Politics

Trump Throws Lifeline To Russian Energy Buyers Days Before Lindsey Graham-Backed Sanctions Take Effect

[Wikimedia Commons/Public/David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA, CC BY 2.0, <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en>]

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday intending to waive multiple sanctions on Russian energy importers amid a push to lower diesel prices.

The waiver nullifies the recently signed Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act’s 100% tariff on the five largest importers of Russian fossil fuels before the law — named after the late Republican South Carolina senator and Trump ally who died suddenly in July — takes effect Sunday. The move, which provides notice to Congress, follows Trump announcing Oct. 9 an agreement with Russia to import millions of diesel barrels into U.S. and global markets amid a spike in global fuel prices.

The order also waived the Graham Act’s 500% tariffs on Russian goods until senior Trump administration officials “determine that further action is appropriate” as they monitor countries that import Russian energy or evade U.S. sanctions.

“President Trump has been clear that he wants to see this brutal war come to an end,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “As talks continue, this Act provides the President with additional authorities to pursue a peaceful resolution. Enforcing the sanctions provisions now would impede ongoing U.S. efforts to negotiate a durable and comprehensive peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. The President retains the ability to exercise these authorities at any time if he determines that doing so would advance national interests.”

A White House official also said in a statement obtained by the DCNF that the president “welcomes this historic tariff and sanctions authority, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, that also gives him the necessary flexibility and negotiating power needed to negotiate a peace deal” and “has submitted to Congress certifications and a report that these waivers are in the national interests of the United States.”

Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, praised the waiver in an X post Saturday.

“The Trump administration’s suspension of the Graham Act is an important and truly historic moment,” Dmitriev wrote. “Economic cooperation between Russia and the United States serves the interests of both nations, contributes to global economic stability, and lays the foundation for building trust and achieving lasting peace.”

The US-Russia economic dialogue and peacemaking efforts will continue. 🕊️

Some thoughts on suspending some provisions of the Graham Act 👇 https://t.co/lzjwdwFzxJ

— Kirill Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) October 17, 2026

The national average price of a barrel of diesel was $6.33 at the time of writing, up from the 2025 average of $3.64, according to AAA.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, criticized the waiver in an X post Saturday.

“At a time when the Russians have carried out such a massive attack on our energy sector, a decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end,” Zelenskyy wrote. “This Act could have helped enormously – and still can! But it needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters.”

Yesterday, the Russians carried out one of their largest attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector – more than 15 critical power generation and transmission facilities were targeted across different regions of Ukraine. Restoration work is ongoing, with all necessary services and all available resources of Ukrainian energy companies involved. I thank everyone working practically nonstop to restore power.

The most difficult situation was in Lutsk, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Shepetivka, Slavuta, and Netishyn. Energy facilities in the Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipro, and other regions were also hit. The Russians have scaled up their anti-energy operation and are trying to stretch our reserves and repair capabilities as thin as possible. Between 7 p.m. yesterday and 7 a.m. today alone, more than 320 jet-powered and gasoline-powered “shaheds,” along with loitering munitions, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, were used against our energy sector, our cities, and our communities. And although our warriors are shooting down a significant number of them, the sheer scale and unrelenting pace of Russia’s strikes, specifically against our energy sector, are unfortunately having severe consequences.

It is important that our European partners have already prepared new support packages for Ukraine. I am grateful to them for this. And it is important that everyone in America also sees what is really happening. At a time when the Russians have carried out such a massive attack on our energy sector, a decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end. This Act could have helped enormously – and still can! But it needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters.

Russia is trying to cause a blackout in Ukraine – right before winter. Russia is trying to leave millions of our people without electricity and heating. Pressure is needed to stop this. A U.S. sanctions blackout, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin – all of this only encourages him to keep attacking. We must not give up ground. We must keep trying to end the war. To end it, not give Putin every reason to continue it indefinitely. I thank everyone who is truly fighting for peace and helping Ukraine!

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 17, 2026

Trump’s waiver comes after he criticized Zelenskyy for targeting Russian fuel refineries during the Russo-Ukrainian War.

“We said, ‘You can do whatever you want to Russia, [but] don’t hit the refineries because that’s a world problem that’s caused,'” Trump told reporters Oct. 10. “And he wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmer, our ranchers, with diesel fuel because Russia supplies a large portion of the diesel fuel throughout the world.”

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office and Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

Editor’s note: This report was updated with a comment from the White House.