Trump waives Russia-related sanctions before they even kick in as Ukraine ties worsen

By James Legge, CNN

(CNN) — US President Donald Trump has waived a further slate of sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel sales, days before they were to take effect under a bill he signed into law last month.

The waiver announced in an executive order Friday comes as Trump increasingly feuds with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and cracks appear in Washington’s support for Kyiv in its four-year-old war against its giant neighbor, deepening alarm among Washington’s European allies at the same time.

The White House has heaped pressure on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil facilities, as it seeks to ease oil prices ahead of midterm elections at home. Ukraine briefly acceded to the request, but has since resumed attacks – and Russia has continued to pound Ukraine’s energy infrastructure throughout the week.

The forestalled legislation would have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on – among other things – goods brought into the US from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas, the sale of which is crucial to funding the Kremlin’s war machine.

“I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time is in the national interests of the United States,” Trump said in the order released by the White House on Friday.

They were included in the Graham Act, legislation named after former Senator Lindsey Graham, a noted Russia hawk who died in July.

Trump blindsided European leaders last week when he struck a deal allowing Russian diesel exports – a move Zelensky said had left him feeling betrayed.

The deal also drew bipartisan blowback at home, as lawmakers warned that the Trump administration is defying a federal law meant to “prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine.”

The US president has blamed the rise in fuel prices on the Ukraine-Russia war, eager to deflect attention from his war in Iran which remains deeply unpopular with voters.

Ties between Ukraine and its its most important backer the United States have also been strained by the apparent withdrawal of US intelligence sharing, and restrictions to the Starlink satellite internet service.

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