Trump orders a moratorium on the implementation of the "Graham Act"; Russia praises it as "historic"; Zelensky laments that it fuels Putin's arrogance

In response to US President Trump's order to suspend the implementation of large-scale sanctions and tariffs on Russian energy revenue, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised this as a "historic moment" on the 17th. Ukrainian President Zelensky said that this move will only embolden Putin's arrogance.

Trump signed an executive order on the 16th to suspend the implementation of the "Lindsey Graham Act" (Lindsey Graham Act), which he personally signed into law last month and was originally scheduled to take effect two days later. The law, named after U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who supported Ukraine and died suddenly in July this year, targets Russia's energy and defense sectors, Putin himself, and oil tankers in the "shadow fleet" used by Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions in order to more quickly cut off the flow of money used by Russia to attack Ukraine.

In response, Zelensky, who called on allies to continue to put pressure on Russia, posted on social media on the 17th that Trump's decision not to impose new sanctions on Moscow will only fuel Putin's arrogance... "The United States suspends sanctions, reduces pressure on aggressors, and gives Putin financial benefits - all of this will only encourage him (referring to Putin) to continue attacking (Ukraine)."

In order to lower global energy prices and save the Republican Party's election, Trump just recently announced that the United States has reached an agreement with Russia on diesel exports in what seems to be a gradual move towards Russia in the Russia-Ukraine war. Zelensky criticized this move as a gift to Putin at the time, but Trump refused to be outdone, saying that Ukraine's attack on Russian refineries has pushed up oil prices, and that Zelensky is "more difficult to deal with" than Putin.

On the same day, Putin's special envoy Dmitriev said on social media that once the "Graham Act" is implemented, it will be the first to severely damage the U.S. economy and global markets...The Trump administration's decision to suspend the implementation of the law "is an important and truly historic moment."