Donald Trump posted that he suspended several sanctions on Russia to allow peace negotiations to continue, while the Ukrainian leader said this was a mistake due to its consequences.
On 18 Oct 2026 GMT+7, Donald Trump, the U.S. president, posted on Truth Social that his decision to suspend multiple Russian sanctions originally set to take effect Monday was an effort to keep Moscow at the peace negotiation table.
"I am in the process of negotiating peace in the Russia-Ukraine war," Trump's post said, adding he "does not want to do anything foolish that would push Russia away from the negotiating table."
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed he spoke with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's senior special envoys, to prepare the next diplomatic steps, though there was no confirmation that peace talks were underway.
These sanctions were approved by Congress and signed into law by Trump himself last September, authorizing tariffs up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil and gas, as well as sanctions on banks, shipping fleets, senior Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin.
However, on Friday night (16 Oct), the U.S. president issued an administrative order suspending several sanctions, citing national interest, though many viewed this as an attempt to ease domestic energy price pressures ahead of the November midterm elections.
Zelensky told NBC News on Sunday that siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin was a "historic mistake."
Meanwhile, Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian representative, welcomed Trump's order as a "truly significant and historic moment," saying the sanctions would have caused "severe damage" to the U.S. and global markets.
Trump also claimed in his Truth Social post that Zelensky "does not want this war to end, and perhaps never has," adding that "he might have negotiated a better deal two years ago compared to what he is doing now."
However, Zelensky stated he has always wanted the fighting to stop and consistently emphasized that Putin is the one unwilling to make peace, ever since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The issue of more than 20% of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia remains a major obstacle to progress in negotiations.
Relations between Washington and Kyiv have deteriorated after the U.S. reached a controversial deal to import Russian diesel last week. Additionally, the U.S.-provided Starlink satellite internet used by Ukraine abruptly restricted internet speeds for drones, affecting battlefield operations and defense against Russian attacks.
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Source:bbc