WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has used his presidential authority to block numerous sanctions on Russia that Congress recently passed to punish the country for its war on Ukraine, drawing bipartisan criticism and accusations that he is turning his back on Kyiv.
In an executive order Friday night, Trump said it is in the U.S. “national interests” to withhold some of the sanctions. Trump signed the sanctions bill into law in September, and it was due to take effect Sunday.
The move comes days after Trump said the U.S. would import Russian diesel to bring down domestic energy prices before November’s midterm elections, which will decide which party controls Congress. The plan shocked lawmakers and triggered a bipartisan backlash.
The sanctions law is named for the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Ukraine’s staunchest defenders in Washington before his death on July 11.
The law targeted Russia’s economy and gave Trump broad powers to levy tariffs of up to 100% on the top five purchasers of Russian oil and gas — most significantly China and India. It also includes sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior Russian government figures, banks and other financial institutions, and Russia’s “shadow fleet” of tankers used to circumvent existing sanctions.
On Thursday, a bipartisan group of 20 U.S. lawmakers issued a letter calling on Trump to respect the new law, which was due to take effect Oct. 18. The lawmakers thanked Trump for signing the sanctions bill and urged his “full and faithful implementation” of the law, saying it would be “decisive in forcing Putin to take peace talks seriously.” They called on the administration “to apply the Graham law’s sanctions to their fullest extent and without delay.”
Democrats, including Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, criticized Trump’s move, accusing him of capitulating to Moscow and turning his back on Kyiv and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Trump’s latest surrender to Putin again betrays our Ukrainian partners and defies clear congressional intent of legislation designed to punish Russia for its illegal war of aggression,” Beyer wrote on X.
On Oct. 9, Trump announced he had held a phone call with Putin and had agreed to purchase diesel from Moscow. Since the war with Iran started in February, U.S. fuel prices, especially diesel, have skyrocketed, adding to financial pressure on American voters already worried about the cost of living. Trump hopes to bring fuel costs down before next month’s midterm elections.
U.S. allies criticized the diesel deal, anxious that it could help Russia’s war effort.
Next month, hundreds of troops from Britain, France and Germany — key European allies of Ukraine — will take part in a major military exercise in Poland. U.K. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the drill was “to ensure we are ready to support the military training and post-war rebuilding that Ukraine will need.”
Zelensky called Trump’s diesel deal a gift to Putin that amounts to “an investment in a war that must be ended.”
On Sunday, Oct. 11, Trump claimed Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire,” insisting it was “effective immediately” but providing no details. Zelensky expressed surprise at the announcement but said Kyiv would stop strikes if Russia did the same. Moscow said it had never agreed to the deal and continued its attacks. After three days, Kyiv resumed its strikes.
Trump responded with scathing criticism, calling Kyiv’s strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace.” Zelensky responded that he was “only standing up for Ukraine’s interests.”
Tensions heightened earlier in the week when restrictions were placed on the U.S.-owned Starlink internet network, which is critical to Kyiv’s military abilities to defend itself. During a slowdown Tuesday night, Russia launched several deadly strikes on Ukraine, with residents and the government saying there was no prior warning. On Friday, Zelensky called the slowdown a “very dangerous and unpleasant surprise,” adding that Starlink speeds were still not fully restored.
