USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Donald Trump Refuses New Sanctions On Russia, Zelensky Says It Strengthens Putin’s War
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Trump suspended new sanctions on Russia, delaying measures set to take effect. Zelenskiy urged backing US sanctions despite Trump’s suspension.
Trump waives Russia sanctions
Donald Trump said he would not sign a document imposing additional measures on Russia at this time, arguing that doing so could undermine negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
“I can sign it later, or any time that I want!”
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “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.”
Trump also said he could sign the sanctions document later, or “at any time that I want!”, while defending a presidential decree issued last Friday that exempted Russia from new American sanctions and tariffs.
Zelensky said waiving sanctions against Russia would strengthen Putin’s war effort, and he added, “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.”
Drones, strikes, and counterclaims
Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia on Sunday as smoke billowed at an oil export terminal and depot in St. Petersburg, which was set ablaze after the aerial attack.
Local Gov. Alexander Beglov said one person was killed and five others were wounded in the St. Petersburg attack, and he said the strikes sparked fires at the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the city’s Ruchi oil depot.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Tass that Kyiv was “resisting” Moscow’s invasion but could not “change the current course of events.”
Zelensky said US-Ukraine intelligence sharing had resumed after being “blocked for some period of time,” and he accused Russia of attacking Ukraine’s energy, oil and gas sectors 76 times since Trump’s announcement of an “energy ceasefire.”
Talks without Kyiv, gas transit
Vladimir Putin proposed a trilateral summit with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping next month to discuss the Ukraine conflict, and the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told WSJ that there was “no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda.”
“‘Europe, and especially Germany, must never again become dependent on Russian gas.”
The Wall Street Journal report described a meeting format that would exclude Kyiv and European partners, while a senior US official said Trump had made no commitment.
American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner urged Ukraine and European allies to consider resuming Russian natural gas transit through Ukrainian pipeline infrastructure, and Günter Sautter pushed back forcefully against the initiative during diplomatic consultations held in Florida.
Robert Habeck warned, “Europe, and especially Germany, must never again become dependent on Russian gas. We saw how unreliable Russia was,” as the proposal raised concerns about undermining European sanctions packages and generating hard currency for Moscow’s defense industry.