President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving sanctions for Russia set forth under an act named after the late republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, sparking criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. lawmakers.
The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 gave the president the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five biggest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas. It also directed Trump to increase duties on Russian imports.
He had 30 days to either put these into place, or waive them.
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“I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time is in the national interests of the United States,” Trump said in the order.
On Saturday, Zelenskyy said on X such sanctions relief “helps only the Russians” in their yearslong war against Ukraine.
“It only fuels their satisfaction and their desire to keep killing people,” he said. “This certainly does not stop the war.”
It’s especially unfortunate, Zelenskyy said, because Ukraine had an “excellent relationship” with Graham, an interventionist and foreign policy hawk.
Before he died, Graham visited Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.
“I want to thank both Democrats and Republicans who supported his bill. That was a major victory: this truly bipartisan support,” he said. “And now, the decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me.”
Zelenskyy noted that the decision to stop sanctions from the Lindsey Graham Act happened as Russia targeted more than 15 critical power generation and transmission facilities across Ukraine. It was one of the country’s largest attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector, Zelenskyy said.
Hardest hit were Lutsk, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Shepetivka, Slavuta and Netishyn, Zelenskyy said, though facilities in the Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipro and other regions were struck as well.
Loitering munitions, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and more than 320 jet-powered and gasoline-powered shahed drones, were used in the attack, according to Zelenskyy.
“Russia is trying to cause a blackout in Ukraine — right before winter. Russia is trying to leave millions of our people without electricity and heating. Pressure is needed to stop this,” Zelenskyy said. “A U.S. sanctions blackout, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin — all of this only encourages him to keep attacking. We must not give up ground. We must keep trying to end the war. To end it, not give Putin every reason to continue it indefinitely.”
Members of Congress criticized the move, too.
One, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., called it “Trump’s latest surrender to Putin” and a betrayal of the United States’ Ukrainian partners.
“Trump has proven he will twist this law and abuse the powers it conferred on him, and while he has let the tariff powers lie for the moment, the law as written also empowers Trump to weaponize new trade authorities against our allies and trading partners,” he said.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said waiving sanctions is “beyond irresponsible.”
“It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and butchers innocent civilians every single day,” he said. “If the President wants to actually bring down energy prices, he can do it by solving the Iran problem, not by doing a solid for Vladimir Putin.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a short tweet that “Lindsey would be appalled.”
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