Trump shelves Russia sanctions as Zelensky warns of pressure 'to capitulate'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday Washington was taking steps that looked designed to push Kyiv to capitulate, while US President Donald Trump said he had shelved new sanctions on Russia to avoid derailing peace talks.

File photo: US President Donald Trump (right) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) meet during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 22, 2026.

REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

Zelensky told the Bloomberg news agency that Starlink internet speeds had been throttled and Patriot interceptor deliveries delayed.

"I believe steps have been taken to convince Ukraine to capitulate," he said.

He added that he did not want to believe Washington was deliberately seeking a quicker end to the war at Ukraine’s expense.

He said the United States was now supplying just 12 Patriot interceptors a month, about a quarter of the rate under former President Joe Biden, and was selling them rather than donating them.

The missiles had been paid for under NATO's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme, but Washington had cleared only part of the order.

"And this is not a technical issue," he said.

Zelensky said he had offered to stop hitting Russian refineries, a US demand, in exchange for more Patriot missiles to protect Ukrainian facilities, but Washington wanted only an end to the strikes.

"Now, we have dangerous days ahead of the elections," he said, referring to the US congressional midterms on November 3. He expected relations to calm afterwards.

Trump, writing on Truth Social, said he was negotiating peace and would not risk pushing Moscow away from the table, citing progress including talks on hostages. He suggested sanctions could come later.

He accused Zelensky of prolonging the war and said Ukrainian refinery strikes were hurting the world. “I WANT THIS WAR TO END!” he wrote.

🚨 BREAKING: Zelenskyy doesn't want to end the war and probably never did, Trump says Here's what the US president just posted on Truth Social: 🔵 “My decision on Russia is a very simple one. 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!” 🔵 “Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!” 🔵 “Lastly, Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States.” 🔵 “Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.” 🔵 “He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead.”

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 18, 2026

On Friday, Trump signed an open-ended order suspending sanctions and tariffs on Russia and its partners under legislation named for Senator Lindsey Graham.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have both described the pause as a 60-day review, which the order does not mention.

Zelensky said Trump had good ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin but could not currently force him to end the war.

(jh/gs)

Source: Polish Radio, PAP

Click on the audio player above for a report by Marcin Matuszewski