Kyiv, Oct 17 (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged supporters Saturday to speak out in favour of new US sanctions against Russia, hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order putting the sweeping restrictions on hold.
The White House decision has heightened fears that Ukraine could be left exposed to Moscow's escalating attacks as winter approaches.
Overnight Russian attacks killed at least four people, including an ambulance driver, and wounded dozens, officials said. Ukrainian drones killed a woman in a Russian border region and disrupted flights at Moscow's airports, according to Russian authorities.
In a social media statement, Zelenskyy called Trump's decision unfortunate but avoided directly criticising 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,” Zelenskyy wrote. “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.
Asked about contacts with Washington, Zelenskyy said Ukraine's lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, had met Friday with US presidential envoy Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.
Zelenskyy said the US was working to arrange a three-way meeting involving him, Trump and Putin, potentially in the Middle East, Europe or the United States.
Critics say Trump's decision helps Putin
Named after late South Carolina Sen Lindsey Graham, the legislation had sought to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fueling Russia's 4 1/2-year-old war against Ukraine. The bill had sought to sanction Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving.
Trump personally signed the legislation just last month and his move came just two days before a deadline set in the law itself for its implementation. Trump told Congress that the pause was in the national interest but gave no further details.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who co-drafted the bill, criticised Trump's move, saying the president was turning his back on “the majority of Americans, their representatives in both houses of Congress, and our European allies.”
“These waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin,” Blumenthal said.
Trump's unexpected decision comes a week after he had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down global energy prices, despite that potentially hurting Ukraine. Republicans and Democrats alike say the purchase will help Russia execute its war against Ukraine — without making a difference to global fuel prices, which are elevated mostly due to Trump's war on Iran.
Starlink restrictions were planned, Zelenskyy says
Zelenskyy said that Kyiv was investigating sudden speed restrictions on Ukraine's use of Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, which is the backbone of Ukraine's drone operations and communication.
The restrictions, imposed without warning early Thursday, cut the internet data connection when a communication terminal moves faster than 160 kph (100 mph). The cap forced Ukrainian drones to fly slower than usual, making it easier for Russian weapons to target or evade them.
Zelenskyy said that there were no similar restrictions in European Union countries and that they apply only to Ukraine. “In other words, this is a planned operation,” he said.
It was unclear who was responsible. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said this week that the U.S. government owns and controls the system, with decisions about its use resting with the U.S. military and, ultimately, the president. The Pentagon has not answered questions from The Associated Press about the restrictions.
Trump told reporters Friday that he did not order restrictions on the system. He also doubted that the disruption came from Musk.
“Well, I don't know if it was anybody, but it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon,” Trump said. “And from what I understand, it's the same as it's always been.”
Kyiv reports a massive' energy strike
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Moscow carried out a massive strike on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, targeting more than 15 sites across the country, Zelenskyy said.
“The sheer scale and unrelenting pace of Russia's strikes, specifically against our energy sector, are unfortunately having severe consequences,” he said.
Ukraine's air force said it intercepted all four of Russia's cruise missiles and most of the 332 attack drones it fired overnight.
Russia's heavy bombardment of the power grid ahead of winter has been an annual feature of the war, aimed at wearing down Ukraine's appetite for the fight by denying civilians heat and running water. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for more attacks in the coming months.
Russian attacks killed three people in the Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, Vadym Liakh, head of the city military administration, said Saturday. A Russian strike also killed an ambulance driver in Ukraine's Kherson region, head of the local military administration Yaroslav Shanko said. The strike, which used guided bombs, wounded at least 33 others, he said.
Ukrainian drones disrupt Moscow airports
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A Russian woman was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Russian border region of Belgorod, local officials said.
Russia's Ministry of Defense said Saturday that its forces shot down 610 Ukrainian drones overnight over 15 Russian regions, as well as the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black Sea.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that more than 100 drones were shot down en route to the capital. More than 350 flights were canceled or delayed at Moscow airports, local media reported, as planes were grounded in response to incoming drones.
The Kremlin announced Saturday that Putin approved a government program to help restore trade and logistics facilities damaged in drone attacks.
Romania downs 2 drones over Black Sea
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Romania's Ministry of National Defense said Saturday that its pilots had shot down two drones over the country's territorial waters in the Black Sea.
Two F-16s were scrambled at 5:43 pm local time after radar systems “detected a group of aerial targets moving southwest, approximately 120 kilometers east of Snake Island,” the ministry said.
The drones entered the NATO member's airspace around 6 pm and were shot down minutes later.
“Both aerial targets were identified as drones and were shot down over Romania's territorial waters,” the ministry said.
The incident follows a spate of drone attacks on at least seven cargo vessels off the Black Sea coasts of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria in October.
Scores of drones have crossed into Romanian airspace over the past two years, with officials attributing many of the incursions to Russia. Romania first shot down drones this year, marking its first such action since Moscow invaded neighboring Ukraine.