US and Europe Turn Up Heat on Russia with Sanctions 

The United States and Europe have simultaneously took steps to intensify pressure on Russia with sanctions in retribution for invading Ukraine and failing to negotiate honorably an end to its four-and-a-half year war against Ukraine.

Despite some opposition on Capitol Hill and the White House, the Senate’s overwhelming 86–11 vote today, August 7, passing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 marks a significant shift in tightening the economic screws on Moscow.

Renamed in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham following his recent passing, the legislation explicitly aims to cut off the primary revenue channels fueling Russia's war effort.

The EU imposed new Russia sanctions as Moscow has been intensifying airborne strikes on Ukrainian cities.

The European Union approved new sanctions against Russia on August 7 in response to intensified attacks on Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced on X.

Five people linked to Russia’s military-industrial complex were added to the sanctions list, Kallas said.

“With its army stuck on the battlefield, Moscow is further intensifying its campaign of terror against civilians. The EU must continue increasing pressure on Russia until Moscow ends the war,” Kallas, EU’s top diplomat, wrote.

Since the start of the summer, Russia has intensified ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv and other cities, exploiting Ukraine’s shortage of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems. On August 5, Russian forces carried out their third large-scale attack on the capital and Kyiv Oblast in a week, launching four Zircon missiles, 24 Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles and 115 drones. Ukrainian air defenses failed to intercept any of the missiles.

The attack killed 17 people, including eight at a railway station near Brovary in Kyiv Oblast, where people were waiting for a train. Facilities belonging to Nova Poshta, Rozetka, Silpo, Epicentr, Novus and other retail chains were reported damaged or destroyed.

Meanwhile, the UK government unveiled a new sanctions package against Russia on August 6, which targets its banks, companies trading in rare metals, and six newly acquired shadow fleet tankers.

Russia works with a vast network of aging and often uninsured vessels, flying under the flags of other countries,  to evade restrictive measures imposed by the UK and others against Russian fossil fuels.

New ships keep being identified as belonging to the Russian shadow fleet, presenting an ongoing challenge for countries wishing to enforce their sanctions have to continually update their listings to include these ships and the companies servicing them.

“The UK will continue to step up our action against Russia and its shadow fleet activity to protect our national security, our economy, and global stability,” said British Economy Minister John Healey.

The latest shadow fleet listings come as European countries are adopting an increasingly assertive stance against suspect ships.

The UK, France, and Belgium have all boarded shadow fleet vessels in recent months, as has a joint EU naval mission.

Sweden not only intercepted a shadow fleet ship, but ruled that it and its cargo of grain, illegally taken from occupied territory in southern Ukraine, should be given back to Kyiv.

That development preceded EU countries agreeing in their latest 21st sanctions package to consider any shadow fleet ships they intercept, along with the cargo they carry, as income.

The British sanctions announcement also includes restrictions placed on six Russian banks and four Russian companies importing the rare earth metals tantalum and niobium, which the announcement says are “critical for producing military equipment used on the battlefield in Ukraine.”

“Ukraine’s fight is our fight. Those that threaten Ukraine’s freedom and democracy are a threat to Britain’s security at home,”said British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband.

“That’s why we will continue stepping up the pressure on Russia until a just and lasting peace has been reached.”