Donald Trump suspended a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress that the pause on legislation passed by both chambers was in the national interest.
In an executive order issued Friday, the US president said he was waiving numerous sanctions, restrictions and duties against Russia, in a move that comes as he has publicly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, including suggesting that Ukraine needs a new leader.
Trump signed the legislation last month, after Congress passed the measure in a rare bipartisan deal. It sought to more quickly quell the flow of financial resources fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The legislation — whose main backer in Congress was the late Sen. Lindsey Graham — sanctions Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of oil tankers that transport Russian energy and was scheduled to be implemented in two days.
It also directs Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with the exception of countries that import less than 15% of Russian natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce such imports.
Friday’s announcement comes a week after Trump said the United States had agreed to buy diesel from Russia to try to lower global energy prices, ending years of U.S. and Western pressure on the Kremlin to end its war against Ukraine.
Trump said last week that Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by another 500,000 tons in November and a million tons “immediately thereafter.” Russia would then deliver an additional 3 million tonnes “in a short period of time,” he wrote.
The president faced widespread criticism after making the announcement, with a dozen US senators – including six Republicans – calling on Trump to cancel his diesel deal.
A letter from the bipartisan group of lawmakers sent Tuesday urged Trump to carry out sanctions authorities included in legislation passed last month, called the “Lindsey O. Graham Russia and Iran Sanctions Act of 2026.”
Under the legislation he signed into law, Trump had until October 18 to impose or waive the sanctions and tariffs on Russian energy. The administration has not told lawmakers whether it would impose the sanctions or grant a waiver.
Zelenskyy said on Friday that the diesel deal would mean money would “start coming back to Russia” when he met EU leaders in Brussels.
Trump caught Zelensky off guard last weekend by announcing that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities. Facing midterm elections next month, Trump blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for rising energy prices that could cost his Republican Party its slim majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
The Trump administration is suspected of withholding intelligence from Ukraine about Russian ballistic missile strikes and of limiting Starshield, the military version of the Starlink satellite internet network, to prevent it from being used on drones flying above 100 mph (161 km/h). Neither have been officially confirmed.
The U.S. sanctions legislation has also become a centerpiece of the campaign of Sen. Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham’s sister nominee for the remaining months of his term, who is also running to replace him in the Senate on a more permanent basis.
In a debate earlier this week with South Carolina Democratic candidate Annie Andrews, Graham — who has Trump’s support and is expected to campaign with him in South Carolina next week — said she had been “so proud” of helping pass the measure, but acknowledged that how he implemented it was within Trump’s purview.
“It gives the president tools that he can use, if he wants, to end the war through economic sanctions,” Graham said during the debate in Colombia. “So it’s up to him whether he wants to use it or not, or whether he wants to use something else, but I think the goal is to bring gas prices down and ultimately end the war. And when the war ends, gas prices will go down.”
With Reuters and Associated Press
Gn headline
