Arabic version: ترامب يعلّق عقوبات على روسيا وزيلينسكي ينتقد القرار

According to BBC News, Donald Trump blocked numerous sanctions on Russia two days before they were due to take effect, issuing an executive order on Friday night that said suspending some measures was in the US national interest. The sanctions had been passed by Congress and signed into law by the president in September.

The law gave Trump powers to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas, including China and India. It also covered senior Russian figures, including Vladimir Putin, Russian financial institutions and vessels in Moscow’s “shadow fleet”. Many of those provisions have now been waived.

Volodymyr Zelensky said it was unfortunate that the US had chosen to “completely disregard” the sanctions, which he said could have helped enormously to pressure Russia to end the war. He said Russian overnight attacks on 15 Ukrainian energy facilities had caused power cuts in several regions. Ukrainian authorities said at least nine people were killed and about 60 injured in Russian strikes across the country during the past 24 hours.

The decision drew criticism from Democrats and some Republicans. Texas Senator Ted Cruz said waiving sanctions was a mistake, while Senator John Cornyn called helping Putin in Ukraine “reckless”. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis described the move as “beyond irresponsible”. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, however, called the waiver “an important and truly historic moment”.

Relations between Washington and Kyiv have worsened after the US struck a deal to import Russian diesel. Zelensky said he expected the Trump administration to lift more sanctions, while negotiators from Ukraine and the US spoke on Friday and could meet next week. Trump has also denied limiting Ukraine’s access to Starlink or halting intelligence-sharing.