US Treasury Secretary downplays Russia sanctions waiver, warns Zelensky to 'be careful'
Trump appointee Scott Bessent insisted that no sanctions against Russia had been lifted — they had merely been waived.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed claims that recent U.S. actions were giving Russia an advantage and cautioned President Volodymyr Zelensky to be cautious, according to an NBC News interview on October 18. The remarks followed President Trump waiving most sanctions and tariffs from a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill he signed last month.
Zelensky had previously claimed the recent slowdown in Ukrainian Starlink access was due to American government intervention. Bessent urged Zelensky to verify such assertions, as they were not accurate. Following SpaceX's imposition of a speed cap on Ukraine's Starshield services, speculation arose over whether the restrictions stemmed from SpaceX, the U.S. government, or external sabotage.
The Ukrainian military depends on Starshield services for operations. Concurrently, the U.S. threatened to withdraw intelligence support if Ukraine continued bombing Russian oil refineries. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reportedly suggested the speed cap to Trump, who reportedly agreed. Zelensky claimed on a previous appearance on NBC's Meet the Press that Ukrainian intelligence indicated U.S. government orders led to the Starlink restriction.
Both Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied the accusation, with Bessent calling Zelensky's claim reckless. Bessent also addressed the Trump administration's decision to waive sanctions under the recently enacted Graham Act, stating only the diesel embargo was lifted, and emphasized that no sanctions were ever lifted.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Independent's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
