President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was holding off on new sanctions against Russia because he did not want to push Moscow away from peace talks. He also criticized Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, blamed the strikes for pressure on diesel markets and claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “doesn't want to end this war,” The Associated Press reported.
The remarks came as Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of the war's largest aerial attacks. Fires broke out at the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchi oil depot in St. Petersburg. Local Gov. Alexander Beglov said one person was killed and five were wounded, while Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces destroyed 1,015 drones across 15 regions, occupied Crimea and the Black Sea.
Sanctions remain on hold
Trump said he did not “want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table.” He defended a Friday waiver that prevented new sanctions from taking effect and said he could sign them later. He presented keeping sanctions in reserve as a way to preserve negotiations. The waiver did not establish that Russia had agreed to end the war.
Zelenskyy offered a different assessment on NBC's “Meet the Press,” saying that easing sanctions would strengthen Russia's war effort and that siding with Moscow would be a “historic mistake” for Washington. He also said U.S.-Ukraine intelligence sharing had resumed after being blocked for a period.
