2026-10-18 · contested story
Trump Offers Putin Economic Relief in Hopes That Russia Will Return the Favor - The New York Times
In mid-October 2026, President Trump signed an executive order waiving sweeping new sanctions on Russia under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act — legislation he himself signed just a month earlier — days before 100% tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil (China, India) were set to take effect. The move came a week after Trump announced a deal with Putin to import hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel to ease fuel prices ahead of the midterms. Simultaneously, Ukraine's military-grade Starlink/Starshield satellite service was throttled without warning, disrupting drone operations and air defense as Russia launched some of its largest strikes on Ukraine's energy grid before winter. Trump justified the waiver as being in the 'national interests of the United States'; Zelenskyy and a bipartisan chorus of U.S. lawmakers condemned it as a reward for Putin.
How each side frames it
left
"Is Elon Musk using SpaceX to kneecap Starlink access in Ukraine on behalf of President Donald Trump?"
"the whims of the billionaire technocrat that still finds himself at Trump’s beck and call"
"A US sanctions blackout, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin – all of this only encourages him to keep attacking."
"Moscow launched one of its worst strikes yet on Ukraine’s power plants in an attempt to black out the country’s cities before winter"
"In a last-ditch attempt to alleviate financial strain ahead of the midterm elections"
center
"Trump is easing American pressure on Russia despite a bipartisan chorus calling for him to do the exact opposite."
"The louder the bipartisan anti-Russia chorus gets, the more Trump doubles down on pulling back the pressure."
"Analysts say Russia will benefit most from US sanctions waiver."
"the US president has accused them of “hypocrisy”, as figures show that European Union countries continue to import Russian gas"
"A lot of you don’t know what my decision is yet, but we’ll figure it out, and you’ll figure it out."
right
"President waiving new Russia tariffs under late senator's Graham Act while preserving power to reinstate them"
"Trump said the waiver was in the "national interests of the United States.""
"intentionally degrading Ukraine's ability to defend itself might be construed as aiding and abetting a mass murderer"
"Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS"
"warned that the change could particularly hamper Ukraine’s efforts to intercept Russia’s newer, jet-powered Shahed attack drones, saying it threatened "one of our few chances to defend the country""
What each side left out
The right left out — covered by the NBC News & Axios & Al Jazeera & Yahoo! News
- The cascade of Republican senators condemning the sanctions waiver (Tillis, Cornyn, Cruz, Lawler, Sullivan, Bacon)
- Darline Graham's disagreement with the waiver on the bill named for her brother
- The economic analysis that Russia benefits most
The right left out — covered by the The Guardian & CBS News & DW.com & Axios
- Zelenskyy's 'reward for Putin' / 'financial rewards for Putin' characterization
- Russian envoy Dmitriev hailing the waiver as 'historic'
The left left out — covered by the Al Jazeera
- Trump's counter-argument that European critics are hypocrites still buying Russian gas
- Data showing EU continues importing large quantities of Russian LNG/pipeline gas
- Analysts' doubt that the diesel volumes are macroeconomically significant
The left left out — covered by the Fox Business & CBS News & The Guardian
- The waiver preserves the president's power to reinstate sanctions
- Rubio's framing of the pause as a 60-day analytical period
The center left out — covered by the The New Republic
- Characterization of Musk as personally serving Trump ('beck and call')
- Explicit 'kneecap' / sabotage framing of the Starlink disruption
What's actually true?
[verified] Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving sweeping new sanctions under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which he had signed into law the previous month, days before the measures (including up to 100% tariffs on top importers of Russian oil) were due to take effect.
[verified] Trump justified the waiver by certifying to Congress that it was 'in the national interests of the United States.'
[verified] The waiver followed a deal Trump announced with Putin for Russia to supply hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel to the US and global markets (300,000 tonnes immediately, then 500,000 in November, then 1m).
[verified] The Graham Act's new sanctions passed the Senate by a vote of 86-11.
[verified] Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev hailed the waiver as 'an important and truly historic moment.'
[verified] The sanctions waiver drew bipartisan condemnation, with Republicans including Thom Tillis, John Cornyn, Ted Cruz, Mike Lawler, Dan Sullivan and Don Bacon opposing it.
[verified] SpaceX restricted Ukraine's military-grade Starshield service on Oct 14 without warning, cutting connectivity for terminals moving faster than ~100 mph (160 km/h), disrupting drone missions.
[verified] Musk claimed responsibility for the Starshield restrictions lies with the US government: 'Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.'
The narrative clash
Who ordered the Starlink/Starshield restrictions
Left: Musk said any disruption was the responsibility of the US government. “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS”
Right: “Well, I don't know if it was anybody because it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon,” Trump said. “And from what I understand, it's the same as it's always been.”
Whether the US was involved in the Starlink restriction
Left: The Telegraph reported Friday that Musk “approached Donald Trump with the idea of slowing down Starlink in Ukraine,” and both had a hand in imposing the restrictions. Reuters reported... citing two U.S. officials, that the call to restrict Starlink in Ukraine came from the White House
Right: The decision to limit Ukrainian access to Starshield was not a high-level US policy decision, according to two US officials.
Whether the US suspended intelligence sharing with Ukraine
Left: Late on Tuesday, Zelensky said his government had received “no early warning from our partners” before a deadly ballistic missile attack hit a major power plant in Kyiv
Right: when asked earlier Tuesday, Trump said the US had not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. “We are helping them, and we are sharing intel.”
35 sources analyzed
The New Republic The Guardian Axios Fox Business Fox News Al Jazeera CBS News The Telegraph NBC News DW.com NPR Yahoo! Search The Independent ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation CNN The Moscow Times The Washington Post TODAY.com The Independent Le Monde.fr Yahoo Finance France 24 Euronews.com Kyiv Post The Jerusalem Post ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos CNBC The Kyiv Independent Financial Times Українські Національні Новини (УНН) MS NOW Українська правда POLITICO.eu BBC Ukrinform