Doomsday Clock for Ukraine Diplomacy Ticks as Trump Eases Russia Sanctions
The doomsday clock for Ukraine diplomacy ticks as President Donald Trump defends his decision to waive new sanctions on Russia, stating the move aims to keep Moscow at the bargaining table for Ukraine peace negotiations rather than drive it away. Trump signed an executive order late Friday waiving broad new sanctions mandated by legislation named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. [2] Trump temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel exports to lower global fuel prices ahead of US elections. [2]
Doomsday Clock for Ukraine Diplomacy Ticks as Trump Defends Sanctions Waiver
President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his decision to waive some sanctions on Russia, while once again accusing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky of not wanting to end the war. [2] "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 wrote on his Truth Social platform. [2] The remarks come after Trump signed an executive order late Friday waiving broad new sanctions mandated by legislation named for the late US senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Ukraine's defense. [2] US president says he does not want to take an action that would ‘drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table’. [3] President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his decision to waive sweeping new sanctions against Russia, arguing that imposing them now could derail promising peace negotiations with Moscow and jeopardize efforts to end the war in Ukraine. [4] Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's decision to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports, saying the move was intended to encourage Moscow to scale back its war in Ukraine rather than help Russia economically. [1]
Zelensky's Criticism and Feud
The diesel deal was met with shock by Kyiv and its allies and sparked a feud between Trump and Zelensky that has seen their roller-coaster relationship plummet again. [2] Zelenskyy also criticised the sanctions waiver on Saturday, saying easing pressure on Russia would encourage further attacks. [5] “Financial rewards for [President Vladimir] Putin – all of this only encourages him to keep attacking,” Zelenskyy posted on social media, urging the US to maintain pressure on Moscow. [5] Trump has also temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing large quantities to flow into global markets in a bid to lower fuel prices ahead of US elections early next month. [2] He then reiterated his accusation that Ukraine was purposefully targeting Russian refineries to attempt to hurt the Republican Party in the November 3 election. [2] "Zelensky is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States," Trump said. [2] "Zelensky doesn't care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did," he added. [2]
Starshield Access Under Review
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Starshield, the military-grade version of the Starlink satellite service, is currently unavailable to Ukraine, but a request from Kyiv to access the system for attacks deep inside Russia is “under discussion”. [5] “Starlink is a commercial product, okay? And so it’s regulated and handled as a commercial product. Starshield is a defence product, a military product,” said Rubio, in comments released by the Department of State. [5] “They’ve asked for access to it in order to conduct deep strikes inside of Russia. They do not have access to it at this moment,” he added. [5] “That’s under conversation.” [5] In his comments at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Rubio also rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s suggestion that the reported disruption to Starlink services in Ukraine on Wednesday was deliberate. [5] “Well, I don’t know what Zelenskyy said. I’m not sure Zelenskyy knows what he’s talking about, but it wasn’t deliberate. We have nothing to do with that,” Rubio said. [5] Rubio said the US had not ordered Starlink speeds to be reduced and that the service had reportedly been restored to its previous level. [5] “No one at the White House ordered anyone to slow down internet or slow down speed so that certain drones couldn’t use it,” he said, calling the reports “categorically false”. [5]
Context on Diesel and Iran
Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's decision to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports, saying the move was intended to encourage Moscow to scale back its war in Ukraine rather than help Russia economically. [1] Trump has also temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing large quantities to flow into global markets in a bid to lower fuel prices ahead of US elections early next month. [2] "Perhaps more importantly, Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way," Trump added. [2] The remarks came as US President Donald Trump drew criticism from Democrats and Republicans after waiving sanctions on Russia and countries that buy its oil and gas, days before the restrictions were due to take effect under a law he signed last month. [5]
Negotiations and Next Steps
"Great progress is being made" in talks on the war, "and that includes current hostage negotiations!" Trump said. [2] "Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!" he said, though it was unclear to what document he was referring. [2] Asked for more clarity on the statement, the White House did not immediately respond to AFP. [2] President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his decision to waive sweeping new sanctions against Russia, arguing that imposing them now could derail promising peace negotiations with Moscow and jeopardize efforts to end the war in Ukraine. [4]
What to watch next: Rubio says Ukraine has requested access to military-grade version of Starlink for strikes deep inside Russia, with the request remaining under discussion, while Trump cited progress in talks including hostage negotiations and noted Russia is doing little to help Iran.
