Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Donald Trump's decision to roll back sanctions on Russia will intensify the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, calling the move a «reward» for Vladimir Putin. His intervention came as Moscow launched one of its most severe strikes yet on Ukraine's power plants, part of what Kyiv describes as a deliberate campaign to make its cities unlivable before winter.
The Ukrainian president said he expected the Trump administration to lift further sanctions against Russia in the future. He also urged Europe to open its own negotiations with Moscow, reflecting concern that Washington is pursuing better ties and business deals with the Kremlin while pressure on Russia eases.
The timing of the sanctions decision has sharpened the dispute. Trump suspended sanctions that Congress had imposed on Russia just a week after what critics described as cordial dealings with Putin. Zelenskyy has argued that such concessions give the Russian leader «every reason to continue war», and he has urged supporters to defend new US sanctions on Russia after Trump put them on hold.
The power plant attacks reflect what Ukrainian officials describe as a Russian blueprint to make Ukrainian cities unlivable. Strikes on energy infrastructure have become a recurring feature of the war, and the latest assault is among the largest on Ukraine's energy sector since the conflict began. With winter approaching, the loss of generating capacity and heating supply poses a direct threat to civilians across the country.
Zelenskyy's warning places the sanctions question at the centre of the wider debate over how the West should approach Moscow. The rollback signals a shift in Washington's posture, moving away from punitive measures and towards engagement. For Kyiv, that shift removes a key source of leverage at a moment when Russia is escalating attacks on civilian infrastructure.
The Ukrainian president's call for European negotiations with Moscow suggests he sees the continent as a counterweight to changing US policy. European capitals have so far maintained their own sanctions regimes, and any divergence with Washington would complicate the broader Western response to the war.
Russia has not commented directly on Zelenskyy's remarks, but the scale of the latest strikes underlines that the Kremlin is pressing its advantage on the battlefield and against Ukraine's infrastructure. The coming months are likely to test whether sanctions relief changes Moscow's calculations or, as Zelenskyy predicts, encourages further escalation.