Russia
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Foreign Policy
He signed the Russia sanctions law in September and waived it in October, after a phone call with Putin about diesel
On October 9, 2026 Trump agreed with Putin by phone to let Russian diesel back into world markets; a week later he waived the core of the Lindsey Graham sanctions act he had signed 28 days earlier, as Russia offered nothing in return.
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Foreign Policy
Give up the Donbas or face 'a very bad thing': the 2026 pressure campaign on Kyiv while Moscow gives up nothing
Through 2026 the administration pressed Ukraine to quit the Donbas it still holds while easing pressure on Moscow; Putin kept bombing Kyiv, and 61 percent of Ukrainians and 76 percent of Americans reject the trade.
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Foreign Policy
Russian oil sanctions, one year on: repeated waivers, a Hungary carve-out and a $22 billion sale that has not closed
Since sanctioning Rosneft and Lukoil in October 2025, the administration waived them three times during the Iran war, gave Hungary a one-year exemption now up for renewal, and Lukoil's $22 billion foreign portfolio is still unsold.
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Foreign Policy
Red carpet in Anchorage, Kremlin talking points in the peace plan: how Russia's terms became the US position
Trump hosted Putin on US soil in August 2025 with no deal and no ceasefire; by November a 28-point US plan asked Ukraine to give up Donetsk, cap its army and forgo NATO, and leaked calls showed the US envoy coaching the Kremlin.
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Foreign Policy
The Oval Office blow-up, then the switch-off: how the US cut weapons and intelligence to Ukraine for a week
After the February 28, 2025 Oval Office clash, the Trump administration paused weapons deliveries and intelligence sharing with Ukraine; both resumed on March 11 only after Kyiv accepted a US ceasefire proposal and a minerals deal.
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Foreign Policy
Starlink and Ukraine: the 2022 shutdown report, the October 2026 slowdown, and who had the switch
Reuters reported Musk ordered Starlink cut over parts of Ukraine in 2022 (SpaceX disputes it); in October 2026 Ukraine's Starlink and Starshield links were throttled for over a week until service returned October 24.
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Foreign Policy
'Where's my favorite dictator?': a sourced catalog of Trump's affection for strongmen
From 'we fell in love' with Kim Jong Un to 'genius' for Putin, 'my favorite dictator' for el-Sisi, campaigning for Orbán, a state dinner for Xi and shutting down a Khashoggi question for MBS, the record spans both terms.
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Foreign Policy
Helsinki to St Petersburg: the documented record of Trump siding with Putin
From taking Putin's word over US intelligence in Helsinki in 2018, to calling the 2022 invasion 'genius,' to nine envoy meetings and a diesel deal in 2026, the record of Trump's deference to Putin is long, public and bipartisan-documented.