{"id":9541,"date":"2026-10-18T01:21:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T01:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=9541"},"modified":"2026-10-18T01:21:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T01:21:22","slug":"zelenskyy-urges-support-for-new-us-sanctions-on-russia-put-on-hold-by-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=9541","title":{"rendered":"Zelenskyy urges support for new US sanctions on Russia put on hold by Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>6 Minute, 24 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\"Ukraine's<\/picture>
\n

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Oct. 16. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

KYIV, Ukraine \u2014 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged supporters Saturday to speak out in favor of new U.S. sanctions against Russia, hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order putting the sweeping restrictions on hold.<\/p>\n

The White House decision has heightened fears that Ukraine could be left exposed to Moscow\u2019s escalating attacks as winter approaches.<\/p>\n

Overnight Russian attacks killed at least four people, including an ambulance driver, and wounded dozens, officials said. Ukrainian drones killed a woman in a Russian border region and disrupted flights at Moscow\u2019s airports, according to Russian authorities.<\/p>\n

In a social media statement, Zelenskyy called Trump\u2019s decision unfortunate but avoided directly criticizing the U.S. leader despite deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington in recent days.<\/p>\n

\u201cA decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end,\u201d Zelenskyy wrote. \u201cThis Act could have helped enormously \u2013 and still can! But it needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

He separately thanked Democrats and Republicans who supported the legislation, saying that blocking it would encourage Russia to continue killing and that limiting Ukraine\u2019s ability to retaliate would not bring peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cNevertheless, we very much hope \u2014 and I personally hope \u2014 that the president of the United States of America will do everything possible to make (Russian President Vladimir) Putin stop the killing, stop the attacks on our energy infrastructure, and end this war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Asked about contacts with Washington, Zelenskyy said Ukraine\u2019s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, had met Friday with U.S. presidential envoy Jared Kushner, Trump\u2019s son-in-law.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy said the U.S. was working to arrange a three-way meeting involving him, Trump and Putin, potentially in the Middle East, Europe or the United States.<\/p>\n

Critics say Trump’s decision helps Putin<\/p>\n

Named after late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham , the legislation had sought to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fueling Russia’s 4 1\/2-year-old war against Ukraine . The bill had sought to sanction Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving.<\/p>\n

Trump personally signed the legislation just last month and his move came just two days before a deadline set in the law itself for its implementation. Trump told Congress that the pause was in the national interest but gave no further details.<\/p>\n

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who co-drafted the bill, criticized Trump’s move, saying the president was turning his back on \u201cthe majority of Americans, their representatives in both houses of Congress, and our European allies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin,\u201d Blumenthal said.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s unexpected decision comes a week after he had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down global energy prices, despite that potentially hurting Ukraine. Republicans and Democrats alike say the purchase will help Russia execute its war against Ukraine \u2014 without making a difference to global fuel prices, which are elevated mostly due to Trump\u2019s war on Iran.<\/p>\n

Starlink restrictions were planned, Zelenskyy says<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zelenskyy said that Kyiv was investigating sudden speed restrictions on Ukraine\u2019s use of Starshield , the military-grade version of SpaceX\u2019s Starlink satellite internet service, which is the backbone of Ukraine\u2019s drone operations and communication.<\/p>\n

The restrictions, imposed without warning early Thursday, cut the internet data connection when a communication terminal moves faster than 160 kph (100 mph). The cap forced Ukrainian drones to fly slower than usual, making it easier for Russian weapons to target or evade them.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy said that there were no similar restrictions in European Union countries and that they apply only to Ukraine. \u201cIn other words, this is a planned operation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It was unclear who was responsible. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said this week that the U.S. government owns and controls the system, with decisions about its use resting with the U.S. military and, ultimately, the president. The Pentagon has not answered questions from The Associated Press about the restrictions.<\/p>\n

Trump told reporters Friday that he did not order restrictions on the system. He also doubted that the disruption came from Musk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know if it was anybody, but it wasn\u2019t me, and I don\u2019t think it was Elon,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd from what I understand, it\u2019s the same as it\u2019s always been.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the White House was not behind the reduction in service to SpaceX\u2019s Starlink.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t deliberate,\u201d he told reporters before departing for Uzbekistan. \u201cWe had nothing to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States, nobody ordered that Starlink speed to be slowed down,\u201d Rubio, who also serves as Trump\u2019s national security adviser, added. \u201cIt sort of happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubio, though, said Ukraine does not have access to the Pentagon-owned military-grade Starshield system.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Ukraine wants access to Starshield. They do not have Star Shield now. They\u2019ve asked for access to it in order to conduct deep strikes inside of Russia. They do not have access to it at this moment. Those are two different products,” he said.<\/p>\n

Kyiv reports a \u2018massive\u2019 energy strike<\/strong><\/p>\n

Moscow carried out a massive strike on Ukraine\u2019s energy infrastructure, targeting more than 15 sites across the country, Zelenskyy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sheer scale and unrelenting pace of Russia\u2019s strikes, specifically against our energy sector, are unfortunately having severe consequences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s air force said it intercepted all four of Russia’s cruise missiles and most of the 332 attack drones it fired overnight.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s heavy bombardment of the power grid ahead of winter has been an annual feature of the war, aimed at wearing down Ukraine\u2019s appetite for the fight by denying civilians heat and running water. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for more attacks in the coming months.<\/p>\n

Russian attacks killed three people in the Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, Vadym Liakh, head of the city military administration, said Saturday. A Russian strike also killed an ambulance driver in Ukraine\u2019s Kherson region, head of the local military administration Yaroslav Shanko said. The strike, which used guided bombs, wounded at least 33 others, he said.<\/p>\n

Romania downs 2 drones over Black Sea<\/strong><\/p>\n

Romania\u2019s Ministry of National Defense said Saturday that its pilots had shot down two drones over the country\u2019s territorial waters in the Black Sea.<\/p>\n

Two F-16s were scrambled at 5:43 p.m. local time after radar systems \u201cdetected a group of aerial targets moving southwest, approximately 120 kilometers east of Snake Island,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n

The drones entered the NATO member\u2019s airspace around 6 p.m. and were shot down minutes later.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth aerial targets were identified as drones and were shot down over Romania\u2019s territorial waters,\u201d the ministry said. It later identified the drones as jet-powered and from \u201cGeran family,\u201d which are types of drones Moscow has used in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The incident follows a spate of drone attacks on at least seven cargo vessels off the Black Sea coasts of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria in October.<\/p>\n

Scores of drones have crossed into Romanian airspace over the past two years, with officials attributing many of the incursions to Russia. Romania first shot down drones this year , marking its first such action since Moscow invaded neighboring Ukraine.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Oct. 16. AP-Yonhap KYIV, Ukraine \u2014 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged supporters Saturday to speak out in favor of new U.S. sanctions against Russia, hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order putting the sweeping restrictions on hold. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-korea","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t