Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia

Read the original at The Straits Times ↗
Cite

The Straits Times. (2026, October 18). Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/trump-bashes-zelensky-defends-waiving-sanctions-on-russia

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The Straits Times · collected 2026-10-18 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

On October 18, US President Donald Trump defended his decision to waive sanctions on Russia through an executive order signed on October 16, citing negotiations for peace between Russia and Ukraine. In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky of deliberately prolonging the war by targeting Russian refineries to impact fuel prices in the US ahead of November elections. Trump’s comments have further strained relations with Kyiv amid criticism from allies over the sanctions waiver aimed at lowering global diesel costs.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On October 17, 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending new sanctions on Russia that were set to take effect two days later, citing national interest and the need for peace negotiations with Moscow. This move came despite bipartisan congressional support for the Lindsey Graham Act, which aimed to clamp down on financial resources fueling Russia's war against Ukraine.

Trump's decision followed a controversial announcement on October 9 where he invited Russia to sell 1.8 million tonnes of diesel into global markets, intended to lower energy prices ahead of November elections but criticized by Ukraine and its allies for potentially aiding Moscow in the conflict.

In response to mounting criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump defended his actions on October 18, claiming he is negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine. He accused Zelensky of not wanting to end the war, a stance that further strained relations between Washington and Kyiv.

Meanwhile, European nations face increasing pressure to bolster their support for Ukraine amidst concerns about the economic impact of winter on Ukraine's economy. Analysts argue that while Trump’s easing sanctions may undermine Ukraine’s position in negotiations, it is unlikely to fundamentally alter the course of the war.

Written for “Trump Waives Russian Sanctions” on 2026-10-19, grounded in this article and the 54 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans strongly right (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans strongly right for article 89518 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-18

Story

📰 Trump Waives Russian Sanctions
Politics · 55 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Trump waives new Russia sanctions same event · 100%
Semafor
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe President Trump waiving new sanctions on Russia and his defense of this decision, involving similar comments about peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.”
Trump says suspension of Russia sanctions is to keep peace negotiations going same event · 100%
BBC News
⚖️ Leans right further left than this 🔴 11% hedged 1 of 9 📰 publisher trust 69
“Both articles describe Trump's defense of waiving sanctions on Russia and his accusation against Zelensky on the same date, indicating the same specific incident.”
Trump waives new Russia sanctions as Ukraine ties slump same event · 95%
Dawn · 0.86 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left further left than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 28 📰 publisher trust 72
“Both articles discuss President Trump signing an executive order to waive sanctions on Russia, with related comments about Ukraine's situation.”
Trump waives Russia sanctions ordered by law named for Lindsey Graham same event · 95%
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right further left than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles describe President Trump signing an executive order to waive sanctions on Russia, with Article B providing additional context about Trump's defense of his decision.”
Trump waives Russia sanctions as rift with Zelenskyy widens same event · 95%
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans right further left than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe President Trump's decision to waive sanctions on Russia and his subsequent defense of this action, occurring around the same time with similar context involving tensions between Trump and Zelenskyy.”
Trump waives Russian sanctions as US-Ukraine relationship frays same event · 95%
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans right further left than this 🔴 15% hedged 2 of 13 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe President Trump's decision to waive sanctions on Russia and his comments regarding Ukrainian President Zelensky, referencing the same executive order signed by Trump.”
What Trump’s Waiver of New Russia Sanctions Means for Ukraine same event · 95%
TIME
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 19% hedged 12 of 63 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe President Trump signing an executive order to waive sanctions on Russia, with Article B providing additional context about Trump's defense of his decision.”
Trump blocking Russia curbs historic moment: Putin envoy same event · 95%
Times of India
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 15 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles discuss US President Donald Trump's decision to waive sanctions on Russia and defend his actions, specifically referencing an executive order signed on October 16th.”
Why Is Trump Criticising Zelensky And Complimenting Putin? same event · 95%
BBC News
⚖️ Leans right further left than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 12 📰 publisher trust 69
“Both articles discuss President Trump's decision to waive sanctions on Russia and his criticism of Ukrainian President Zelensky, referring to the same time frame of October 18, 2026.”
Trump reveals peace deal in progress between Ukraine and Russia as he slams Zelensky for hurting oil markets same event · 95%
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 17% hedged 4 of 24 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles report President Trump's statements made on the same date, criticizing Zelensky and defending his decision to waive sanctions on Russia during peace negotiations.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
55
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 3034 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

