President Donald Trump has claimed his decision to waive sanctions against Russia is an effort to keep them at the negotiating table.
The 80-year-old also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of not wanting to end the war against Russia, adding that Ukraine’s attacks against their enemy’s diesel refineries are “seriously hurting the world”.
It comes after a tumultuous week between Ukraine and the United States. The American president announced a deal to import diesel with Russia before also waiving key sanctions and tariffs against the country.
Zelensky warned the moves would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and prolong the war.
Shortly before Trump took to social media, Zelensky was also reported by Bloomberg news as saying he believed steps were being taken in the United States “to convince Ukraine to capitulate”.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “My decision on Russia is a very simple one. I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table.
“Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations! Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!
“Perhaps more importantly, Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way.
He also criticised Zelensky for targeting diesel refineries in Russia, saying: “Lastly, Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States. Farmers, ranchers, and businesses of all kinds are suffering greatly from this, but Russia is, nevertheless, sending, at a low price, millions of barrels of diesel to the World.
“Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did. He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now.
“His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead. I WANT THIS WAR END! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Trump was due to sign the Graham Act on Friday, which he announced last month at the urging of lawmakers who want to pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
The measures, including tariffs on Russian goods and penalties on countries buying Russian oil and gas, were due to take effect next week. Friday’s order did not specify how long the waiver would last, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump opted for a 60-day review.
Trump also announced on October 11 that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire” in the 4.5-year-old war, but offered no details. Kyiv reported Russian attacks on energy sites continued after Trump’s announcement, and on Thursday said it had resumed strikes on Russian oil facilities after a three-day pause.
Last week Ukraine also saw Elon Musk’s Starlink, which Ukraine uses for battlefield communications, slow down. Zelensky claimed “the authorities, the White House” were responsible.
However, the Ukrainian president did say on Sunday that he United States has resumed providing them with critical intelligence to help it defend against Russian missile strikes.
Ukraine has relied on US intelligence to spot the fast-moving ballistic missiles that Russia has fired in waves at its cities. US President Donald Trump had said earlier this week that Washington was still sharing intelligence, despite Ukrainian officials saying some Russian strikes had occurred without warning.
Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press, Zelenskiy said intelligence-sharing had been interrupted but later “de-blocked”.
“We are very thankful for this,” he said. “Now it works.”
“If the United States will officially take the side of Russia, of course if these two countries will be together, of course we will not prevail and we will not be able to stand,” he said.
“We want to trust him, and I hope that he will change his decisions,” Zelenskiy said. “Because I think that it’s all mistakes and it will not help us. And it will not help United States.”
Zelenskyy added that siding with Moscow would be a tragedy and a “historic mistake” for Washington.
Ukrainian strikes set an oil export terminal and a depot ablaze in St. Petersburg on Sunday as Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war.