United States President Donald Trump has issued a Friday night executive order to block several major sanctions against Russia just two days before they were scheduled to take effect. Citing the US national interest as the rationale for withholding the measures, Trump's unilateral decision has sparked significant backlash from American lawmakers and further strained relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The broad sanctions package was originally passed by the US Congress and signed into law by Trump in September. Designed to target Russia's economy, the legislation granted the president broad authority to levy tariffs of up to 100% on goods imported from the top five purchasers of Russian oil and gas, most notably China and India. Additionally, the law mandated sanctions against senior Russian leadership, including President Vladimir Putin, as well as Russian financial institutions and Moscow's shadow fleet of vessels used to bypass international trade embargoes. Under Trump's executive order, many of these key provisions have now been waived.
The move immediately drew fierce criticism from congressional Democrats. Virginia Congressman Don Beyer publicly condemned the decision, accusing Trump of capitulating to Moscow while turning his back on Kyiv and Zelensky. The waivers are also set to spark criticism from Ukrainian leadership, as Zelensky has long emphasized the critical need for tighter international trade sanctions to curb the funding driving Russia's war effort.
Trump's decision comes as he grapples with domestic fallout from the Middle East conflict, which has sent fuel costs, particularly diesel, surging ahead of the US midterm elections. Soaring inflation has weighed heavily on Trump's public standing. Days before issuing the sanctions waiver, Trump claimed that both Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to an energy ceasefire to enable Russian diesel exports. Both nations had been engaging in heavy strikes against each other's energy infrastructure, with Kyiv seeking to diminish Russia's war revenues and Moscow maintaining it only targeted facilities supporting the Ukrainian military.
Zelensky initially expressed surprise at Trump's energy ceasefire claim but agreed that Kyiv would pause its strikes if Russia did the same. However, following three days of continued Russian attacks, Kyiv resumed targeting Russian oil refineries. That action prompted scathing criticism from Trump, who labeled the Ukrainian strikes a disgrace. Zelensky responded by stating that he was only standing up for Ukraine's interests.
Friction escalated further after Zelensky accused the US of intentionally throttling the Starlink satellite internet uplink heavily relied upon by the Ukrainian military for defensive operations, alongside withdrawing intelligence-sharing assistance. Ukrainian officials and residents reported that Russia launched several deadly strikes without prior warning during the internet slowdown. On Friday, Zelensky noted that Starlink network speeds had still not been fully restored. Trump has denied withdrawing intelligence-sharing or deliberately slowing down Ukraine's Starlink connection.
