The open-ended waiver drew immediate bipartisan backlash in Congress, where Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Thom Tillis and John Cornyn joined Democrats in condemning the move, though legislative countermeasures remain stalled with lawmakers in recess until after the November 3 midterm elections. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said enforcing the penalties now would impede peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv and noted they can be imposed at any time, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued Sunday that no existing sanctions were lifted apart from the diesel embargo.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Sunday that the waiver strengthens Russian President Vladimir Putin's war effort, saying Moscow launched more than 320 drones and missiles overnight Saturday against over 15 Ukrainian power generation and transmission facilities. The sanctions pause follows Trump's October 9 deal with Putin for Russia to supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel immediately and 500,000 tons in November, under a US Treasury general license authorizing Russian diesel transactions through April 7, 2027.