WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to waive sanctions on Russia and tariffs on its goods days before they were to take effect will embolden Moscow to keep attacking Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, predicting even more U.S. sanctions relief.
“The decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me,” Zelensky wrote on X. “It definitely helps only the Russians.”
An executive order issued by Trump on Friday night waived key Russia-related U.S. sanctions and tariffs — including duties on the country’s goods and penalties for buying its oil and gas — that had been scheduled to start next week under the legislation known as the Graham Act that he signed into law last month.
Trump said the waiver was in the national interests of the United States.
Trump, however, has been warming toward Moscow while publicly criticizing Zelensky, including suggesting Kyiv needs a new leader.
“It only fuels their satisfaction and their desire to keep killing people,” wrote Zelensky, who said Russia struck more than 15 Ukrainian power generation and transmission sites on Friday. “This certainly does not stop the war.”
The Ukrainian leader accused Russia of planning to ramp up strikes in western Ukraine. “Is Russia preparing for this? I think so,” Zelenskiy wrote.
Russia’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, called the Trump waiver “a truly historic moment,” posting on X on Friday that had the penalties taken effect, they could have effectively brought all economic cooperation between Russia and the U.S. to a halt.
Weeks before U.S. midterm elections in which Trump’s Republicans are battling to maintain their narrow grip on both chambers of Congress, the new measures could have risked further raising oil prices as Americans face increased costs largely attributed to the U.S.-Israeli aggression on Iran, analysts have said.
Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 in mid-September.
Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, was appointed to fill his Senate seat after he 
Beijing has said it “consistently opposed long-arm jurisdiction that lacks a basis in international law” while India warned Washington that new tariffs could impact bilateral ties.
But the Graham Act also allows the president to waive sanctions by informing Congress that he has determined that they are not in the national interest. 
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected Vladimir Zelensky’s claim that Washington ordered restrictions on satellite services used by Ukraine to carry out drone strikes deep inside Russia. The dispute comes amid a public spat between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump over sanctions and strikes on Russian energy facilities.