Trump waives Russia-related sanctions before they even kick in as Ukraine ties worsen

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

US President Donald Trump has waived a further slate of sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel sales, days before they were to take effect under a bill he signed into law last month.

The waiver announced in an executive order Friday comes as Trump increasingly feuds with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and cracks appear in Washington’s support for Kyiv in its four-year-old war against its giant neighbor, deepening alarm among Washington’s European allies at the same time.

The White House has heaped pressure on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil facilities, as it seeks to ease oil prices ahead of midterm elections at home. Ukraine briefly acceded to the request, but has since resumed attacks - and Russia has continued to pound Ukraine’s energy infrastructure throughout the week.

The forestalled legislation would have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on – among other things – goods brought into the US from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas, the sale of which is crucial to funding the Kremlin’s war machine.

“I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time is in the national interests of the United States,” Trump said in the order released by the White House on Friday.

They were included in the Graham Act, legislation named after former Senator Lindsey Graham, a noted Russia hawk who died in July.

Trump blindsided European leaders last week when he struck a deal allowing Russian diesel exports – a move Zelensky said had left him feeling betrayed.

The deal also drew bipartisan blowback at home, as lawmakers warned that the Trump administration is defying a federal law meant to “prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine.”

The US president has blamed the rise in fuel prices on the Ukraine-Russia war, eager to deflect attention from his war in Iran which remains deeply unpopular with voters.

Ties between Ukraine and its its most important backer the United States have also been strained by the apparent withdrawal of US intelligence sharing, and restrictions to the Starlink satellite internet service .

凯文·拉马克/路透社

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在上个月签署的一项法案生效前几天，豁免了与俄罗斯化石燃料销售相关的一系列制裁措施。

周五通过行政命令宣布的这项豁免，正值特朗普与乌克兰总统泽连斯基的矛盾日益加剧之际，华盛顿对基辅在与这个邻国长达四年的战争中的支持也出现了裂痕，这同时也加剧了华盛顿欧洲盟友的担忧。

白宫向乌克兰施压，要求其停止对俄罗斯石油设施的袭击，以期在国内中期选举前降低油价。乌克兰曾短暂同意这一要求，但随后恢复了袭击——而俄罗斯本周也持续对乌克兰的能源基础设施进行猛烈攻击。

被搁置的立法将对从俄罗斯五大原油或天然气进口国进口到美国的商品征收高达 100% 的关税，而这些商品的销售对于资助克里姆林宫的战争机器至关重要。

特朗普在周五白宫发布的行政命令中表示：“我已经向国会提交了一份证明，证明此时颁发此类豁免符合美国的国家利益。”

它们被纳入了《格雷厄姆法案》，该法案以已故参议员林赛·格雷厄姆的名字命名，他是一位著名的对俄鹰派人物，于7月去世。

上周，特朗普出人意料地与欧洲领导人达成协议，允许俄罗斯出口柴油——泽连斯基表示，此举让他感到被背叛。

该协议在国内也遭到了两党人士的强烈反对，议员们警告说，特朗普政府正在违反一项旨在“防止美国资金资助普京对乌克兰发动的残酷战争”的联邦法律。

美国总统将燃油价格上涨归咎于乌克兰-俄罗斯战争，急于转移人们对其在伊朗发动的战争的注意力，这场战争仍然深受选民诟病。

由于美国明显停止与乌克兰分享情报，以及限制星链卫星互联网服务，乌克兰与其最重要的支持者美国之间的关系也变得紧张。