Trump suspends new Russia sanctions law days before it took effect; Zelensky calls the move "wrong"

US President Donald Trump has suspended a number of new sanctions against Russia two days before they were due to take effect, the BBC and AP reported. The measures had been passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump in September.

What was suspended

• Trump issued an executive order on Friday night, 16 October, saying that suspending some of the measures was in the US national interest.
• According to the BBC, the law gave the president broad powers to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas, most significantly China and India, and included sanctions on senior Russian figures including Vladimir Putin, Russian financial institutions and the so-called “shadow fleet” of tankers.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the suspension is a 60-day pause so the administration can analyse the possible impact on the US and global economy, the BBC reported.

Reactions

• Volodymyr Zelensky said the US had decided to “completely disregard” the law, which was “supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end”. “The decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me… It definitely helps only the Russians,” he wrote on X, according to Reuters. He said he expects more US sanctions relief.
• Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev called the order “an important and truly historic moment”, saying the sanctions would have caused “serious damage” to the US and global market.
• Criticism came from both parties. Democratic Congressman Don Beyer accused Trump of capitulating to Moscow. Republican senators Ted Cruz (who called it a mistake), John Cornyn (“reckless”) and Thom Tillis (“beyond irresponsible”) also objected, the BBC reported.

Context

Relations between Washington and Kyiv have frayed since the US agreed last week to import Russian diesel to lower fuel prices, which have soared during the Iran war. The suspension came as Russia carried out what Zelensky called one of its largest strikes on Ukraine’s energy system.