The Straits Times
1996 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In the weeks before elections, federal law enforcement officials typically avoid taking overt investigative steps, like executing search warrants and issuing subpoenas, that could be seen as trying to help or hurt a candidate.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Obama defends Ilhan Omar amid Trump administration inquiry
🔮 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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia
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2026-10-18 · assertive framing · While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 19, 2026
🔮 Spain braced for the worst of a powerful Mediterranean storm predicted to intensify on Oct 19 after it submerged streets, disrupted transport and claimed the life of a woman outside Barcelona.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Spain braces for more floods after woman dies near Barcelona
🔮 He said prefects and mayors would be empowered to ban certain gatherings where necessary.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Macron condemns "shocking" scenes of violence across France
🔮 On Truth Social, Trump posted a mockup of an 18-hole course which would dramatically change the historic East Potomac Golf Links, saying construction is set to start in November.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Trump says Washington golf course renovation to start in November, despite judge’s order
🔮 US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his administration would begin renovation work next month on a historic Washington golf course that a federal judge had ordered could not proceed without prior court notification.
2026-10-18 · mixed framing · Trump says Washington golf course renovation to start in November, despite judge's order
🔮 The base, one of Canada's largest, is about 210 km (130 miles) east of Edmonton in Alberta, and National Defense Minister David McGuinty said on Sunday he would go to the city to be briefed on the situation.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Fire at Canadian military base kills seven, CBC reports
🔮 Riley Barnes, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, Brian Burch, US ambassador to the Holy See, and a number of other diplomats visited the Latin Convent church and were expected to meet with members of the Christian community in Taybeh. Belgian, French and Polish diplomats, along with a French mayor and Palestinian civilians, had been attacked near Taybeh on Saturday by masked Israeli settlers. The previous day, Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was taken to hospital after being assaulted while covering a Palestinian olive harvest near another West Bank village. The diplomats' visit coincided with US President Donald Trump endorsing his ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for Israel's parliamentary election on October 27.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · US officials visit Palestinian village after settler attacks on diplomats
🔮 Bulgarian authorities said fire was set to several Starlink antennas in the country on October 10, according to local media reports.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Lithuania says attempted Starlink arson was Russia-linked sabotage
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 1996 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

AFP Russia Russian Ukraine WASHINGTON

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 8× Russia GPE · 7× Zelensky PERSON · 4× Ukraine GPE · 3× AFP ORG · 2× Russian NORP · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Ukrainian NORP · 1× Volodymyr Zelensky PERSON · 1× WASHINGTON GPE · 1×

Narrative

Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Oct 18 defended his decision to waive some sanctions on Russia, while once again accusing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky of not wanting to end the war.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
2026-10-18 · The Straits Times
Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 1 hedged)

Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Oct 18 defended his decision to waive some sanctions on Russia, while once again accusing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky of not wanting to end the war. asserted
Trump → bash → war
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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. asserted
Trump → negotiate → platform
The remarks come after Trump signed an executive order late on Oct 16 waiving broad new sanctions mandated by legislation named for the late US senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s defence. asserted
Trump → come → defence
Trump has also temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing large quantities to flow into global markets in a bid to lower fuel prices ahead of US elections early next month. asserted
quantities → waive → elections
The diesel deal was met with shock by Kyiv and its allies, and sparked a feud between Trump and Zelensky that has seen their roller-coaster relationship plummet again. asserted
relationship → meet → Trump
“Great progress is being made” in talks on the war, “and that includes current hostage negotiations asserted
that → make → negotiations
!” Trump said. asserted
Trump → say → ?
“Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!” he said, though it was unclear to what document he was referring. Asked for more clarity on the statement, the White House did not immediately respond to AFP. “Perhaps more importantly, 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, and will, unless stupid people get in the way,” Trump added. uncertain
Trump → sign → way
He then reiterated his accusation that Ukraine was purposefully targeting Russian refineries to attempt to hurt the Republican Party in the Nov 3 midterm elections. asserted
Ukraine → reiterate → elections
Polling shows Trump’s party heading for a likely drubbing in the elections, with many voters deeply upset by fuel costs, which have soared since the Iran war began in late February. asserted
war → show → February
“Zelensky 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,” Trump said. asserted
Trump → use → States
“Zelensky 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 added. asserted
he → care → war
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