Breaking News · October 17, 2026, 9:20 AM CDT
As reported by NBC News:
President Donald Trump waived sweeping new sanctions against Russia passed by Congress, arguing in an executive order Friday that the move “is in the national interests of the United States.”
Trump had signed the legislation, named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., just last month. The bill took aim at Russia’s largest buyers of oil and gas, allowing the president to impose tariffs on goods from those countries, which may include China and India.
Passed with bipartisan support, the bill was intended to target Russia’s revenue streams as the country continues to wage its war against Ukraine. Suspending the sanctions provides Russia a financial lifeline.
Trump’s decision to put a hold on the sanctions package comes after he announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week to release hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel fuel onto the global market as fuel prices soar.[1]
Video: Sky News, October 17, 2026 — “Trump pauses major sanctions on Russia… days after making deal to buy diesel from Putin | Mornings”. Matched to this story by shared names and terms in its title; watch the original for full context.
On the record
President Donald Trump waived sweeping new sanctions against Russia passed by Congress, arguing in an executive order Friday that the move “is in the national interests of the United States.” Trump had signed the legislation, named for the late Sen.[1]
“Unfortunately, it seems to me that this cannot stop Putin; on the contrary, he feels joy and happiness that he has such support.” In a social media message earlier, Zelenskyy described Trump’s latest actions as a “reward” that would embolden the Russian president.[2]
The numbers in the reporting
How 5 outlets are reporting it
- Zelenskyy says Trump is ‘rewarding Putin’ as he waives new Russia sanctions passed by Congress (NBC News)
- Trump waives new Russia sanctions in the "national interests" (Axios)
- Zelenskyy says Trump’s lifting of sanctions on Russia will intensify war in Ukraine (The Guardian)
- Trump waives Russia-related sanctions before they even kick in as Ukraine ties worsen (CNN)
- Trump issues order to bypass Russian sanctions in bill named for late Lindsey Graham (Politico)
What The Guardian reports
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Donald Trump’s decision to roll back sanctions on Russia will intensify the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, as Moscow launched one of its worst strikes yet on Ukraine’s power plants in an attempt to black out the country’s cities before winter.
The Ukrainian president also said he expected the Trump administration to lift more sanctions against Russia in the future and called for Europe to establish its own negotiations with Moscow as the US has sought better ties and business deals with the Kremlin.
“Unfortunately, the lifting of sanctions will continue, and I believe that the ‘diesel deal’ is the first step,” said Zelenskyy on Saturday.[2]
What the official record says
Whitehouse says, in its own words:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Lindsey O.[3]
Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (22 U.S.C. 10802 et seq.) (Graham Act), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby determine and order: Section 1.[3]
the House site (mccaul) says, in its own words:
President: As Russia prepares to wage a fifth winter campaign against Ukraine, the United States has an opportunity to reinvigorate peace efforts by placing maximum pressure on Vladimir Putin and the governments and networks that finance his war.[4]
We are particularly concerned by Treasury's October 9 issuance of General License 135, which authorizes transactions involving Russian-origin diesel, including imports into the United States.[4]
the House site (costa) says, in its own words:
“As Russia prepares to wage a fifth winter campaign against Ukraine, the United States has an opportunity to reinvigorate peace efforts by placing maximum pressure on Vladimir Putin and the governments and networks that finance his war,” the lawmakers wrote.[5]
Earlier on Kemetic Minds
- Trump Suspended Sanctions Against Russia That Were Promoted by Lindsey Graham — Bloomberg (2026-10-17)
How to Verify This Yourself
Each headline above links to that outlet’s own report. The quoted passages come from the first two of those reports that could be retrieved in full.
References
- NBC News. Zelenskyy says Trump is ‘rewarding Putin’ as he waives new Russia sanctions passed by Congress. ↩
- The Guardian. Zelenskyy says Trump’s lifting of sanctions on Russia will intensify war in Ukraine. ↩
- Whitehouse. Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 – The White House Primary (official source) ↩
- the House site (mccaul). McCaul, Costa, Colleagues Urge "Full and Faithful" Implementation of Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act | Congressman Michael Primary (official source) ↩
- the House site (costa). Rep. Costa Leads Bipartisan Push for Full Implementation of Graham Russia Sanctions Law | Congressman Jim Costa Primary (official source) ↩
Investigative methodology: this story was selected because 5 separate news organizations were reporting it at the same time. The quoted text is verbatim from the cited reports; nothing is paraphrased or added. Produced by scripts/breaking_news_monitor.py, not a language model.
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