Zelensky: Moscow's exemption from US sanctions is a reward for Putin

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump's decision to exempt Russia from sanctions imposed by Congress is a reward for his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a time when Moscow is intensifying its attacks on the energy sector.

Zelensky said on social media platforms, "Withholding US sanctions, easing pressure on the aggressor, and granting financial rewards to Putin, all of this only encourages him to continue the attacks."

In addition, Zelensky accused Russia of trying to plunge his country into darkness before winter arrives. "Russia is trying to cause a power outage in Ukraine, right before the winter. Russia is trying to leave millions of our people without electricity or heat," he said, calling on the allies to "exert pressure" on Moscow to put an end to this.

He also explained that Russia attacked more than 15 energy facilities in the western and central regions during the night.

“Russia has expanded the scope of its campaign against the energy grid, and is trying to drain Ukraine’s reserves and repair capacity to the maximum extent possible,” he said in a post on the Telegram application.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending the implementation of a package of sanctions and customs duties imposed on Russia under a law passed by Congress and signed last month, justifying the move as serving the “national interest” of the United States.

The executive order stipulated the suspension of the application of the sanctions, restrictions, and fees contained in what is known as the Lindsey Graham Act, which was aimed at tightening the stranglehold on the financial resources that finance the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump said in the executive order that he had provided Congress with certification that issuing this exemption at this time “serves the national interests of the United States.”

The law, which bears the name of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, stipulates the imposition of customs duties of up to 100 percent within 30 days on goods imported into the United States from the five largest countries importing Russian crude oil or gas. It also targets countries that buy Russian oil or gas or help Moscow evade sanctions.

The law targets the Russian energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as the so-called “shadow fleet” of Russian oil tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

Trump signed the Lindsey Graham Punishment of Russia and Iran Act of 2026 in mid-September, before issuing the current exemption days before a number of its measures took effect.