Trump waives Russia sanctions as US-Ukraine tensions escalate
President Trump blocked multiple congressionally mandated sanctions on Russia two days before they took effect, deepening friction with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
What happened
Trump issued an executive order on Friday night suspending several Russia sanctions that Congress had passed and Trump signed into law in September, citing US national interest. The waived provisions included tariffs of up to 100% on imports from major Russian oil and gas purchasers (China and India), sanctions on senior Russian officials including Putin, and sanctions on Russian financial institutions and shadow fleet vessels. The move prompted immediate criticism from Democratic lawmakers including Rep. Don Beyer, who accused Trump of capitulating to Moscow. Zelensky responded Saturday morning that the sanctions "could have helped enormously" and stressed their importance for constraining Russian war funding, particularly as Russia conducted overnight attacks on 15 Ukrainian energy facilities causing power cuts ahead of winter.
Context
The sanctions waiver follows a broader deterioration in US-Ukraine relations under Trump. Earlier, Trump suspended some sanctions to permit US imports of Russian diesel to lower domestic energy prices, which Ukraine characterized as indirectly funding Russia's war effort. Trump claimed both Russia and Ukraine agreed to an "energy ceasefire" for this purpose; Kyiv initially accepted but after three days of fresh Russian attacks, Kyiv resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries, prompting Trump to call the strikes a "disgrace." Additional friction has arisen from disruption to Starlink's satellite system used by Ukraine, during which Starlink restricted the speed at which drones could maintain internet connection; Ukraine said this disrupted battlefield missions and hampered Kyiv's ability to protect itself from incoming Russian attacks. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev characterized the sanctions waiver as "an important and truly historic moment," arguing the measures would have caused economic damage to the US and global markets. The stakes center on whether Washington will maintain pressure on Moscow to end the conflict or accommodate Russian economic interests.
What's disputed
Trump denies halting intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and deliberately slowing Starlink speeds, though Ukrainian authorities confirm that Starlink speeds were restricted and disrupted battlefield operations. Russia claims it targets only Ukrainian military-linked facilities in its energy infrastructure strikes, while Kyiv says Russia deliberately targets civilian energy infrastructure.