Dave McCormick
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Trump suspends Russia sanctions under Graham Law and signs diesel deal, straining US-Ukraine ties
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on October 16 suspending sanctions and tariffs against Russia under the bipartisan Graham Law, just two days before the law was due to take effect. The move, which the president framed as in the "national interests of the United States," came alongside a separate October 9 phone deal with Vladimir Putin for hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel fuel. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that without continued American support, Ukraine "will not win and we will not be able to survive," while lawmakers from both parties sharply criticized the decision.