Trump suspends new sanctions on Russia, U.S.-Ukraine relations worsen

U.S. President Trump signed an executive order on the 16th to suspend the implementation of the Russian sanctions bill on the grounds that it was "in the national interest." This move has further worsened the recently tense relations between the United States and Ukraine, and also deepened the outside world's concerns about Trump's gradual move toward Moscow.

The "Graham Act", named after Republican Senator Graham who died in July, authorizes the U.S. government to impose sanctions on the Russian energy and defense sectors, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, and the "shadow fleet" that helps Russia circumvent Western sanctions. It also allows the imposition of tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and natural gas. The bill was signed into law by Trump last month.

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Originally, 100% tariffs were levied on Russian oil buyers

Trump told Congress that the moratorium was in the national interest, but gave no further reasons. The decision came two days before the bill was scheduled to be implemented. Putin's special envoy Dmitriev issued a message on the 17th, praising this as "an important and truly historic moment" that will shift the relationship between the two countries from sanctions and confrontation to dialogue and cooperation.

Ukrainian President Zelensky issued a statement on the 17th, criticizing the U.S. decision for completely ignoring the Graham Act and missing the opportunity to exert effective pressure on Russia and promote the end of the war. However, he still hopes that the sanctions can be restored in the future.

Democratic Senator Blumenthal, who co-authored the bill, criticized in a statement that Trump's suspension of sanctions against Russia betrayed not only Ukraine, but also the majority of the American people, members of Congress, and European allies. It is also not helpful to national security. The only effect is to flatter Putin.

Cross-party members of the U.S. House of Representatives drafted a bill on the 16th to try to prevent Trump from resuming imports of Russian diesel. Bacon, the only Republican to join the proposal, compared Trump to former British Prime Minister Chamberlain who adopted a policy of appeasement against Nazi Germany in the 1930s. However, this legislative action has its difficulties. First, even if it is passed and sent to the White House for signature, it may be rejected by Trump; second, members of Congress are busy sprinting for mid-term elections, and Republican caucus leaders have not supported it.

Ukraine loses Star Shield authority, Trump denies ties

In response to the clampdown on Ukraine's use of the space exploration company "SpaceX" military version of the satellite service "StarShield", SpaceX CEO Musk stated that the decision-making power rests with the U.S. government and the president. A Reuters report revealed that the restriction order came from within the White House. In response, Trump clarified on the 16th that Ukraine's loss of Star Shield authority had nothing to do with him or Musk, emphasizing that he had a "good relationship" with Zelensky.

European leaders met with Zelensky on the 16th to demonstrate their solidarity stance of continuing to support Ukraine. European Council President Costa said that now is not the time to withdraw support for Ukraine and relax sanctions on Russia. Instead, we should increase assistance and increase pressure on Russia. The EU is currently disbursing the 90 billion euros in loans that Ukraine needs next year in installments. Zelenskiy warned that Ukraine's economy has been severely damaged by Russian air strikes and may face a huge financial black hole. He urged Europe to supply more Patriot missiles and provide an additional 70 billion euros in aid next year.

Ukraine's urgent financial needs have led the European Union to once again evaluate the idea of ​​using Russia's 200 billion euros in frozen assets to inject Ukraine into the country. Latvian Prime Minister Kulbergs said, "The frozen assets are here. They should be used to support Ukraine."