New US Senate bill could wreck Russia, but also damage the EU economy

A bill rapidly making its way through the United States Senate and gathering impressive bipartisan support threatens to wreak untold havoc on Russia's economy in a bid to force Vladimir Putin into "good faith negotiations for a lasting peace in Ukraine".

But the concerted push, jointly promoted by Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, also risks devastation for roughly half the European Union.

"Our legislation will isolate Russia – putting it on a trade island by imposing stiff tariffs on other countries that support these atrocities," Graham and Blumenthal said last week as they announced the text had secured 81 signatures in the 100-seat Senate.