Overview

Trump suspends Russia sanctions and reduces support for Ukraine

Trump suspends new sanctions against Russia for 60 days and thereby follows the controversial diesel deal with Moscow. The reduction of Starshield and Starlink for Ukraine increases tensions with Kyiv. President Zelenskyy calls the move wrong and demands stronger sanctions against Russia.

AegisSight Redaktion Published Text produced with AI support in the AegisSight Monitor, editorially reviewed.
  • 156 news items
  • 103 sources
Photo: Rob Young, CC BY 2.0, edited
Photo: Rob Young, CC BY 2.0, edited

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Latest developments with sources

  1. Turkish Energy Minister announced that he would bring part of the diesel from the Trump-Putin diesel deal to Turkey.

    Spiegel

  2. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Starshield is currently not available for Ukraine.

    FAZ

  3. President Zelenskyy confirmed that Starlink over Ukraine continues to be throttled.

    n-tv

  4. US President Trump suspended the new Russia sanctions from the Graham Act just before they were to take effect.

    Fox Business

  5. President Zelenskyy criticised the suspension of sanctions as wrong and called for new sanctions against Russia.

    Reuters Spectrum News

Summary

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on 17 October 2026 to suspend the new Russia sanctions under the Graham Act shortly before they were due to come into force 25 ABC News12 The Guardian17 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty21 Politico22 Fox Business. The move includes far-reaching sanctions and tariffs provided for under the law supported by Senator Lindsey Graham, according to reports from Fox Business and CNN 222 CNN. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the suspension as a 60-day pause to review the economic impacts 12. Trump justified the decision with the national interest 2 and according to NBC News described it as a very good decision 2.

The suspension comes a few days after a controversial diesel deal between the United States and Russia that was reported on by CNBC, DW and Facebook, among others 34 CNBC19 dw.com. CNBC placed the deal in an analysis piece whereby the agreement could open to Russia both financial benefits and strategic room for manoeuvre 4. The move was also preceded by public criticism by Trump of President Volodymyr Zelensky that led to heightened tension between Washington and Kyiv 318 i24NEWS24 The Japan Times.

Economy

In October 2026, US President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Russia regarding diesel deliveries to the USA with the stated goal of lowering fuel prices before the Midterm elections. The US administration then suspended Russian sanctions and issued licences for diesel imports until April 2027. The European Union responded with an unprecedented expansion of its sanctions list against the Russian military-industrial complex. However, experts from the International Energy Agency see no relaxation effect on the tight diesel market, whilst oil prices rose significantly by October. German transport associations complained about record diesel prices and additional costs, and rating agencies downgraded the ratings of French and German banks due to increased sanctions risks.

Read more in the deep dive on Economy. Trump's Diesel Deal with Putin Drives Energy Prices and Risks for Germany

Politics and Security

The Trump Administration imposed a throttling of the Starshield satellite service for Ukrainian armed forces, which impaired their drone and communications capabilities. President Trump publicly denied the measure, while other officials made differing statements. At the same time, Trump announced an alleged energy weapons ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and threatened to halt the weapons procurement system to prevent Kyiv from attacking Russian energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian government stated it was unaware of a ceasefire and announced it would continue its attacks. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom and France announced further support for Ukraine.

Read more in the deep dive on Politics and Security. Starshield blockade divides USA and Ukraine ahead of the midterms

Society and Science

Ahead of the US Midterms on 3 November 2026, polls show clear weakness among Republicans and declining approval for President Trump, whose domestic and foreign policy is rated as failed by a majority. In the USA, the desire for a swift end to the war is growing, whilst support for aid to Ukraine is declining and Democratic senators are asking questions about pauses in sanctions. In Germany and Europe, crises of trust in the USA and NATO are emerging, documented through polls and peace demonstrations. Research institutes and think tanks warn of forthcoming tensions between the USA and their European partners. The transatlantic relationship is experiencing a recalibration between shared responsibility and growing European independence.

