Trump defends Russia sanction waivers, slams Zelensky over attack on key oil terminal

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has defended sanction waivers for Russia, saying he wants to keep Moscow at the bargaining table and accusing his counterpart in Kyiv of not wanting to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump made the comments on Truth Social on Sunday in response to criticism of his decision to block numerous sanctions on Russia just days before they were due to take effect.

Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone attacks this year on Russia overnight on Saturday, hitting a key oil terminal in defiance of Trump’s demand that it stop hitting Russian energy infrastructure.

There have been growing tensions between Ukraine and the US in recent days, prompting fears in Kyiv it could lose essential support as it approaches another winter under relentless Russian attack.

Trump on Friday invoked a waiver exempting Russia from sweeping economic penalties mandated by the US Congress. President Volodymyr Zelensky later told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” the US siding with Russia would be a “historic mistake.”

Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday that he doesn’t want to do anything that will drive Russia away from negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, adding that he believes “great progress is being made.”

At the same time, he excoriated Zelensky, saying that he “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”

“I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” Trump wrote.

Despite this, the Ukrainian president said he spoke to US envoy, Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on Sunday as part of “nonstop communication” to work towards to goal of peace.

“We are doing everything on our part to make this happen, and to ensure that America’s position is strong and helps bring peace closer,” Zelensky posted on X.

But Ukraine is keeping up long-range strikes into Russia. Russia’s defense ministry said it shot down 1,015 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday over various parts of the country.

One target was the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, according to Russian authorities. The terminal can handle up to 12.5 million tons per year. Ukraine’s Fire Point company, which makes the drones used in the attack, said there was a fire on the terminal’s grounds following the strike.

A logistics center in St. Petersburg was also attacked, according to Ozon, a Russian distribution company, as well as a data center for the Russian VKontakte social media platform.

One person was killed and five wounded in the attacks, with residential homes damaged as well, according to local authorities.

Ukraine’s strikes come amid Zelensky’s deteriorating relationship with Trump, who last week called Kyiv’s strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace.”

A week ago, Trump said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure, as the White House tries to relieve pressure on oil and diesel prices ahead of crucial midterm elections.

Neither Kyiv nor Moscow acknowledged such an agreement. Ukraine briefly halted such attacks, but has since resumed them — while Russia never stopped pounding Ukraine’s energy plants and cities.

Eleven people were killed and nearly 50 injured across Ukraine in Russian missile and drone attacks in the 24 hours to Sunday morning, according to Ukrainian authorities, including what they called a massive attack on energy facilities in the Odesa region.

“Since the American President announced the energy ceasefire a week ​ago, Russia has ​deliberately ‌attacked ​Ukraine’s energy and oil and gas sectors ⁠76 times,” Zelensky ​wrote on X Sunday.

Trump has waived sanctions on imports of Russian diesel and on Friday invoked a waiver exempting Russia from sweeping economic penalties mandated by the US Congress, sparking criticism even from Republicans.

In an interview Sunday with “Meet the Press,” Zelensky said the waiver strengthened Putin’s war against Ukraine while Moscow was failing on the battlefield. He said it was “more support for Russian aggression.”

Zelensky also repeated that the Ukrainian military’s access to the Starlink system to guide its short-range and battlefield drones was still curtailed.

“It was a message from the American government” to limit the speed at which Ukrainian drones could fly, Zelensky said.

The Trump administration has denied it ordered the service restricted.

Zelensky said that intelligence sharing had been blocked by the US side for three days during ballistic missile attacks but had since been restored. US satellite networks have been critical in providing the Ukrainian military with warnings of incoming missiles.

A Ukrainian source told CNN there was no early warning before a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on Sunday. This is the third time in a week there has not been an early warning.

Zelensky was also asked about Trump’s comments that he was more difficult to deal with than Russian President Vladimir Putin and replied it was “better to have partners who are very open and clear than to have those who are killers, even with a smile on their face.”

Zelensky said he wanted to trust Trump and hoped he would change his attitude to Putin.

Asked if Trump was an ally of Ukraine, Zelensky said: “I hope so.”