Washington/Moscow/Kyiv. By suspending new sanctions against Russia, US President Donald Trump is putting further pressure on Ukraine and pushing forward his rapprochement with Moscow. The sanctions package against Russia signed by Trump just a month ago was intended to put more pressure on the Kremlin because of its war of aggression against Ukraine. The tariffs provided for therein are now suspended until further notice, according to a decree published on Friday (local time). The US President justified his actions by saying that this was “in the national interest” of the USA at this point in time. There was praise for the move from Moscow - but there was criticism from Kiev.
The law stipulated that the tariffs and sanctions enshrined in the text would automatically take effect 30 days after signing - unless the President decided otherwise within that time. Trump suspended the tariffs shortly before the end of the deadline set by Congress.
Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj criticized the suspension of planned US sanctions. Easing the pressure on Moscow and financial rewards would only encourage Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to strike further, he said in a post on Telegram. He complained that Trump had decided to take the step - one day after one of Moscow's most massive strikes against the Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
“More than 15 key power generation and transmission facilities in different regions of Ukraine were attacked,” he said. Moscow has expanded its attacks and is trying to destroy the country's resources. According to authorities, there were deaths and injuries. Hundreds of thousands of people were therefore without electricity or heating.
“Russia is trying to cause a blackout in Ukraine just before winter,” Zelensky said. The country wants to deprive millions of people of electricity and heating. “We need pressure to stop this,” he demanded. Trump could also reinstate the sanctions law. “But it really has to take effect,” emphasized Zelensky. Trump had previously agreed to supply diesel from Russia with Putin, regardless of existing sanctions, thereby drawing criticism from Zelensky.
After the US sanctions package against Russia was stopped, geopolitics expert Klemens Fischer sees Ukraine in a desperate situation. “This is definitely the darkest moment for the Ukrainians in this war so far,” the professor of international relations and geopolitics at the University of Cologne told Deutschlandfunk.
Right from the start, Trump did not support Kiev as much as Western states would have liked. But now he is behaving even more radically, he said, with a view to the midterm elections on November 3rd and the high energy costs as a result of the Iran war that Trump started with Israel.
Even if Trump turns his attention to Ukraine again after the midterms, the coming weeks could cause long-term damage, warns Fischer. Ukraine is almost 100 percent dependent on the USA for air defense.
In contrast, Moscow, as expected, praised the US decision as an “important and truly historic moment.” The step promotes dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation, Kremlin representative responsible for international economic cooperation Kirill Dmitriyev said on Telegram.
He explained: “This law (...) could have effectively brought economic relations between Russia and the USA to a complete standstill and, above all, caused serious damage to the American economy and world markets.” In contrast to sanctions and confrontation, economic cooperation between Russia and the US contributes to the stability of the global economy, he said.
This is the basis for strengthening trust and achieving lasting peace, said Dmitriyev. As a Kremlin negotiator, he is also negotiating with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about an end to the Russian invasion.
In addition to direct sanctions against Russian politicians and companies, the law, which has now been shelved, also provides for punitive measures against Russian oil and gas exports, which Moscow uses to finance its war of aggression. The law would, among other things, authorize Trump to impose sanctions on the five largest buyers of Russian energy. The same applies to the five countries that help Russia the most to circumvent energy sanctions. This could further strain US trade relations with economic heavyweights China and India, which purchase large quantities of Russian oil.
The sanctions law bears the name of Senator and Trump confidant Lindsey Graham, who died in July and was instrumental in pushing it forward. Many Democrats had criticized the bill for giving Trump too much freedom in imposing or suspending sanctions.