Read more in the deep dive on Society and Science. Ahead of the midterms, Americans and Europeans lose faith in Trump

Disinformation

Russian disinformation campaigns such as Doppelgänger, Matrjoschka and Storm-1516 conduct intensive operations against western democracies, in particular against the US Midterms, German state parliament elections and the French election. These campaigns use AI-generated videos, clone European media portals with synthetic accounts and manipulate view counts through coordinated bot networks. In German-speaking areas, pro-Russian and far-right Telegram channels spread narratives in a coordinated manner that agitate against sanctions and promote a Trump peace plan with the involvement of the World Bank and BlackRock. The Rybar blog and the Russian-language Intel Slava channel operate from Berlin and support these operations. Research organisations demonstrate that Russian propaganda material infiltrates AI training data and that Meta continued to accept payments for Russian propaganda content despite sanctions.

Read more in the deep dive on Disinformation. Russian disinformation on sanctions, Diesel deal and Starshield

Ukraine Criticises Sanctions Suspension

Zelenskyy described the suspension of sanctions as wrong 225 CNBC and according to The Guardian spoke of a "gift" or a "reward" for Russian President Vladimir Putin 6. He called for support for new US sanctions against Russia 911 AP News23 Spectrum News. Additionally, Zelenskyy accused Washington of a "planned operation" against Ukraine and stated that Starlink would continue to be throttled over Ukrainian territory 29. Foreign Minister Rubio stated in response that Starshield was "currently not available for Ukraine" 26. The Franco-Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS reported on 18 October on Zelenskyy's condemnation of the suspension 14.

The left-liberal British newspaper The Guardian classified the deal in an editorial as "bleak and shabby, but not game-changing" and called on Kyiv's European allies to show the Kremlin that "American disloyalty" would not change the course of the war 1.

Bipartisan Criticism in the US Congress

The decision met with bipartisan criticism. US Republicans condemned Trump's suspension of the new Russia sanctions 28. Senator Lindsey Graham, namesake of the legislation, expressed criticism of Trump's move and stated according to The Hill that he looked forward to a conversation with the President 1315 The New York Times. Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer spoke of a "gift to Putin" 28. Democratic representative Gregory Meeks published a statement on the suspension 30.

International Reactions and Energy Shifts

The Turkish Energy Minister announced plans to bring some of the diesel from the US-Russian deal into Turkey. The Qatari state-aligned broadcaster Al Jazeera posed the question in a report of whether Europe would continue to purchase Russian gas despite the US easing of restrictions 16. The British think tank Chatham House, cited via an X account, raised the question in an analysis of whether Europe would provide the necessary support to Ukraine following the diesel deal (claim source, only reported with attribution) 7.

Time Magazine and the Japan Times assessed the consequences of the suspension for Ukraine 824 The Japan Times. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and EA WorldView reported on the refusal of the US government to implement the new sanctions 1720 EA WorldView. Vatican News reported on the suspension in the context of deadly attacks on Ukraine 10.

Russia reported a massive Ukrainian drone attack on St. Petersburg, and Russian authorities reported a fire in an oil storage facility in the St. Petersburg port 26. According to Zelenskyy, access to Starlink over Ukraine remains restricted 29.

Domestic Protests in the USA

In the USA, nationwide No-Kings protests against Trump took place on 18 October 2026. The midterm elections (Midterms) are scheduled for 3 November 2026.

Sources analysed for this situation, by number of news items

156 news items from 103 sources
Web 103EN 62DE 48UK 25FR 7RU 6ZH 3PL 3TR 2

This overview shows which sources the Monitor analysed for this situation. Being listed is neither an assessment nor an endorsement.

WebCNBC EN 7

News items from this source (7) news.google.com

WebDeutsche Welle DE 7

News items from this source (7) www.dw.com

WebFAZ DE 6

News items from this source (6) www.faz.net

WebAl Jazeera EN 5

News items from this source (5) www.aljazeera.com

Webn-tv Politik DE 4

News items from this source (4) www.n-tv.de

WebAtlantic Council (RSS) EN 4

News items from this source (4) www.atlanticcouncil.org

WebThe Guardian EN 3

News items from this source (3) news.google.com

WebORF DE 3

News items from this source (3) news.google.com

WebNPR EN 3

News items from this source (3) news.google.com

WebT-Online DE 3

News items from this source (3) news.google.com

WebWELT DE 3

News items from this source (3) news.google.com

WebSpiegel DE 2

News items from this source (2) www.spiegel.de

WebRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty EN 2

News items from this source (2) news.google.com

Webi24NEWS EN 2

News items from this source (2) news.google.com

WebReuters EN 2

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WebAP News EN 2

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WebThe New York Times EN 2

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WebVietnam.vn ZH/PL 2

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WebCNN EN 2

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WebCouncil on Foreign Relations EN 2

