Senators who attended a closed-door meeting with the Ukrainian leader said his pitch is starting to have an impact.
07/28/2026 09:49 PM EDT
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pulled off a feat Tuesday that seemed impossible a year ago: convincing Washington that Kyiv can win the war.
Unlike Zelenskyy’s tortured Oval Office visit in February 2025, he left a meeting with President Donald Trump in high spirits. And he capped off the trip with another victory, watching the Senate overwhelmingly vote to advance new sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil.
It was a high note in a day that proved a remarkable turnabout from Zelenskyy’s previous disastrous visit. The vote — which the Ukrainian leader witnessed from the gallery inside the Senate chamber — puts Congress one step closer to achieving a top priority for Zelenskyy and is the latest signal that Kyiv’s fortunes aren’t just improving on the battlefield.
“The whole program here is to bring Putin to the negotiating table,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said following a meeting with the Ukrainian president, senators and some House lawmakers. “Zelenskyy believed that Putin would think a little bit more about trying to negotiate a settlement if the sanctions were in place and actually creating more irritation and, as he put it, I believe, ‘anger’ with the war with the Russian people.”
The Ukrainian leader emphasized that the sanctions could help solidify the gains Ukraine has made in combat and force Putin into peace talks, even as he renewed his request for expanded access to key weapons systems.
It’s clear that Zelenskyy’s pitch is making an impact, and lawmakers from across the ideological spectrum seemed to endorse his strategy. And it probably doesn’t hurt that there is an emerging consensus that Ukraine might be able to defeat Russia.
“What’s marked the momentum shift is the success that they’re having on the battlefield,” said Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.).
The sanctions vote also represented a day of remembrance for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the champions of the legislation and a key ally of Ukraine. Zelenskyy attended funeral services for Graham in Washington on Tuesday along with Trump, top lawmakers and other foreign dignitaries.
“There is an entirely different vibe than a year ago with Trump and Zelenskyy given that Ukraine is doing much better in the war,” said a former Trump administration official, who like some others, was granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics.
The recent shift in Kyiv’s political fortunes includes the newfound support of some MAGA loyalists, most notably conservative influencer Laura Loomer, who reversed her previous vocal support for Russia following a recent visit to Kyiv.
Trump also said at this month’s NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, that he planned to allow Kyiv to produce much needed Patriot air defense missiles.
Zelenskyy, in the bipartisan meeting ahead of the vote, emphasized the impact sanctions could have on the course of the war. He also underscored several continued requests, according to senators who attended, including licensing to produce Patriot missile defense batteries, securing supplies of PAC-3 interceptors used in the Patriot system and sustained access to the Starlink satellite service to assist targeting for long-range attacks.
The requests for military hardware and targeting assistance, along with sanctions on Moscow, mirror Zelenskyy’s pitch to lawmakers on the sidelines of the NATO summit three weeks ago, Rounds said.
Zelenskyy and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who also visited the Capitol on Tuesday, told lawmakers the legislation could have more of an effect on the war than any fighting, according to Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho).
“Both were of the opinion that this was at least as effective, maybe more effective, at bringing this war to an end that everybody wants to see. And this piece of legislation may have more effect than anything that’s done on the battlefield,” Risch said during a press conference after the meeting.
Yehor Cherniev, a Ukrainian lawmaker and member of Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party, said the latest meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy is a sign that “previous misunderstandings and contradictions are a thing of the past, and now both countries act as allies.”
But Trump has reversed course quickly before and the sanctions measure is not a done deal. Majority Leader John Thune is aiming to fast-track the bill and pass it as soon as this week. And lawmakers must smooth over plenty of complications before the Senate can pass it, not to mention hurdles in the House.
White House support for the measure has been tepid, and Republican leaders in both chambers had long avoided bringing up the bill in deference to Trump.
But Graham’s unexpected death, Zelenskyy’s visit and the changing nature of the war made for fresh momentum. Ukrainian drone commanders also will attend Wednesday’s Senate GOP lunch to talk about drone production, according to a person familiar with the private scheduling.
Trump would largely have discretion over imposing economic penalties under the legislation. But Republican and Democratic senators argued the legislation would create enough economic pain to force Russia to negotiate an end to the war.
“It’s carefully crafted to make sure we are not hitting our allies and that we are getting China and India,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the bill’s co-sponsor.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said the legislation could amount to Graham’s “greatest political achievement.”
The House is gone for the rest of the summer, though, so the bill wouldn’t become law until at least September. The Senate measure will be a hard sell for many House Democrats who oppose granting broad powers to the president to impose tariffs up to 100 percent on countries purchasing significant amounts of Russian oil.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the top Foreign Relations Committee Democrat, argued the Senate legislation is the only viable sanctions package that can become law.
“We need to talk to folks about what their concerns are,” she said, “and we’ve got some time to do that because the House is not coming back for a while.”
Jordain Carney and Jack Detsch contributed to this report.