Ukraine power grid faces 15-site strike after Trump sanctions pause

Zelenskyy said on Saturday that President Donald Trump’s Oct. 16 sanctions pause would intensify Russia’s war after the latest Russian strikes hit more than 15 Ukrainian energy facilities, The Guardian reported.

The paused Graham Act would have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil, compared with implementation that had been due in two days, according to the Oct. 17 Guardian news report.

“Unfortunately, the lifting of sanctions will continue, and I believe that the ‘diesel deal’ is the first step,” Zelenskyy said on Saturday. “Unfortunately, it seems to me that this cannot stop Putin; on the contrary, he feels joy and happiness that he has such support.”

In an earlier social-media message, Zelenskyy called Trump’s action a “reward” for Russian President Vladimir Putin. “A US ⁠sanctions blackout, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin – all of this only encourages him to keep attacking. We must not give up ground,” he said.

Zelenskyy said Russia had hit more than 15 critical power generation and transmission facilities and caused “severe consequences.” He said Ukrainian forces were intercepting a significant number of weapons, but that the “sheer scale and unrelenting pace of Russia’s strikes, specifically against our energy sector, are unfortunately having severe consequences.”

Trump said on Friday he would put on hold a broad sanctions package targeting the Russian economy and told Congress the pause was in the national interest, according to the report. The legislation, named for the late senator Lindsey Graham, was aimed at Russian officials, banks, energy-sector entities and a so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers used to keep exports moving.

The act also directed Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest importers of Russian oil or natural gas. A 100% tariff is a border tax equal to the value of the imported goods. The reported exemption covered countries buying less than 15% of Russia’s natural-gas exports and taking significant steps to reduce those purchases.

The Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the decision, writing on social media: “The Trump administration’s suspension of the Graham Act is an important and truly historic moment.” The Guardian reported that the legislation had been due to take effect in two days.

Zelenskyy tied the sanctions pause to Trump’s earlier diesel arrangement with Moscow. Trump said last week that Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and 1 million tonnes “immediately thereafter.” He also wrote that Russia would deliver an additional 3 million tonnes “within a short period of time.”

The delivery schedule shows the scale of the energy opening: the November volume is more than the initial shipment, and the later 1 million-tonne tranche is more than three times the first stated amount. Zelenskyy said he expected further US sanctions relief and called for Europe to establish its own negotiations with Moscow.

The Guardian also reported that the sanctions decision followed strains between Trump and Zelenskyy. It said the US did not provide Ukraine with intelligence on several impending ballistic-missile attacks this week and that the White House reportedly ordered the Pentagon to limit the military-grade version of Starlink satellite internet used by Ukrainian forces.

Trump has demanded that Ukraine halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, according to the report. Ukraine unilaterally stopped those attacks after Trump declared an “energy ceasefire” last week, then resumed them after Russia stepped up attacks on Ukrainian power plants and substations, The Guardian reported.

Sanctions and diesel timeline

The first dated test is Oct. 19, when the Graham Act had been due to take effect, according to the report’s timing. The observable is whether the sanctions on Russian officials, banks, energy-sector targets and oil-shipping networks proceed despite Trump’s pause.

The next check is November, when Trump said Russia would supply an additional 500,000 tonnes of diesel after the initial shipment of more than 300,000 tonnes. The later sequence described by Trump includes 1 million tonnes “immediately thereafter” and 3 million tonnes “within a short period of time.”

Source: news report, The Guardian, Oct. 17, 2026