Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says allies must convince Trump to enforce Russian sanctions

Zelensky says Russia launched one of its largest attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructureVolodymyr Zelensky has expressed hope that a bill of sanctions against Russia can be revived, calling on Kyiv's allies to "voice support" for the measures.US president Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that blocked a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause was in the "national interest". The sanctions were due to come into force today.In a statement on social media, Zelensky described Trump's move to put the sanctions on hold as unfortunate, without directly criticising the US president.“This Act could have helped enormously – and still can! But it needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters,” he wrote.Members of Congress from both parties have strongly criticised the executive order, with Republican senator Thom Tillis calling it "beyond irresponsible".Trump's secretary of state Marco Rubio described the order as a 60-day pause to "analyse" the economic impacts of the sanctions bill.He pointed to concerns about high energy prices in the US and the ongoing Iran war, saying: “We need that period of time to sort of study all this and figure out what the right combination is." Trump’s deal with devil 'keeps getting dirtier'"Beyond irresponsible," said senator Thom Tillis on social media, outraged about Donald Trump’s decision to pause sanctions on Russia."What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisers not understand?" Tillis said. "It's unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine."Republican senator John Cornyn of Texas said "Lindsey would be appalled," referring to the late senator Lindsey Graham, who worked tirelessly on the bill before he died this summer. The bill is known as the Lindsey Graham Russian Sanctions Act.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a statement that "by giving the Russian economy life support, Trump's deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier."Senator Elizabeth Warren said Trump is "thumbing his nose" at Congress and "enabling Vladimir Putin to continue his war of aggression." She urged her colleagues to take action to reverse course. Namita Singh18 October 2026 07:00Next steps uncertain with Congress out until after Election DayDonald Trump's actions come as Ukraine is bracing for a stark winter confronting Russia's ongoing attacks on its energy infrastructure to heat homes and keep the lights on.The next steps are highly uncertain with the House and Senate on recess until after Election Day. Trump had indicated he was waiving the sanctions indefinitely, citing national security concerns.Later Saturday, Trump told reporters that they don't know what his decision is yet regarding sanctions in Russia, despite the executive order he signed Friday night.President Donald Trump exits Air Force One at President Donald J. Trump International Airport on 17 October 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida (Getty)"We'll figure it out, and you'll figure it out. But it's a very good decision, and it's going to be a decision that's good for the country, and I think good for the world," Trump said at a fundraising dinner at his Florida estate.Secretary of state Marco Rubio, separately addressing reporters on Saturday before departing for Central Asia, suggested Trump would take 60 days to review the global and US economic impacts of imposing the proposed sanctions on Russia and other countries, in light of tariffs already in place. Pointing to high energy prices and the Iran war, "we need that period of time to sort of study all this and figure out what the right combination is," he said. Namita Singh18 October 2026 06:00Poland says it is verifying a possible violation of its airspacePoland ⁠is verifying a possible violation of its airspace by ⁠an ​unidentified ⁠object, the army said on ⁠Sunday.So far, there has been no confirmation of a violation of the airspace, the army said in a post on X. The army said it had deployed a ground search-and-rescue team in the south of ‌Lublin, which is ​conducting ‌searches for the ⁠possible crash site ⁠of the object. Namita Singh18 October 2026 05:41Zelensky hopes for revival of Russian sanctionsUkraine's president expressed hope that sanctions that were supposed to take effect on Sunday targeting Russia's economy could be revived.Volodymyr Zelensky described Donald Trump's move to put sanctions on hold as unfortunate, but did not directly criticise the US leader despite deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington in recent days."A decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end," Zelensky wrote in a statement on social media. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference as part of a European Union summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on 16 October 2026 (AFP/Getty)“This Act could have helped enormously – and still can! But it needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters.”He separately thanked Democrats and Republicans who supported the legislation, saying that blocking it would encourage Russia to continue killing and that limiting Ukraine’s ability to retaliate would not bring peace.“Nevertheless, we very much hope — and I personally hope — that the president of the United States of America will do everything possible to make (Russian president Vladimir) Putin stop the killing, stop the attacks on our energy infrastructure, and end this war,” he said.It took almost a year for Lindsey Graham to persuade Trump to agree to the Russian sanctions package. It was designed to impose steep tariffs on countries that import large amounts of Russian oil and energy products and was promoted as a way to halt the flow of funds fuelling Putin's four-year war against Ukraine. Namita Singh18 October 2026 05:00Trump's decision to waive Russian sanctions outrages CongressPresident Donald Trump's abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia days before they were to take effect drew outrage on Saturday from members of Congress, which had overwhelmingly passed the legislation in a bipartisan display of American support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.Lawmakers from both parties blasted the executive order late on Friday, the latest in a series of steps that the Republican president has taken drawing the United States closer to Russia's Vladimir Putin. President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club, Saturday, 17 October 2026, in Palm Beach (AP)Trump recently announced a diesel deal with Putin to import Russian energy in a long-shot effort to curb high gas prices in the US that are roiling the midterm elections on 3 November."I think it's clear Russia is the aggressor, and we've got to do everything we can to put economic pressure on Russia," senator Rick Scott said in an interview with the Associated Press. "So it's not the first thing I would be doing.” Namita Singh18 October 2026 04:00Zelensky says issues persist with Starlink and matter is being discussed with USUkraine still cannot use its interceptor systems against Russian drone attacks because of speed restrictions imposed on Starlink, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said, adding that Kyiv was discussing the issue with US officials. Zelensky ‌told reporters in a WhatsApp ‌media chat that Ukrainian ‌officials had been told the restrictions ⁠were linked to technical issues.He said Ukraine had tested Starlink on European Union territory and encountered no such problems there, with the system operating at higher speeds.On Friday, Donald Trump said he did not believe either the US government or Elon Musk was to blame for deliberately restricting Ukraine’s Starlink access, and the UK government said it had received assurances from the White House that access had been restored.Adam Withnall18 October 2026 03:20At least 1,500 troops to participate in war exercises in PolandAt least 1,500 troops from Britain, France and Germany will take part in the war exercise next month, according to The Times, alongside Polish forces.The wargames will simulate moving troops and supplies such as food and fuel, and was agreed at a coalition of the willing summit in July.Alex Croft18 October 2026 03:00Russian air strike on Kherson kills ambulance driver and injures almost 20A Russian air strike on Kherson in southern Ukraine killed one person and injured 19 others, governor Oleksandr Prokudin has said on Saturday. The ‌person killed ⁠was an ambulance driver, and one child was among ‌the ​injured, ‌Prokudin said ⁠on ⁠Telegram.Alex Croft18 October 2026 01:30Zelensky says meeting between US, Ukraine and Russia is possibleA trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States and Russia could take place during the G20 summit in Miami later this year, or in a Middle Eastern country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said."The ‌meeting could then take place in ‌the United States during ‌the G20 summit. But there ⁠has been no confirmation yet from either Russia or the United States. It could also be ‌held in a European ​country," he ‌said.The G20 summit is due to take place in December.Alex Croft18 October 2026 00:00Aftermath of Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia(Reuters)(Reuters)(Reuters)(Reuters)Adam Withnall17 October 2026 23:01