“China buys — and India buys — 70% of Russia’s oil … If they stop buying cheap Russian oil tomorrow, would that grind Putin’s war machine to a halt?” Graham asked, later adding: “We have an ability, through legislation, to get China and India’s attention [and say] that if you keep buying cheap Russian oil to empower Putin to kill Ukrainian children, you’re going to lose access to our markets. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the White House was quietly pushing Graham to water down the bill by allowing waivers to exempt certain people and entities from sanctions and to “remove the mandatory nature” of the legislation. Hegseth responded that “no one’s adopting views,” but added that the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act does not include funding of weapons for Ukraine because “the budget reflects the reality that Europe needs to step up more for the defense of its own continent, and President Trump deserves the credit for that.”
Author: Caitlin Doornbos
Published at: 2025-06-11 21:05:02
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