US President Donald Trump has defended his decision to waive a series of sanctions on Russia, saying the aim is to keep Moscow at the negotiating table, while accusing his Ukrainian counterpart of not genuinely wanting to end the war.
According to Al Jazeera, in a post on Truth Social on Sunday Trump responded to criticism over his move to block several sanctions on Russia just days before they were due to take effect. "My decision on Russia is very simple. I am in the process of negotiating peace for the war between Russia and Ukraine, and I don't want to do anything that would foolishly drive Russia away from the negotiating table," he said.
The move has fueled significant diplomatic tension between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the past week. Zelensky argued that waiving sanctions on Russia – which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – "will harm Ukraine," telling NBC's Meet the Press that it would bolster the war effort of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"You can't compare me to Putin. He is an invader. He occupies us. He kills adults and children, his own soldiers. He is a terrorist, and that is why I hope President Trump will take a very clear stance on this issue," Zelensky said.
Trump reiterated his view that Zelensky does not want the war on his country's soil to end, writing on Truth Social that Kyiv is carrying out strikes on Russian diesel refineries despite knowing this "does severe damage to the world diesel market." He wrote: "Zelensky doesn't care, and frankly, with all the money that Europe is famously giving him... he doesn't want to end this war, and perhaps never did."
Earlier, on October 9, Trump announced a plan for Russia to supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the US and global markets in response to fuel prices soaring since the US and Israel launched war with Iran in late February. The move effectively led Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz – a route through which as much as one-fifth of global energy exports passed before the war.
Trump's warmth toward Russian energy has angered not only Kyiv but also European partners and many US officials, who argue the move rewards Moscow while it continues its four-and-a-half-year war against Ukraine.
US–Ukraine talks continue
On Sunday, the Ukrainian president said on X that he had spoken with Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as part of "almost non-stop" contacts between the two countries' teams to discuss "next steps in diplomacy."
"We are doing everything within our power to make this a reality, and to ensure that America's position is strong and helps bring peace closer. The peace that everyone except Russia has been waiting for for four and a half years," Zelensky wrote.
The exchange came as Russia and Ukraine continued to strike each other's energy facilities. Russia left thousands without power, while Kyiv carried out its largest drone attack on Russia, targeting St. Petersburg, since the start of the war.
