Trump defends Russian sanctions waiver, attacks Zelenskyy
President Donald Trump defended his decision to grant waivers on Russian sanctions on Sunday, arguing that he wants to keep Moscow engaged in peace talks and accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of lacking a genuine desire to end the war. Trump posted his remarks on Truth Social, saying, “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.”
The comment came after criticism of his move to block a series of sanctions that were set to take effect only days earlier. Zelenskyy responded on NBC’s *Meet the Press*, warning that waiving sanctions on a nation that launched a full‑scale invasion in 2022 “will hurt Ukraine” and would only bolster President Vladimir Putin’s war effort. “We can’t compare me and Putin. He’s an aggressor. He occupied us. He killed adults and children, his soldiers. He’s a terrorist, and that’s why I hope that President Trump will be very clear with this position,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Trump countered by accusing Kyiv of continuing attacks on Russian diesel refineries despite the damage to global diesel markets. “Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him… he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did,” he wrote on the platform.
On October 9, Trump announced a plan for Russia to export more than 300,000 metric tonnes of diesel to the United States and other markets, a move he said would help curb soaring fuel prices that rose after the United States and Israel began a war with Iran in late February. The decision prompted Tehran to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that previously handled about one‑fifth of the world’s energy shipments.
European allies and many U.S. officials have condemned the policy, arguing that it rewards Moscow while the country continues its four‑and‑a‑half‑year conflict with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, diplomatic talks between Washington and Kyiv persist. Zelenskyy posted on X that he had spoken with U.S. presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as part of “virtually non‑stop communication” aimed at advancing the next steps in diplomacy. “We are doing everything on our part to make this happen, and to ensure that America’s position is strong and helps bring peace closer. Peace that everyone, except Russia, has been waiting for over the past four and a half years,” he wrote.
The discussions unfolded as both sides continued to strike each other’s energy infrastructure: Moscow left thousands without power, and Kyiv carried out its largest drone attack on Russia’s St. Petersburg since the war began.