President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his decision to suspend several sanctions on Russia was meant to keep Moscow at the negotiating table, as a public rift with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky deepened.1,4
The action came late on Friday, two days before the measures were due to take effect. Accounts of what Trump did differ. BBC News said he had blocked numerous sanctions on Russia, while the Daily Caller described an executive order that waived sanctions and tariffs on Russian energy importers. According to the Daily Caller, the waiver nullified a 100% tariff on the five largest importers of Russian fossil fuels under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act, a law named after the Republican senator from South Carolina who died suddenly in July.1,5
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: "I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine." He said he did not want to "do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table." He also wrote that Zelensky "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did," adding that "he could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now."1,4
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the suspension as a 60-day pause, during which the potential impact of the measures on the US and global economies would be analysed. The Daily Caller reported that the order also waived the Graham Act's 500% tariffs on Russian goods until senior administration officials "determine that further action is appropriate."1,5
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation: "President Trump has been clear that he wants to see this brutal war come to an end." She added: "As talks continue, this Act provides the President with additional authorities to pursue a peaceful resolution. Enforcing the sanctions provisions now would impede ongoing U.S. efforts to negotiate a durable and comprehensive peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia."5
The waiver follows Trump's announcement on October 9 of an agreement with Russia to import millions of diesel barrels into US and global markets, amid a spike in fuel prices during the Iran war. Ukraine and its European allies criticised the plan. Zelensky said the deal was tantamount to the United States investing in Russia's war effort. Relations between Washington and Kyiv have frayed since the deal was struck.1,5
Zelensky told NBC News on Sunday that siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a "historic mistake." Speaking about the sanctions waiver, he said the measures "could have helped enormously," according to The Hill. He has repeatedly pushed for stringent sanctions to limit funding for Russia's war effort, and after the latest move he said he believed the Trump administration would lift more sanctions against Russia.1,4,7
Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy of Putin and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, praised the decision in a post on X. "The Trump administration's suspension of the Graham Act is an important and truly historic moment," he wrote. "Economic cooperation between Russia and the United States serves the interests of both nations, contributes to global economic stability, and lays the foundation for building trust and achieving lasting peace." Dmitriev had earlier said the sanctions would have inflicted "serious damage" on the US and global markets.1,5
Criticism has also come from within Trump's own party. The New York Times described Senator Darline Graham, who was appointed to fill the Senate seat of her late brother Lindsey, as having gently disagreed with the president's decision to exempt Russia from the sanctions legislation. The New York Post's headline reported that Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers had broken with Trump over the sanctions, and that retiring lawmakers had criticised the president. Fox Business and NBC News also framed their coverage around backlash to the decision.6,2,8,3
The dispute has also centred on the US satellite system Starlink, which Ukraine uses. Zelensky said US officials had linked speed restrictions on the network to technical issues, but that Ukraine had tested Starlink on EU territory and found it operating at higher speeds. Trump has denied deliberately slowing the network. He has also denied a further accusation from Zelensky that the US had stopped sharing defence intelligence. Zelensky said he was "thankful" the United States had resumed intelligence sharing after a pause that he said left his country vulnerable to Russian missile strikes.1,4
On Sunday, Zelensky spoke with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as both sides struck each other's energy sites. Zelensky accused Russia of breaking Trump's "energy ceasefire" 76 times, and said Russian strikes had left "tens of thousands" without power in several regions. Ukrainian officials reported three people killed. Russia's head of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, said air defence shot down 144 Ukrainian drones over Saint Petersburg, and Moscow said one person was killed there. The Kremlin said Ukrainian attacks on its cities would not change its war aims.4
The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a think tank, estimates that China has taken about half of Russia's crude exports and India about 37%, often at attractive discounts, despite international sanctions. The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin had proposed a meeting on Ukraine with Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but not Zelensky, a report that France 24 said had added to concerns in Kyiv and Europe.1,4
Trump said on Sunday that he was making "great progress" in negotiations. Rubio's 60-day review of the suspended measures is now under way.4,1