1 hour agoUkraine’s Zelenskyy says Russia sanctions relief only fuels Moscow’s ‘desire to keep killing people’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that President Donald Trump’s move to waive many Russian-related sanctions and tariffs under a new law backed by late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham “seems wrong to me.”
Trump said Friday that the waiver was in the “national interests of the United States.” The president’s move comes after the administration reached a diesel release deal with Russia in a bid to ease the strain on global energy prices during the U.S.-Iran war. Zelenskyy also has been critical of that agreement.
“Sanctions relief will continue. I think the diesel deal and the move regarding the Lindsey Graham Act are not the end of it. Unfortunately,” the Ukrainian leader said on X on Saturday.
“It’s unfortunate because we all had great respect for Lindsey. He devoted his life to America. We had an excellent relationship with him. And shortly before the tragedy, Lindsey was in Ukraine. He always supported us very strongly and pushed for as much assistance to Ukraine as possible,” Zelenskyy continued.
“It’s difficult without him, I’ll be honest. I want to thank both Democrats and Republicans who supported his bill. That was a major victory: this truly bipartisan support. And now, the decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me,” Zelenskyy also said. “And it definitely helps only the Russians. It only fuels their satisfaction and their desire to keep killing people. This certainly does not stop the war.”
FOX Business’ Brie Stimson and Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this post.