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WebSZ.de DE 2

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WebZDFheute DE 2

News items from this source (2) www.zdfheute.de

WebChatham House EN 2

News items from this source (2) news.google.com

Webdw.com EN/DE 2

News items from this source (2) news.google.com

WebBundesregierung DE 2

News items from this source (2) www.bundesregierung.de

WebTagesspiegel DE 2

News items from this source (2) news.google.com

WebHandelsblatt DE 2

News items from this source (2) www.handelsblatt.com

Webn-tv.de DE 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebBBC EN 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebThe Hill EN 1

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WebFacebook EN 1

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WebTime Magazine EN 1

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WebNBC News EN 1

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WebABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos EN 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

Webtagesschau DE 1

News items from this source (1) www.tagesschau.de

WebBloomberg Markets EN 1

News items from this source (1) www.bloomberg.com

WebHouse.gov EN 1

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WebVatican News EN 1

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WebSpectrum News EN 1

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WebEA WorldView EN 1

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WebThe Japan Times EN 1

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WebHromadske UK 1

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WebPolitico EN 1

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WebFox Business EN 1

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WebTIME EN 1

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WebBloomberg EN 1

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WebABC News EN 1

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WebCBS News EN 1

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WebRFE/RL EN 1

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WebLenta.ru RU 1

News items from this source (1) lenta.ru

WebTSN UK 1

News items from this source (1) tsn.ua

WebUkrainska Pravda EN 1

News items from this source (1) www.pravda.com.ua

WebEvrensel TR 1

News items from this source (1) evrensel.net

WebForbes Ukraine UK 1

News items from this source (1) forbes.ua

WebEnergetyka24 PL 1

News items from this source (1) energetyka24.com

WebNewsFlix DE 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebFOCUS online DE 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebGuardian Politics EN 1

News items from this source (1) www.theguardian.com

WebJoyn DE 1

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WebKyiv Independent EN 1

News items from this source (1) kyivindependent.com

WebCarnegie Endowment RU 1

News items from this source (1) carnegieendowment.org

WebManager Plus PL 1

News items from this source (1) managerplus.pl

WebSputnik China ZH 1

News items from this source (1) big5.sputniknews.cn

WebVerkehrsrundschau DE 1

News items from this source (1) www.verkehrsrundschau.de

WebBlick DE 1

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WebKurier DE 1

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WebMeduza RU 1

News items from this source (1) meduza.io

WebNews.by RU 1

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WebAydınlık TR 1

News items from this source (1) www.aydinlik.com.tr

WebXinhua ZH 1

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WebBerliner Zeitung DE 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebVesty.co.il RU 1

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WebFrance 24 EN 1

News items from this source (1) www.france24.com

WebVedomosti RU 1

News items from this source (1) www.vedomosti.ru

Webтеплодар.biz.ua UK 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebГал-Інфо UK 1

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WebZonebourse FR 1

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Webborgexpert.com UK 1

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Webtv5monde FR 1

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WebГолос України UK 1

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WebНовинарня UK 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebОстанній Бастіон UK 1

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WebForbes.ua UK 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebФакти ICTV UK 1

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WebСлово і Діло UK 1

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WebOBOZ.UA UK 1

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WebАпостроф UK 1

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WebІА Король Данило UK 1

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WebВарта 1 UK 1

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Webuatv.ua UK 1

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WebДзеркало тижня UK 1

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WebMY.UA UK 1

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WebНовини bigmir)net UK 1

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WebUAinfo UK 1

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WebРБК-Україна UK 1

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WebТелеканал Дім UK 1

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WebLIGA.net UK 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebThe European Times FR 1

