Trump waives Russia sanctions, Zelensky calls move 'wrong'
US President Donald Trump signed an order to suspend penalties targeting Russia's energy and defense sectors.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Highlights from Vance's CBS News town hall
Photograph: CBS News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- US President Donald Trump signed an executive order waiving sweeping sanctions targeting Russia's energy revenues.
- The sanctions were aimed at Russia's energy and defence sectors, as well as Vladimir Putin and a 'shadow fleet' of tankers.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated the waiver was 'wrong' and 'rewards' Russia, particularly as Russia had attacked Ukrainian power facilities on the same day.
- A Putin envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, described the suspension as an 'important and truly historic moment'.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 8 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
59/100
Hype
41/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 8 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that waived new sanctions targeting Russia's energy revenues. The sanctions, established by the Lindsey Graham Act, were intended to pressure Russia's energy and defence sectors. They also targeted Vladimir Putin and a 'shadow fleet' of tankers used to circumvent Western measures.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Trump's decision was 'wrong' and 'rewards' Russia. He noted that the waiver came on the same day Russia attacked 15 critical power generation facilities across Ukraine. Zelenskyy warned that Russia was attempting to leave millions of Ukrainians without electricity and heating ahead of winter.
Disagreement on the impact of the waiver
Arab News reported that Zelenskyy warned Moscow wants to deprive 'millions' of Ukrainians of heat and electricity before winter. Reuters reported Zelenskyy stating on social media, 'It definitely helps only the Russians'.
What the coverage left out
None of the centre or right-rated reports mentioned the specific figure of $1.2bn in relation to the sanctions or energy revenues. The reports also did not detail the specific mechanisms or amounts of the sanctions being waived beyond targeting energy revenues, defence sectors, Putin, and the 'shadow fleet'.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 18 Oct 2026, 13:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
We have not written our reading of the left coverage of this story. The left-rated outlets that ran it are listed below.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports led with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's criticism of the sanctions waiver. Both CBS News and Reuters highlighted Zelenskyy's statement that the move was 'wrong'. Reuters quoted Zelenskyy directly on social media saying, 'It definitely helps only the Russians'.
Right
5 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports focused on Zelenskyy's condemnation of the waiver, with headlines from Arab News, London Loves Business, and The Straits Times stating it 'rewards' Putin or is a 'reversal'. Arab News provided the most detail, reporting Zelenskyy's warning that Moscow wants to cause a 'blackout' in Ukraine and that the waiver 'rewards' Putin. NHK World's digest also stated Zelenskyy called the waiver 'wrong'.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump waives Russia sanctions, Zelensky calls move 'wrong'?
- Of the 8 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 13% are rated left, 24% are rated centre, 63% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump waives Russia sanctions, Zelensky calls move 'wrong' left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 8 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump waives Russia sanctions, Zelensky calls move 'wrong' biased?
- Trump waives Russia sanctions, Zelensky calls move 'wrong' is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump waives Russia sanctions, Zelensky calls move 'wrong'?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump waives Russia sanctions, Zelensky calls move 'wrong'?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Donald Trump do regarding sanctions on Russia?
- US President Donald Trump signed an executive order waiving new sanctions that had been targeting Russia's energy revenues, energy and defence sectors, Vladimir Putin, and a 'shadow fleet' of tankers.
- How did Ukraine's President Zelenskyy react to the sanctions waiver?
- President Zelenskyy stated that President Trump's decision was 'wrong' and 'rewards' Russia. He also warned that Moscow was trying to cause a 'blackout' in Ukraine ahead of winter by attacking energy facilities.
- What was the reaction from Russia to the sanctions waiver?
- A Putin envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, described the suspension of the sanctions as an 'important and truly historic moment'. Other Russian officials also celebrated the move.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
2Right
5- In the EU, Zelensky's Reaction to Trump's Decision Was Described: the Clown Was Pissed Off. (opens EADaily in a new tab)
EADaily — is EADaily biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Zelenskyy: Trump's Russia sanctions waiver wrong (opens NHK World in a new tab)
- Zelensky condemns Trump’s sanctions reversal as Moscow celebrates ‘historic’ reprieve - London Business News (opens London Loves Business in a new tab)
London Loves Business — is London Loves Business biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Zelensky criticises Trump’s waiver of sanctions on Russia as ‘wrong’ (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Zelensky says Trump waiving sanctions ‘rewards’ Putin, warns Moscow wants ‘blackout’ in Ukraine (opens Arab News in a new tab)
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
