Zelenskyy criticises US move to ease Russia sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised a US decision to waive some sanctions on Russia, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order days before a new sanctions law was due to take effect.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised a US decision to waive some sanctions on Russia, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order days before a new sanctions law was due to take effect.

Trump signed the order on Friday, saying it was in the US national interest to withhold some sanctions.

The US president signed the Russian sanctions bill in September, and it was due to take effect on Sunday.

The latest move by the White House signals a further deterioration in relations between Washington and Kyiv, potentially leaving Ukraine more exposed to intensifying Russian attacks.

Zelenskyy described the decision as disappointing but did not directly criticise Trump by name, despite mounting friction between the two countries in recent days.

“A decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end,” Zelenskyy wrote.

He added: “This Act could have helped enormously — and still can! But it needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters.”

Russia launched a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, striking more than 15 sites across the country, Zelenskyy said. He warned that the scale and relentless pace of the strikes were having severe consequences for the energy sector.