Oil Revenue Protected as Ukraine Bears War's Cost

President Donald Trump waived sanctions meant to cut Russian oil and gas revenue as Russian attacks left tens of thousands of Ukrainian families without power and Ukrainian drones hit oil facilities in St. Petersburg. The waiver followed an agreement with Vladimir Putin to release hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel onto the global market as fuel prices climbed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the decision “gifts to Putin,” saying it would strengthen Putin’s will to occupy Ukraine. “We want to trust him,” Zelenskyy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, referring to Trump. He said he hoped Trump would change decisions he viewed as mistakes.

Oil Sanctions and the Diesel Deal

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order waiving specific sanctions in the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. Congress passed the sanctions with bipartisan support, and Trump signed the legislation the previous month. The measures aimed to cut Russian revenue by penalizing global buyers of Russian oil and gas.

Trump said the waiver “is in the national interests of the United States.” The Hill reported that earlier in the month, he announced plans to lift sanctions, allowing 300,000 tons of Russian oil to supply the U.S. and global economies. Energy Secretary Chris Wright defended the agreement Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week,” saying, “This is a carrot to try to end a war. It’s not an economic lifeline for Russia.”

Former Vice President Pence urged Trump to restore sanctions and undo the diesel agreement. “President Trump’s decision to waive sanctions against Russia as Putin continues his brutal war of aggression against Ukraine dishonors the legacy of the late Senator Lindsey Graham and is decidedly not in the national interests of the United States and should be reversed,” Pence wrote on X. He said Putin “only understands strength” and argued that waiving sanctions “signals weakness.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also attacked the agreement, writing on X: “This filthy deal will only aid and abet the same Putin who is helping the Iranians to target and try to kill American troops in the Middle East and who illegally and viciously invaded our ally Ukraine.” On Thursday, five House GOP lawmakers joined Democratic colleagues in urging Trump to cancel it.

Pressure on Kyiv, Costs for Civilians

Zelenskyy said U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine had been briefly “blocked,” leaving the country without information about incoming ballistic missiles, but officials had since “deblocked” it. A restriction on Ukraine’s use of Starshield, the military version of Starlink, remains in place. Ukrainian officials believe SpaceX limited Starlink after a “message from American government,” Zelenskyy told NBC. Asked whether Trump or Elon Musk made the decision directly, he said he didn’t know but thought “both” were involved.

European and Ukrainian officials previously told NBC they believed the intelligence-sharing interruption, which came days after Trump eased sanctions, was likely meant to pressure Kyiv into concessions amid stalled peace talks. Zelenskyy said that if Trump lifted the Starshield restriction, “it will immediately work as it was before.”

Zelenskyy said Russia had broken Trump’s “energy ceasefire” 76 times and planned to deprive Ukrainians of heat and electricity before winter. Energy facilities in four Ukrainian regions came under attack overnight, leaving tens of thousands of families without power. “America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements,” he wrote.

Attacks on Oil and Civilian Areas

Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of Kyiv’s largest aerial attacks of the war. Fires erupted at the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the city’s Ruchi oil depot. Local Gov. Alexander Beglov said at least one person was killed and five were wounded. Russian retailer Ozon’s logistics center and a data center operated by Russian tech giant VK also came under attack, the companies confirmed.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions, the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black Sea. In Ukraine, local officials said a woman was killed and at least two other people were wounded, including a 6-year-old girl, in two Russian attacks on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.