Two Days Before It Took Effect, Trump Waived Parts of the Graham Russia Sanctions Law. The Kremlin Called It Historic. Zelensky Called It a Reward for Putin.

On October 16 Trump signed an executive order waiving some of the sanctions, tariffs, and restrictions in the Lindsey Graham Russia and Iran sanctions law, Reuters reported. The law was two days from taking effect.

What the law does:

• Tariffs of up to 500% on imports from Russia
• Sanctions on senior Russian officials and Russian banks
• Sanctions on the shadow fleet, the tankers that carry Russian oil around Western restrictions

It also contains an exit. The president may waive some measures by certifying to Congress in writing that doing so serves the US national interest. Trump used that clause. The reports did not specify which measures the order covers.

Two Reactions

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy for economic affairs, called the waiver a truly significant and historic moment. Had the law taken effect as written, he argued, it would have hit the US economy and world markets first. US-Russian economic dialogue and peace efforts will continue, he said.

Zelensky saw the same move from the other side. Gaps in US sanctions, less pressure on the aggressor, and money for Putin, he wrote, will only encourage Russia to keep attacking. He urged European allies to keep up their own pressure on Moscow.

The Paperwork Behind the Diesel Deal

The waiver came with a second disclosure. The Treasury authorized trade in Russian diesel on October 9 — the same day as Trump’s call with Putin.

When Trump announced that Russia would ship 300,000 tons of diesel immediately and 500,000 more in November, the open question was whether Washington would lift its own restrictions on Russian petroleum products. It already had.

Eight Days

Put the eight days in order:

• October 9: The Putin call. Trump announces Russian diesel; the Treasury authorizes the trade.
• October 9–10: Trump says Ukraine needs a new leader.
• October 11: Trump declares an “ENERGY CEASEFIRE” that Moscow says it never agreed to.
• October 15: Ukraine strikes the Ryazan refinery. On Newsmax, Trump says he doesn’t much like Zelensky and finds him harder to deal with than Putin.
• October 16: The sanctions waiver.

The Senator Who Isn’t There

The law was led by Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who died suddenly in July. A Republican senator for more than two decades and a Trump ally, he visited Kyiv to meet Zelensky shortly before his death and was the center of the Senate’s hard line on Russia. Analysts say that without him, the administration has felt free to slow the law down in favor of practical gains.

A month ago Trump signed a law built to cut Russia’s oil income. In eight days, every lever has moved the other way. Russian diesel is licensed. Ukraine is told it needs a new leader. Ukraine’s refinery strikes are called a disgrace while Russia’s 360-drone attacks go unmentioned in the president’s reported comments. And now the law’s penalties are partly waived before they begin. The motive has been the same at each step: fuel prices before November 3. The difference is that the diesel license and the waiver are policy, not words. They change who can buy Russian oil, ship it, and finance it, and on what terms. That is what Dmitriev means by historic.

The Other Side

Congress wrote the waiver into the law, so using it is what the law allows. Tariffs of up to 500% would have reached far beyond Russia, hitting American importers and trading partners, and some of that cost would have landed on US prices weeks before an election. The waiver is partial and can be reversed, which keeps it available as leverage if Moscow stalls on a peace deal. And Europe’s own sanctions on Russia are unchanged.