Trump defends easing Russia sanctions and accuses Zelenskyy of not wanting peace, as Kyiv warns it cannot win if Washington switches sides
The US president said he waived new sanctions so as not to drive Moscow away from peace talks, and claimed Volodymyr Zelenskyy 'probably never' wanted the war to end. Zelenskyy told NBC that a US shift towards Russia would be a historic mistake, while a report says Putin has proposed a summit with Trump and Xi that would leave Kyiv out.
Donald Trump has hit back at criticism of his decision to waive a new package of sanctions on Russia, saying on Sunday that he did not want to do anything that would 'foolishly' drive Moscow away from the bargaining table while he negotiates an end to the war. In a post on Truth Social he went further, accusing Volodymyr Zelenskyy of not caring and claiming that, with the money flowing from Europe, the Ukrainian leader 'doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did'.
The row stems from an executive order Trump signed late on Friday waiving broad sanctions required by legislation named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham, a strong supporter of Ukraine. He has also temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel, part of a plan announced on 9 October for Russia to supply more than 300,000 tonnes of fuel to US and world markets to bring down prices that have soared since the Iran war began in February. Most economists expect little effect on US pump prices before the 3 November midterm elections, and Trump repeated his claim that Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries were hurting fuel markets.
Zelenskyy, speaking to NBC's Meet the Press, warned that Ukraine would lose its defensive war if the United States took Russia's side, calling such a shift 'a historic mistake and big tragedy'. He said Washington had resumed intelligence sharing after a pause during which Ukraine missed critical warnings about ballistic missile attacks for three days, and said the sanctions waiver would strengthen Vladimir Putin's war effort.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Putin has proposed meeting Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month to discuss ending the war, a format that would not include Zelenskyy. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the suspension, saying the president wanted to assess the impact of the sanctions on the US and global economies. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, held talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and said Kyiv was ready to work 'constructively' and 'honestly' towards peace.
The fighting has not paused. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of violating Trump's 'energy ceasefire' 76 times, and an overnight Russian strike damaged a metro station on Kyiv's left bank, killing a 21-year-old woman and injuring three people, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Source: DW (with Al Jazeera, NBC, The Wall Street Journal)