Donald Trump has suspended numerous sanctions on Russia just two days before they were due to take effect, as his clash with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, deepens. These sanctions, approved by the US Congress and signed into law by Trump in September, were cancelled via an executive order on Friday evening. The US president stated that suspending some of them was in the “national interest” of the US, provoking harsh reactions from American lawmakers. Relations between Washington and Kyiv have been strained over the past week, following a controversial US agreement to import Russian oil, followed by Ukraine’s accusations that the Trump administration was withdrawing key military support.
The new US sanctions law aimed to target the Russian economy, giving Trump broad powers to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the five main buyers of Russian oil and gas, especially China and India. It also included sanctions against senior Russian figures, including Putin, Russian financial institutions and Moscow’s “shadow fleet”, used to bypass existing embargoes. Many of these provisions have now been removed by Trump. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev called the lifting of sanctions “an important and truly historic moment”, arguing that they would have caused “serious damage” mainly to the American and global markets, and that economic cooperation brings benefits to both nations. Democrats, including Virginia congressman Don Beyer, sharply criticised this move, accusing Trump of capitulating to Moscow and turning his back on Kyiv and Zelensky.
Trump and Zelensky have exchanged harsh words. The Ukrainian president said it was good to be among “true leaders” during an EU summit, after Trump said Zelensky was “harder to deal with” than Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump’s move is expected to cause further anger in Ukraine, where Zelensky has long stressed the need for strict sanctions to limit the funding Russia can use in its war effort. Earlier, Trump was criticised by Zelensky and Ukraine’s European allies for temporarily suspending some US sanctions to import Russian oil, with the aim of lowering energy prices in the US. Concerns that Trump is leaning towards Russia have also grown due to the disruption of a US-provided satellite system, Starlink, used by Ukraine. Last week, Starlink unexpectedly limited the flight speed of drones, hindering several battlefield missions and Kyiv’s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks. During this period, Russia launched several deadly strikes. Zelensky said on Friday that Starlink speeds had still not fully recovered, while Trump has denied blocking intelligence sharing or deliberately slowing Ukraine’s Starlink network.
Taken from BBC News