Donald Trump says "could have made a better deal two years ago" on Russian sanctions pause

US President Donald Trump blocked several Russian sanctions on Friday night, two days before they were scheduled to take effect, saying he wanted Moscow to remain engaged in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, according to a Truth Social post. The step came as US relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky grew more strained. Congress had approved the sanctions and they were signed in September; Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the suspension as a 60-day pause to study economic consequences for the United States and the world. Zelensky told NBC that backing Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a grave mistake, while Russian representative Kirill Dmitriev described the action as significant. In the same post, Trump said Zelensky did not want the war to end and argued that waiting had reduced Kyiv’s leverage.