Trump softens Russia sanctions as tensions with Zelensky sharpen
Donald Trump has waived several Russia sanctions only two days before they were due to take effect, setting off a fresh political rupture with Volodymyr Zelensky and a rare bipartisan wave of criticism in Washington. The move followed a sanctions law passed by Congress and signed in September, but Friday night’s executive order said suspending some provisions was in the US national interest.
The decision landed in the middle of a widening dispute over US policy toward Ukraine, Russia and energy markets. Zelensky said it was unfortunate that the United States had chosen to “completely disregard” the sanctions, a line that captured the depth of Kyiv’s frustration. For Ukraine, sanctions are not an abstract diplomatic tool. They are part of the economic machinery meant to choke off Russian revenue and slow the war effort.
Sanctions targeting oil buyers, banks and Russia’s shadow fleet were suspended
The legislation was designed to hit Russia’s economy from several directions at once. It gave Trump broad authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the five biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas, with China and India the most significant targets. It also authorized sanctions on senior Russian figures, including Putin, along with Russian financial institutions and the so-called shadow fleet of vessels used to bypass existing embargoes.
By waiving many of those provisions, Trump removed a pressure point that had been built to tighten the squeeze on Moscow’s war financing. The waiver was welcomed in Russia. Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian envoy, called it “an important and truly historic moment” and argued that the sanctions would have caused serious damage, chiefly to the United States and global markets. His comments reflected the Kremlin’s long-running effort to portray sanctions as self-defeating for the West.
The White House has not presented the waiver as a policy reversal on Russia in name, but the practical effect is hard to miss. Economic coercion works only when enforcement is credible. Once exemptions begin to accumulate, the deterrent value of the entire package weakens.
Backlash from Democrats and Republicans exposed an unusual split
The reaction from Congress was swift and unusually broad. Democrats accused Trump of capitulating to Moscow and abandoning Kyiv. Virginia Congressman Don Beyer described the move on X as a “surrender to Putin” that betrayed Ukrainian partners and ignored congressional intent. The language was blunt, but the underlying criticism was familiar: lawmakers had endorsed the sanctions as a direct penalty for what they see as Russia’s illegal war of aggression.
Some Republicans joined the criticism. Senator Ted Cruz, a Trump ally, said on Fox News that he wished the president had not done it. He argued there were other ways to address diesel prices and warned that the current path benefits Putin. Senator John Cornyn called helping Putin in Ukraine reckless and said NATO allies would be next. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis went further, calling the move “beyond irresponsible” and pointing out that the sanctions law passed with strong bipartisan support, with only 11 senators voting no. Nebraska Representative Don Bacon said lawmakers would resist funding the president’s agenda if they believed he was propping up a dictator’s invasion and abandoning an ally.
The politics here are not subtle. Energy prices, wartime sanctions and domestic voter anxiety have collided in the same moment. Trump has framed the Russian diesel deal as a way to bring down US energy costs, especially as his party faces pressure in next month’s midterm elections. His critics see a different calculation: short-term affordability at the expense of strategic leverage.
Energy pressure, battlefield strikes and satellite disruption deepened the dispute
The sanctions fight cannot be separated from the broader energy war between Moscow and Kyiv. Trump’s decision last week to strike a controversial deal to import Russian diesel worsened relations with Kyiv, which accused the administration of pulling back key military support. Zelensky suggested the deal amounted to the United States investing in Russia’s war effort. Trump later claimed both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire” to facilitate the export of Russian diesel, even as both sides continued intensively striking each other’s energy infrastructure.
A single sentence from that exchange captures the military and political stakes: both countries are targeting the power systems that keep the war going.
Kyiv says its strikes are intended to cut revenue for Russia’s military machine. Moscow says it is striking only facilities used by the Ukrainian military. After three days of renewed Russian attacks, Kyiv resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries. Trump condemned Ukraine’s attacks as a disgrace, while Zelensky insisted he was only defending Ukrainian interests.
The dispute has been sharpened by concern over US support systems. Ukraine’s reliance on Starlink has become central to battlefield communications, and last week the network abruptly slowed speeds for drone operations, disrupting some missions and hampering the ability to defend against incoming Russian attacks, Ukrainian officials said. Zelensky later said US officials attributed the slowdown to technical issues, but he added that Ukraine had tested Starlink on EU territory and found no such problems there. Trump has denied deliberately restricting the network or halting intelligence-sharing.
Fresh Russian strikes increased pressure on Kyiv and its allies
The latest political clash arrived as Russian attacks continued to exact a heavy toll on Ukraine. Authorities said at least nine people were killed and about 60 injured in strikes over the past 24 hours. Among the dead was an ambulance driver in Kherson, where 20 others were injured in a separate strike. Zelensky said Russia was trying to cause a blackout in Ukraine right before winter and stressed that Americans should see what is happening on the ground.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had targeted industries linked to Ukraine’s defence sector, including a steel works, an electrical sub-station and a cargo vessel in the Black Sea. The competing narratives are typical of wartime reporting, but the immediate consequence is plain enough: each strike intensifies the argument over whether sanctions, aid and communications support are being sustained or quietly diluted.
Negotiators from Ukraine spoke with US counterparts on Friday, and Zelensky said both teams could meet next week. He also said he believed the Trump administration would lift more sanctions against Russia. That expectation, if it proves correct, will likely deepen the sense in Kyiv that Washington is shifting from economic pressure to accommodation. For now, the sanctions waiver has done more than delay a policy deadline. It has exposed a sharper rift over who the United States is prepared to pressure, and at what cost.