WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that Republicans may have helped Russia annex Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, delivering a surprisingly sharp attack just before lawmakers advanced a bill authorizing sweeping U.S. sanctions on Russia and $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine.

The 78-17 procedural vote in favor of the legislation spared President Barack Obama an embarrassing setback while he lobbies U.S. partners on a weeklong trip overseas to punish Moscow for its annexation of the Crimean peninsula. But Reid’s tone suggested a compromise with the Republican-controlled House may prove difficult, prolonging Congress’ inaction in the two weeks since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military intervention.

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