Follow-Up: Zelenskyy Calls U.S. Move to Shelve New Russia Sanctions 'Unfortunate,' Urges Supporters to Speak Up for the Graham Act
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, October 17, criticized the U.S. decision to shelve the new sanctions in the Graham Act as 'unfortunate' in posts on X and Telegram, urging supporters to speak out so the law can take effect. The posts came hours after a massive overnight Russian air attack on Ukraine's energy sector.
'At a time when the Russians have carried out such a massive attack on our energy sector, a decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end,' Zelenskyy wrote on X. 'This Act could have helped enormously — and still can! But it needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters.' On Telegram he called the move a U.S. 'sanctions blackout' that eases pressure on the aggressor and only encourages further attacks, adding that Ukraine must not give up ground. He did not name President Trump in the posts, and was reported to say he hopes the U.S. president will do everything possible to make Putin stop the killing and end the war.
Zelenskyy said Russia used more than 320 drones along with cruise and ballistic missiles overnight against Ukraine's energy sector, cities and communities; Ukraine's air force put the total at 332 drones and 4 cruise missiles, saying air defenses downed or suppressed 289 drones while 22 locations were hit. The overnight attacks killed at least four people in Ukraine, according to AP; a Ukrainian drone killed a woman in a Russian border region and flights at Moscow airports were briefly disrupted. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a co-author of the law, accused the administration of turning its back on Congress and European allies.
The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, named for the late senator, was signed into law on September 18, with most provisions — including a 500% duty on Russian goods and 100% duties on goods from top buyers of Russian oil and gas — due to take effect on October 18. On October 16, President Trump signed an executive order using the act's Section 115 waiver authority to set aside all of its duties and most of its sanctions and restrictions, certifying to Congress that the waiver is in the national interest; the waiver has no expiry date and earlier Russia sanctions remain in force. GSM reported the executive order on October 16. (GSM, from AP, AFP and Reuters reporting)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：乌克兰总统泽连斯基2026年9月10日在加拿大访问期间与加拿大总理卡尼握手会晤（资料照片）。图片来源：Vinnytsia Oblast State Administration，CC BY 4.0，取自维基共享资源。Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shakes hands with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during his visit to Canada on Sept. 10, 2026 (file photo). Source: Vinnytsia Oblast State Administration, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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