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Donald Trump freezes sanctions against Russia and provides another boost to Vladimir Putin. The American president's reversal becomes a political issue in the United States, which heads to the polls in two weeks for the midterm elections, and deals a new blow to President Volodymyr Zelensky's Ukraine.
Trump signs an executive order exempting Putin's Russia from the new sanctions contained in the Graham Act, passed by large bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate last month and set to take effect today.
The halt to the measures is in fact seen by the Democrats, but also by the Republicans, as "a new surrender" to the 'tsar', engaged in the war against Ukraine.
But predictably, it was Zelensky who was the one protesting the most, lashing out at the American president on social media, warning: "This way," he wrote, "Trump is encouraging Putin to continue attacking."
“By suspending these sanctions, Trump is flouting Congressional guidance to increase pressure on the Kremlin and allowing Vladimir Putin to continue his war of aggression.”
The criticism comes from Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of the first members of Congress to react to the executive order signed by the tycoon.
“Trump’s latest capitulation to Putin is once again a betrayal of our Ukrainian allies and defies Congress’s clear intent for legislation to punish Russia for its illegal war of aggression,” echoed Democratic Representative Don Beyer, urging Congress to intervene as the president “capitulates” to the Russian leader.
But criticism also comes from Republicans: "Trump is prolonging the war, not ending it," said Representative Don Bacon, who is part of a group of GOP representatives, including six senators, who have joined bipartisan efforts to try to block the diesel deal between Trump and Putin, calling it "a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our allies."
"What part of enforcing a law passed by 86 senators against 11 do the president and his advisors not understand? It's inconceivable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and massacres innocent civilians every day," Republican Senator Thom Tills lashed out. The senator, who decided not to run for the North Carolina seat in the November election after Trump threatened to field his own candidate against him in the primary, calls Trump's move "irresponsible beyond belief."
“Lindsey would be shocked,” adds John Cornyn, the Republican senator from Texas who was defeated in the primary by Ken Paxton, who Trump strongly supported, referring to Lindsey Graham.
The Graham Act, named after the Republican senator who disappeared in July while trying to rally support for the measure aimed at diverting significant financial resources from Moscow to finance the conflict, passed the Senate on August 7 by 86 votes to 11, and the House on September 16 by 262 votes to 159. Trump signed it two days later, on September 18, but on Friday night he decided to exercise his authority to grant exemptions or suspensions of sanctions to decide whether to suspend the law's application to Russia to protect "the national interests of the United States," without specifying the specific reasons.
“These suspensions have nothing to do with our national security, only with sucking up to Vladimir Putin,” reacted Richard Blumenthal, Democratic Senator and co-sponsor of the bill, stating that “Donald Trump has once again demonstrated that he is siding with a bloodthirsty criminal and his accomplices, and against the majority of Americans, their representatives in the House and Senate, and their European allies.”
The law imposes sanctions on Russian officials, oligarchs, financial institutions, and even the so-called "ghost fleet," which allows Russia to continue its energy exports while circumventing existing sanctions. The measure also imposes—or would have imposed, before Trump's blockade—100% tariffs on the five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas and a 500% tariff on Russian imports. In the executive order, Trump states that the US will "monitor" purchases of Russian oil by other countries, and his advisors will advise him on further action.
"At a time when the Russians have conducted such a massive attack on our energy sector, the decision was unfortunately made in America to completely ignore the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to put truly effective pressure on Russia to end this war. It could have helped enormously, and still can!" Ukrainian President Zelensky rant in a post on X, accusing the Russians of "trying to cause a blackout in Ukraine, right before winter," and allegedly "trying to leave millions of our citizens without electricity and heating." Pressure is needed, he insists. "A blackout of US sanctions, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin—all this only encourages him to continue attacking," Zelensky states. "We must continue to try to end the war. To end the conflict, not to give Putin every reason to continue it endlessly." Zelensky, however, emphasized how "important it is that our European partners have already prepared support packages for Ukraine."
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