US president Donald Trump has signed an executive order that puts on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause was in the "national interest".
Trump personally approved the legislation just last month, and his move to block it came just two days before a deadline set in the law itself for its implementation. Named after late South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, it had sought to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fuelling the war against Ukraine.
Trump's unexpected decision comes a week after he stunningly said the US had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down global energy prices, despite that potentially hurting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The US president also refused to say Russia's president Vladimir Putin was responsible for starting the war. When asked by reporters whether he had forgotten that it was Putin who invaded Russia's European neighbour, he suggested it was not that straightforward.
He said: “I know the details, OK, and at some point I’ll release the details. But I don’t care about anything except for one. I want that war ended.”
Trump's decision to waive Russian sanctions outrages Congress
President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia days before they were to take effect drew outrage on Saturday from members of Congress, which had overwhelmingly passed the legislation in a bipartisan display of American support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Lawmakers from both parties blasted the executive order late on Friday, the latest in a series of steps that the Republican president has taken drawing the United States closer to Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Trump recently announced a diesel deal with Putin to import Russian energy in a long-shot effort to curb high gas prices in the US that are roiling the midterm elections on 3 November.
"I think it's clear Russia is the aggressor, and we've got to do everything we can to put economic pressure on Russia," senator Rick Scott said in an interview with the Associated Press. "So it's not the first thing I would be doing.”
At least 1,500 troops to participate in war exercises in Poland
At least 1,500 troops from Britain, France and Germany will take part in the war exercise next month, according to The Times, alongside Polish forces.
The wargames will simulate moving troops and supplies such as food and fuel, and was agreed at a coalition of the willing summit in July.
Russian air strike on Kherson kills ambulance driver and injures almost 20
A Russian air strike on Kherson in southern Ukraine killed one person and injured 19 others, governor Oleksandr Prokudin has said on Saturday.
The person killed was an ambulance driver, and one child was among the injured, Prokudin said on Telegram.
Zelensky says meeting between US, Ukraine and Russia is possible
A trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States and Russia could take place during the G20 summit in Miami later this year, or in a Middle Eastern country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
"The meeting could then take place in the United States during the G20 summit. But there has been no confirmation yet from either Russia or the United States. It could also be held in a European country," he said.
The G20 summit is due to take place in December.
Aftermath of Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia
Romanian F-16 fighter jets shoot down two drones over its territorial waters
Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones over the country's territorial waters on Saturday, the defence ministry said.
The drones were shot down days after two chemical tankers were hit by drones near Romania's Black Sea coast, the latest in a series of attacks highlighting risks to commercial shipping on NATO's eastern flank.
Trump is 'exacerbating and prolonging' the Ukraine war, former adviser says
Donald Trump is “exacerbating and prolonging” the war in Ukraine, his former Russia adviser has claimed.
Fiona Hill, who worked under the president during his first term, has accused him of blaming Ukraine for domestic issues he has caused in the US, and also described him as being “unbelievably vulnerable” to Vladimir Putin.
Asked what his strategy on Ukraine was, she told Sky News: “His strategy is just about himself. Trump is worrying about the midterms, which are coming up very quickly.
“The expectation is that the Republican Party will get a trouncing because of Trump’s own failure to handle so many of the domestic issues as well as the foreign policy portfolio because he’s dragged the United States into a war with Iran, which is the main reason for skyrocketing prices of petrol and diesel.
“Trump is trying to blame Ukraine for this and say that the majority of the pricing increases is because of Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries.”
Putin says Russia is building non-negotiable 'security zone' in Ukraine along border
Russia is establishing a "security zone" inside Ukraine along its border, which will be non-negotiable in any future talks with Kyiv, president Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
Putin, wearing a military uniform and speaking during a visit to a command post, said the operation was in response to Ukraine's 2024-25 incursion into Russia's western Kursk region.
"The Russian armed forces were tasked not only with expelling the enemy from our land but also with establishing a security zone in the adjacent territory. This task is being carried out successfully," he said in televised comments.
"Our goal is to ensure the absolute security of Russia's border regions for the future, and we do not plan to make this a subject for potential peace negotiations with Ukraine."
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the planned security zone spanned 660km, of which 70 per cent was currently under Russia's control. He did not say how deep it would reach inside Ukraine.
Putin has spoken before about the need for such a zone but has not previously spelt out the planned extent of it or said it would be off-limits for talks. It requires Russia to carve out land in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, which are not among those it has claimed as its own territory since launching the war in Ukraine in 2022.
Recap: Trump refuses to blame Russia for war
The US president has placed himself at loggerheads with the UK and other allies over the conflict by refusing to say president Vladimir Putin sparked the Ukraine war.
Britain and most other Nato members have been clear in blaming and condemning the Kremlin for the Ukraine conflict, triggered by Mr Putin ordering the invasion of the neighbouring nation in 2022.
But when Donald Trump was asked whether he had forgotten that it was the Russian leader who started the war, he did not respond directly and implied it was not straightforward.
He said: “I know the details, OK, and at some point I’ll release the details.”Mr Trump added: “But I don’t care anything except for one. I want that war ended.”
His comments, as he left the White House for a campaign rally in Georgia, came after he again rounded on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he was “not a big fan” and claiming he was “more difficult to deal with than Putin”.
Mr Trump previously suggested Ukraine needed a new leader and claimed Mr Putin wanted a peace deal more.