--- title: "Trump Freezes Russia Sanctions for Peace Talks and Accuses Zelenskyy of Dragging Out the War" description: "Trump issued a decree to freeze Russia sanctions, stating it would preserve peace talks, and accused Zelenskyy of delaying the war. Kyiv called the US steps a push toward capitulation." date: 2026-10-18T20:58:31.288Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/trump-freezes-russia-sanctions-for-talks tags: [trump, zelensky, sanctions, russia-ukraine-war, peace-talks, diesel, refineries] author: "Alexander Buran" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Trump Freezes Russia Sanctions for Peace Talks and Accuses Zelenskyy of Dragging Out the War ![Donald Trump in a dark blue suit with a red tie amid sanction discussions](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/18/trump-otlozhil-sanktsii-protiv-rossii-radi-pegovorov/trump-otlozhil-sanktsii-protiv-rossii-radi-pegovorov-1.webp) ## Key Points - Trump froze the Russia sanctions bill by decree days before it took effect, stating it should not interfere with peace talks. - The US president accused Zelenskyy of deliberately targeting Russian oil refineries and refusing to end the war. - Zelenskyy told Bloomberg the US steps are an attempt to force Ukraine's capitulation and offered to trade halting diesel strikes for Patriot missiles. US President Donald Trump has postponed the entry into force of the sanctions bill against Russia, explaining the decision by the need not to derail ongoing peace negotiations. In his own words, signing the sanctions at the present moment "would interfere with negotiations," and he could do it "sometime later." At the same time, the head of the White House shifted the responsibility for prolonging the conflict to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stating that he "does not want to end this war and probably never did." This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Trump's post on the Truth Social social network. ### "I don't want to do anything foolish": Washington's logic "My decision on Russia is very simple. I am negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine and I don't want to do anything that foolishly pushes Russia away from the negotiating table," Trump wrote. According to him, the parties have achieved "great progress," including in hostage negotiations, although he did not specify individuals. The US President cited the situation around Iran as an additional argument: in his opinion, Russia "barely helps Iran compared to what it could do," and he wants it to "stay that way." ### Freezing the sanctions bill by decree On Friday, Trump froze the sanctions bill against Russia by decree just days before it was set to take effect. The document provided for high tariffs for countries purchasing Russian oil. The decision caused dissatisfaction among lawmakers from both parties, but at the time of adoption, Congress was on recess until the November 3 elections. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that the administration wants 60 days to assess the economic impact of the sanctions. ### Accusations against Zelenskyy Trump stated that Zelenskyy "deliberately targets Russian oil refineries, knowing that this affects the global diesel market, particularly in the US," which he says hurts farmers and businesses, while Russia "supplies millions of barrels of cheap diesel to the world." "Zelenskyy doesn't care, and frankly, with all the money Europe is giving him and that crooking Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn't want to end this war and probably never did," the US President wrote. He also stated that two years ago Ukraine could have struck a "better deal than now," and emphasized: "His country is in ruins, most of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is small, wounded and/or dead. I WANT THIS WAR TO END!" ### Kyiv's reaction In an interview with Bloomberg, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that US steps look like an attempt to push Ukraine toward capitulation. According to him, Kyiv offered to refrain from striking Russian diesel in exchange for the supply of missiles for Patriot systems, but Washington, he claims, "just demands to stop the strikes." ### Context: attacks on energy infrastructure Against the background of negotiations, Russia continues to strike Ukraine's energy infrastructure. According to the report, a week after the announced "energy truce," the invaders attacked Ukraine's energy facilities 76 times. ## Accounts differ ### The nature of US actions regarding sanctions and negotiations - **US President Donald Trump:** Freezing sanctions is necessary to avoid pushing Russia away from the peace negotiating table, which he says has already yielded "great progress" ([rbc.ua](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/tramp-zayaviv-shcho-zelenskiy-hoche-zakinchuvati-1792356696.html)) - **Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy:** US steps look like an attempt to force Ukraine's capitulation; Kyiv offered to exchange halting strikes on Russian diesel for Patriot missiles, but Washington simply demands stopping the strikes ([rbc.ua](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/tramp-zayaviv-shcho-zelenskiy-hoche-zakinchuvati-1792356696.html)) *Where they agree:* The US president issued a decree freezing the sanctions bill against Russia days before it was set to take effect ## Fact-Check & Sources - [Трамп заявил, что Зеленский не хочет заканчивать войну и сознательно избивает по НПЗ РФ](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/tramp-zayaviv-shcho-zelenskiy-hoche-zakinchuvati-1792356696.html) - Primary source: Trump's post on Truth Social and Zelenskyy's interview with Bloomberg, relayed by RBC-Ukraine. The decree freezing the sanctions bill and Rubio's position on 60 days come from the same source. Politicians' quotes are presented as their statements. ## FAQ ### Why did Trump postpone sanctions against Russia? He stated that he is negotiating peace and does not want to do anything that would "foolishly push Russia away from the negotiating table"; signing sanctions now would interfere with negotiations. ### What happened to the sanctions bill? On Friday, Trump froze the bill by decree days before it took effect. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained the administration wants 60 days to assess economic consequences; Congress was on recess until the November 3 elections. ### How did Zelenskyy react? In a Bloomberg interview, he stated US steps look like an attempt to push Ukraine toward capitulation, and mentioned Kyiv offered to refrain from striking Russian diesel in exchange for Patriot missiles.