Trump Defends Russia Pause, Says Zelenskyy Doesn't Want War to End

President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his decision to hold off on new Russia sanctions, saying in a post on Truth Social that he does not want to do anything that will “drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table” while he works to end the war in Ukraine.

“My decision on Russia is a very simple one,” Trump wrote, according to the Kyiv Independent and Anadolu Agency. “I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table. Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations!” Anadolu Agency reported that Trump said he could sign the document at a later date or “any time” he wanted, and that the president did not provide details about the negotiations or identify the hostages he was referring to.

pic.twitter.com/JtHDPTRu4E

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 18, 2026

Trump also took aim at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He wrote that Zelenskyy “is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target,” according to the Kyiv Independent, and said the attacks were “seriously hurting the world diesel markets,” including in the United States, Anadolu Agency reported. Trump argued that farmers, ranchers and businesses were suffering from higher fuel costs while Russia keeps sending “millions of barrels” of diesel to world markets at low prices, according to Anadolu. “Zelenskyy doesn’t care,” Trump wrote, the agency reported.

The Kyiv Independent reported that Trump went further, accusing the Ukrainian leader of not wanting to end the war at all. “He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now,” Trump wrote, according to the outlet. He closed the post with “I WANT THIS WAR END!”

The president also tied his approach to Iran. “Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way,” Trump wrote, according to Anadolu Agency.

What Trump paused

The post follows an executive order Trump signed Friday, Oct. 16, waiving sanctions, restrictions and duties under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, according to the order published by the White House. In the order, Trump wrote that he had certified to Congress that the waiver “is in the national interests of the United States.”

CBS News reported that the waiver blocked 100% tariffs on the world’s five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, which were set to take effect Sunday, and also waived the law’s 500% tariffs on Russian goods. According to CBS News, Trump signed the Graham law late last month, and the Friday night waivers came one week after he eased sanctions on Russian diesel and announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import diesel to the U.S. market.

The diesel fight

The Kyiv Independent reported that Sunday’s post defended the waiving of sanctions, the diesel deal and pressure on Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries, moves the outlet said have sparked outrage and alarm in Ukraine and the United States.

Zelenskyy has rejected the claim that Ukraine is to blame for high fuel prices. In an interview with NPR last week, he said prices rose “because of blocking the Strait of Hormuz,” and said Ukraine will not stop its strikes on Russian energy sites unless Russia stops attacking Ukraine’s, according to NPR. NPR, citing AAA, reported that U.S. diesel averaged $6.27 a gallon at the time, more than 70% above a year earlier, as fuel prices weigh on voters heading into the midterm elections.

Sources

• Rapid Response 47 on X (Trump’s Truth Social post)
• Kyiv Independent: Trump defends Russia policies in post on Zelensky
• Anadolu Agency: Trump holds off on new measures against Russia
• The White House: Implementing the Graham Act executive order
• CBS News: Trump waives tariffs on largest buyers of Russian oil
• NPR: Zelenskyy interview

Reporting by Daily Beltway.