According to a report by Reuters on October 17th, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy criticized US President Trump on social media X account. He said that Trump announced the exemption of certain measures before the new round of sanctions against Russia took effect, calling this decision 'wrong'.
"Sanctions relief will continue. In my view, the diesel agreement and the measures related to the "Grey Area Law" are not a final endpoint. Unfortunately, this is how things are." Zelensky said.
Zelenskyy mentioned that the late American Republican Senator Lindsey Graham had always supported Ukraine and actively pushed for increased U.S. sanctions against Russia. He thanked both parties in the U.S. Congress for their previous support of the related legislation.
Zelenskyy specifically released a photo of Lindsey Graham on that day.
Now, I have decided to overturn all of this, and to stop everything that is in the way. From my point of view, it was an error to do so. Zelensky stated that this "will only benefit the Russians" and would strengthen Russia's desire to continue attacking, which obviously will not stop this conflict."
Zelensky also said that he hopes Trump can persuade Putin to stop attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure. However, neither restricting Ukraine's counterattacks against Russia, nor lifting sanctions against Russia, can achieve this goal.
Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the 16th, exempting several sanctions, restrictions, and tariff measures under the Graham Law on grounds of conforming with U.S. national interests. The measures were originally scheduled to take effect on October 18th, including punitive tariffs against Russian energy trade and related importing countries. The sanctions implemented under other executive orders are not affected by this decision.
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev welcomed Trump's decision, calling it "a truly historical moment."
