky reportedly devolved into a shouting match and Kyiv did not acquire Tomahawk missiles, Trump’s decision to impose sanctions and postpone a second face-to-face meeting with Putin is giving confidence to Kyiv’s backers. 

“I was struck by how relaxed and confident he [Zelensky] was, which is not to say that he downplayed anything,” Evelyn Farkas, executive director of the McCain Institute at ASU, said of Friday’s meeting with Trump. Farkas met with Zelensky on Friday, after the Trump meeting, alongside members of think tanks focused on countering Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“He had this confidence that comes from knowing that your enemy is back on their heels. Why does Putin need this meeting with Trump? Because he’s feeling weak,” she added. 

Trump has not ended U.S. military support to Ukraine, but has shifted most of the financial burden to NATO-member states, who are purchasing arms from the U.S. to transfer to Ukraine, in an initiative called PURL.

While NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte touted $1 billion pledged in purchases, military transfers to Ukraine during July and August dropped by 43 percent, compared to the same period the previous year. 

“I think we have seen President Trump not wanting to take action to stop security assistance, but we also haven’t seen him not want to take action to significantly increase it either,” said Alina Polyakova, President and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).

A major focus for Ukraine and its European allies is to help draft for Trump a multi-point plan on a ceasefire with Russia that he can present, similar to his 20-point peace plan that led to the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

“President Trump and President Zelensky has already agreed on the key positions on Friday. And those provisions have already been made public – a ceasefire along the current battle lines,” Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., said in a statement.

“This agreement requires implementation, as well as further arrangements regarding security guarantees for the entire territory of Ukraine. Ukraine is working with its international partners to ensure that these basic conditions are properly secured.”