Volodymyr Zelenskyy Says Vladimir Putin 'Feels Victory' in Donald Trump's Waiver

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that President Donald Trump's waiver of new Russia sanctions is handing Vladimir Putin a win he has not earned on the battlefield.

Asked on NBC News's Meet the Press about the implications of the waiver, Zelenskyy said it was "strengthening Putin's war against us because he feels success." He added: "it's really big support for Putin. He feels victory with sanctions."

Trump signed an executive order setting aside nearly every Russia-related penalty in a sanctions law that he signed only last month. Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized the move.

What Trump's Russia Sanctions Waiver Covers

The law, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, is named for the late South Carolina senator. It passed the Senate 86-11 and the House 262-159 in September. Its penalties were days from taking effect when Trump waived them.

The order waives tariffs of up to 500 percent on Russian goods, and tariffs of up to 100 percent on the biggest buyers of Russian crude and natural gas. The waivers have no end date.

The waiver came alongside a deal with Moscow over fuel. The Treasury Department issued a temporary license allowing transactions in Russian diesel, including imports into the United States, through April 7, 2027. Diesel prices have risen approximately 70 percent since the Iran war began in February. Seven senators from both parties had already said that the diesel deal runs against a 2022 ban on Russian energy imports.

Trump called the waiver "a very good decision" that would be "good for the country, and I think good for the world." A White House spokesperson told Time that enforcing the sanctions now "would impede ongoing U.S. efforts to negotiate a durable and comprehensive peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia."

Zelenskyy Says Russia Is Losing on the Battlefield

Zelenskyy said the relief comes when Putin has little else to show for 2026. "He doesn't have any kind of success on the battlefield, especially this year, 2026," he said. "Our soldiers have been very strong this year."

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank that maps the front line from geolocated footage, found that Russia had a net loss of 80.81 square kilometers in September. Putin claimed his forces had taken 1,301 square kilometers that month, a figure ISW said was "so far from reality as to resemble hallucinations."

Zelenskyy also pointed to the air war. He said Ukraine faces an "always big deficit with Patriot missiles and other kind of air defense," and he warned that sanctions relief is "more supportive for Russian aggression, especially for the strikes against our civilians, against our energy projects."

He was careful to separate the White House from Washington as a whole. "We're always thankful bipartisan support," he said, before warning that "we're afraid that the question of Russian gas will be erased and also the question of frozen assets."

Republicans and Democrats Push Back on the Waiver

The criticism in Congress has crossed party lines. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the waiver "beyond irresponsible," and Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz called it "a mistake." Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, also opposed it.

Democrats were harsher. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said Trump was enabling Vladimir Putin to continue his war of aggression, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump "just gave Putin the best birthday gift he'll get this year."

Trump does have some allies on the waiver. Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie praised the use of executive authority to waive what he called a "stupid law."

Other Republicans have stuck closer to the president. On the same Meet the Press broadcast, Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford said Trump was walking a "fine balance" between pressuring Russia and relieving fuel costs for Americans.

What Happens Next

The Graham Act stays on the books until 2031. Its penalties could come back whenever the president or the secretary of state decides further action is warranted. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Trump wants 60 days to study the economic effects.

For Zelenskyy, the concern is what comes after the waiver, and whether Russian gas and the frozen Russian assets are the next things to come off the table.