On Friday night, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order shelving major provisions of a Russia sanctions law that he had signed into law only in September — days before the measures were due to take effect. The White House said the waiver served America's "national interest".
The Friday-night waiver
The blocked measures were among the toughest Congress has aimed at Moscow in years. They included duties on Russian goods and penalties for buying Russian oil and gas — with tariffs of up to 100 per cent on imports from the five biggest buyers of Russian hydrocarbons, notably China and India — alongside sanctions on senior Russian figures including President Vladimir Putin, Russian financial institutions, and the so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers used to dodge existing sanctions.
Under the executive order, the waiver stands until the Trump administration decides "further action is appropriate". Sanctions imposed by earlier US measures remain in place.
The underlying legislation is named after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, an outspoken Russia hawk, and passed with strong bipartisan backing — 86 to 11 in the Senate, according to one tally cited by the outlet beezloop. A bipartisan group of 20 lawmakers wrote to Trump on 15 October urging him to implement the law in full. He declined.
A diesel deal that detonated the row
The waiver is only the latest chapter in a US pivot towards Russian energy that has horrified Kyiv and alarmed European capitals. Earlier this month, the administration announced a deal to import Russian diesel: 300,000 tonnes immediately, 500,000 tonnes in November and a million tonnes afterwards, with US Treasury sanctions on Russian diesel sales waived until April 2027. Trump says the imports will bring down American energy prices ahead of November's midterm elections.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the arrangement "a gift" to Putin that funds Russia's war effort. The European Council said it "regrets" the American decision, while French President Emmanuel Macron warned it "sends a negative message". EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis questioned whether the volumes involved could genuinely move global prices.
Crude has meanwhile surged through $110 a barrel to a five-month high this week, as NewsFlow reported this morning — a rally some traders link partly to uncertainty over how far Western sanctions on Russian energy will actually go. You can follow live market data here.
Starlink becomes a front-line flashpoint
Running parallel to the sanctions fight is an escalating row over Starlink, the SpaceX satellite network on which Ukraine's military depends. Last week, SpaceX quietly limited the speed of Starlink terminals without advance warning to Ukrainian forces, disrupting front-line missions.
Zelenskyy said on 17 October that Ukrainian terminals were shutting down above 161 km/h, while tests in the European Union continued to work above 180 km/h. He described the restrictions as a "planned operation" that prevents Ukraine from using some interceptor drones against jet-powered Shahed attack drones and from delivering supplies to isolated front-line positions.
Former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov later announced that speeds of up to 160 km/h had been restored. Elon Musk has said decisions over Starshield — the government-facing version of the system — are controlled by the US government, which ultimately means Trump. Musk has reportedly claimed the restriction originated with Trump; Trump has denied it.
Speaking to journalist Piers Morgan, Zelenskyy said he felt "betrayed" by Trump and appealed directly to Musk to restore full service: "I hope that it's a mistake, maybe a huge technical problem... switch (it) on." It is "painful", he added, "when President Trump chooses one side, not our side".
Backlash in Washington, applause in Moscow
The waiver has drawn rare bipartisan criticism in Washington. Republican lawmakers Thom Tillis and John Cornyn and Representative Don Bacon have publicly criticised the move, while Democrat Don Beyer called it a "surrender to Putin" that "betrays our Ukrainian partners".
The Kremlin, by contrast, was delighted. Presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev hailed the waiver as "an important and truly historic moment", posting on X that the sanctions would have inflicted "serious damage" principally on the United States and the global market.
The personal relationship between the two wartime leaders has deteriorated sharply. Trump has called Zelenskyy "more difficult to deal with than Putin", and his team has reportedly floated replacing the Ukrainian president. Zelenskyy told an EU summit it was good to be among "real leaders". Trump has also called Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries a "disgrace"; Zelenskyy replied that he was "only standing up for Ukraine's interests". A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that Washington had threatened to suspend intelligence-sharing on Russian missile launches, leaving deadly strikes to arrive without prior warning — an allegation Trump has denied.
Europe's uncomfortable mirror
Trump's camp has long accused Europe of hypocrisy — condemning the American embrace of Russian energy while quietly buying Moscow's gas itself. The numbers give the accusation force. Data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) show that in September, China bought €6bn ($6.74bn) of Russian crude and India €3.6bn ($4.04bn); Hungary and Slovakia together bought €290m and Türkiye €172m. EU countries imported €817m of Russian pipeline gas and €615m of liquefied natural gas in September alone, with France's LNG imports jumping 103 per cent month-on-month to €446m and Hungary taking €414m of pipeline gas.
Research group Urgewald reports that more than 12 million tonnes of Russian Arctic LNG entered EU ports between January and September 2026 — up 9.5 per cent year-on-year — despite the bloc's stated plan to phase out Russian gas imports next year.
FAQs
What exactly has Trump waived?
The Friday-night executive order suspends duties on Russian goods and penalties for buying Russian oil and gas — including tariffs of up to 100 per cent aimed at the biggest buyers such as China and India — plus sanctions on senior Russian figures, financial institutions and the "shadow fleet" of sanctions-busting tankers. Earlier US sanctions on Russia stay in place, and the waiver lasts until the administration decides "further action is appropriate".
Why did the White House do it?
Officially, the waiver is in America's "national interest". In practice, it pairs with a deal to import Russian diesel — 300,000 tonnes at once, 500,000 in November and a million tonnes afterwards, with Treasury sanctions on Russian diesel sales waived until April 2027 — which Trump says will cut US energy prices before November's midterm elections. Critics, including members of his own party, call it a concession to Moscow.
What is the Starlink dispute about?
SpaceX last week limited Starlink terminal speeds without warning Kyiv, disrupting military missions. Zelenskyy says Ukrainian terminals cut out above 161 km/h while EU tests worked above 180 km/h, calling it a "planned operation" that blocks interceptor drones and front-line supply runs. Speeds of up to 160 km/h were later restored, but Musk says government Starshield decisions rest with the US government — ultimately Trump — who denies ordering any restriction.
How serious is the Trump–Zelenskyy rift?
Very. Trump has called Zelenskyy "more difficult to deal with than Putin" and reportedly floated replacing him; Zelenskyy told Piers Morgan he felt "betrayed" and said it was "painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side". A senior Ukrainian official told AFP Washington threatened to suspend missile-launch intelligence-sharing — which Trump denies — while the two men have also clashed over Ukraine's refinery strikes, which Trump called a "disgrace".
Is Europe really still buying Russian gas?
Yes, in significant volumes. CREA data for September show EU states imported €817m of Russian pipeline gas and €615m of LNG, with France's LNG intake up 103 per cent month-on-month to €446m. Urgewald says over 12 million tonnes of Russian Arctic LNG reached EU ports in the first nine months of 2026, up 9.5 per cent year-on-year — awkward for a bloc that plans to phase out Russian gas imports next year.
🤖 This article was rewritten by Feed and Figures' editorial AI from a report originally published by Al Jazeera. Facts and quotes are preserved from the original; the rewrite focuses on clarity and structure. For the unedited original, see the source link below.
