Congress poised to pass two bills targeting Russia

CNN
 — 

Congress is poised to pass two bipartisan bills in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, the latest move for lawmakers before they’re set to begin a two-week recess on Friday.

The Senate will vote on two pieces of legislation, one that that would scrap Russia’s and Belarus’ normal trade status with the United States, as well as a ban of Russia energy imports, the latest effort by US lawmakers to inflict economic pain on the Kremlin for its unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine.

After the Senate approves the two Russia bills, the House is expected to pass the measures sometime Thursday and send them to President Joe Biden’s desk for signature, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office.

While the House has already overwhelmingly approved both bills, the Senate spent weeks negotiating and made some changes, requiring final House approval.

The moves from Congress come a day after the administration announced sanctions on Russia’s largest financial institutions and number of individuals tied to the Kremlin, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, as it looks to increase economic pressure on Russia and Putin himself following horrific images from the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

The US also announced sanctions on the wife and daughter of Putin’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. The United Kingdom later announced its own sanctions, and the European Union was expected to follow suit as well, ramping up Western pressure on Moscow as the war enters its second month.

This story will be updated.