Trump Waives Russia Sanctions He Signed Last Month — SkimNews
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- Trump signed an executive order Friday night waiving the "Lindsey Graham Act" sanctions on Russia just two days before the law's own implementation deadline, citing U.S. national interest without elaborating.
- Zelensky called the waiver "unfortunate" but avoided directly criticizing Trump, urging supporters to lobby for the sanctions and thanking Democrats and Republicans who backed the bill; he separately disclosed that Kyiv is investigating sudden Starlink speed restrictions and that Ukraine's negotiator met Friday with Jared Kushner on arranging a possible three-way summit with Putin.
- Russia launched a "massive" overnight barrage on Ukraine's energy grid targeting 15-plus sites with four cruise missiles and 332 drones — most intercepted — killing at least four people including an ambulance driver in Kherson region.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the White House did not order the Starlink slowdown, adding that Ukraine lacks access to the Pentagon-owned "Starshield" military-grade system it has requested for deep strikes inside Russia.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who co-drafted the bill, said the waivers "have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin," as the waiver came one week after Trump agreed to buy Russian diesel.
- Romania's air force scrambled two F-16s and shot down two Russian "Geran family" jet-powered drones over its Black Sea territorial waters, the latest in a series of airspace incursions blamed on Moscow.
Why it matters: Trump waived bipartisan sanctions legislation he personally signed only a month earlier, just days after striking a controversial diesel deal with Moscow — moves Sen. Blumenthal framed as "sucking up to Vladimir Putin" while Russian missiles and drones battered Ukrainian energy sites and killed civilians hours after the order. The Starlink speed cap, which Zelensky characterized as a "planned operation," may be degrading Ukraine's drone warfare regardless of Washington's denial of responsibility.
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