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WebУкрінформ - актуальні новини України та світу UK 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebThe Times of Israël FR 1

News items from this source (1) news.google.com

WebAfrican Manager FR 1

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WebLa Nouvelle Tribune FR 1

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WebL'Express FR 1

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Cited sources

Footnotes from the report

  • [1] Guardian Politics https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/14/the-guardian-view-on-trumps ...
  • [2] CNN https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMif0FVX3lxTE5qaWtBMTJUektROUliNk4wT3NfUkp1 ...
  • [3] Facebook https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMi4AFBVV95cUxNSzZLeFBzZS11VElEaE1lcGw0X2s2 ...
  • [4] CNBC https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMid0FVX3lxTE4yUlZma192R0hueHd1UmlZMXFPTTNx ...
  • [5] ABC News https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiowFBVV95cUxNaExZUlBtbDZ3YXN2cGZ0Z0RMRVcx ...
  • [6] The Guardian https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMivwFBVV95cUxOcVJVYkJ2aENjcjBpOGo4YUNUS01p ...
  • [7] Chatham House https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMisAFBVV95cUxNNHNLZnVEbzdIaGpJUGNRckZIcGw1 ...
  • [8] Time Magazine https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinwFBVV95cUxOV21aTUJQWE4xclNZRExrLVpPNVFm ...
  • [9] NPR https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMickFVX3lxTE50MGlLYl9jeVFRcDdiaWJaSWtUdkpo ...
  • [10] Vatican News https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijgFBVV95cUxQUWM0U1pSZlpoaXBTT1dYNnhMTXZq ...
  • [11] AP News https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiowFBVV95cUxOUGNSbDZNbm5wY2VNaTRTRDZiMHFq ...
  • [12] The Guardian https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMi1AFBVV95cUxOX2luakxEaEVyTXo5MTktaTdoVzd4 ...
  • [13] The Hill https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMikAFBVV95cUxNYnA5ejQwSUVIWkVtS0JEaThKQ2hZ ...
  • [14] i24NEWS https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiggJBVV95cUxPQ2ItOFhQMWJKMGFnYkFGbC1KdE1r ...
  • [15] The New York Times https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijgFBVV95cUxQN0xxdGlST1lPUUZIZzZ1NGkwWS1k ...
  • [16] Al Jazeera https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiswFBVV95cUxOb2J3andQTW1UOC1yU3dPTUdSZHB2 ...
  • [17] Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiiAFBVV95cUxQNHl0eDF4NHNPcHZReGM0bmRvYkxF ...
  • [18] i24NEWS https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiywFBVV95cUxPOTQyMkVoNTk2Sy16UlF1SExUYTV3 ...
  • [19] dw.com https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMirgFBVV95cUxQeE9BaGZPMEhLNFBrMW1BTVd0T1Vw ...
  • [20] EA WorldView https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilwFBVV95cUxNT1R1ZVEzUW9oaXY3ZlMySHZxWVhf ...
  • [21] Politico https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMizwFBVV95cUxNb2tsZ2VhNUJDSGh1RHJ3WUdIZUli ...
  • [22] Fox Business https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMirAFBVV95cUxNM2hWeUNPZ1JiQ29zcmlfTWhvYjY0 ...
  • [23] Spectrum News https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMitwFBVV95cUxONklwVFg4SXplbXN6eWs0Ml9zVnk4 ...
  • [24] The Japan Times https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilAFBVV95cUxNdlM1MWlhSnBEUnZPV1R4QjNlMF9M ...
  • [25] CNBC https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiqwFBVV95cUxPUGhWanJQQmg3UlEwNlI3MDRGLWRx ...
  • [26] FAZ https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ukraine/ukraine-liveticker-rubio-starshield-i ...
  • [28] n-tv Politik https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Parteikollegen-geisseln-Trumps-Russland-Kurs-id314300 ...
  • [29] n-tv Politik https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Streit-zwischen-USA-und-Ukraine-Starlink-laut-Selensk ...
  • [30] House.gov https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiogFBVV95cUxOWk54eDcyRjh1QUkyU0ZoR3gtY2hU ...