In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he is "in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine," and that he did not want to "do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table." The sanctions were blocked two days before they were due to take effect, as a row with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky intensified.
Zelensky told NBC News on Sunday that siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a "historic mistake." Trump, however, claimed that Zelensky "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did," adding that "he could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now."
Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the order, calling it "an important and truly historic moment" and saying the sanctions would have inflicted "serious damage" on the US and global market.
The relationship between Washington and Kyiv has deteriorated in recent weeks. Ukraine has accused the Trump administration of withdrawing key military support, and tensions rose after the US struck a controversial deal to import Russian diesel last week. After Trump said Zelensky was "more difficult to deal with" than Putin, Zelensky told an EU leaders' summit in Brussels on Friday that it was nice to be among "real leaders."
Zelensky has pushed for an end to the fighting and has repeatedly said Putin does not want peace, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.