Former Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday accused President Donald Trump of betraying the legacy of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and handing Vladimir Putin a financial lifeline, calling on his former running mate to reverse a deal that temporarily lifted U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel fuel. Pence, who served alongside Trump for four years, laid out his case in a post on X, warning that Putin “doesn’t want peace” and wants all of Ukraine.
Pence’s Full Statement
Pence posted the statement at 1:49 p.m. on October 10, 2026. It reads in full:
“President Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian fuel amidst Putin’s ongoing and brutal attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine makes no sense and is a betrayal of the legacy and leadership of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
While Ukraine fights for its survival, Putin’s war machine continues to prosecute his terrorist war on civilian populations and innocent Ukrainians are dying every day.
Now, Instead of implementing the tough sanctions Lindsey Graham fought to his last breath to enact, President Trump has announced the United States is lifting sanctions on Russian energy, fueling the Putin’s war machine.
As I saw firsthand in Ukraine last month, Putin is losing this war. Ukraine has fought the Russian military to a standstill and reinvented warfare with drones taking the fight into the heart of Russia.
America should not be throwing a lifeline to Putin’s war machine. Now is the time to stand strong against Russian aggression as we did during the first Trump administration.
Putin doesn’t want peace. Putin wants Ukraine. I have no doubt that if Putin overruns Ukraine, it will only be a matter of time until Russia’s military crosses a border that our troops will have to deal with him.
America is the Leader of the Free World. For our National Security, for the security of our Allies in Europe including Ukraine, President Trump should rescind this deal immediately and return to the strong policies of our four years in the White House; impose harsh sanctions on any nation purchasing Russian energy and work with our allies to ensure Ukraine has the military support it needs to repel and defeat this Russian invasion once and for all. Slava Ukraini🇺🇸🇺🇦“
The Deal That Set Off the Criticism
The post came a day after Trump announced he had reached an arrangement with Putin for Russia to supply diesel to the United States and global markets. Trump said on social media that he had a “highly successful” discussion with the Russian leader in which they agreed Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel, equal to about 2.25 million barrels. Trump said a further 500,000 tons would follow in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.” Trump added that “lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority.”
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control backed the announcement with General License No. 135, dated October 9 and signed by OFAC Director Bradley T. Smith. The license authorizes all transactions otherwise prohibited by the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations and the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations that relate to the sale, delivery, offloading, or importation of Russian-origin diesel fuel, including importation into the United States. It runs through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 7, 2027. It does not authorize debits to accounts of Russia’s central bank, its National Wealth Fund, or its Ministry of Finance.
Reaction From Kyiv, Capitol Hill and Europe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the deal a “weak decision on the part of strong partners,” saying it was announced while a Ukrainian delegation was in Washington to discuss how to end the war. “Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world,” he wrote on X. Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican, said it was time to use the sanctions Congress recently passed “to squeeze Putin’s war machine, not reward a dictator.” The diesel exports could bring Moscow billions of dollars in revenue that could help sustain the war.
The German government said it “remains committed to the sanctions imposed on Russia” and is working with European partners on further measures, a spokesperson said, adding that support for Ukraine “remains unwavering.”
The Law Pence Says Trump Is Undercutting
Pence’s reference to Graham points to the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which became Public Law 119-111 when it was approved on September 18, 2026. The statute describes itself as legislation “championed by the late Senator Lindsey O. Graham.” It directs the president to sanction senior Russian officials, major Russian banks including Sberbank, VTB Bank and Gazprombank, and vessels moving Russian oil. It also prohibits U.S. energy exports to Russia and calls for duties of up to 500 percent on Russian goods, including petroleum products. It authorizes duties of up to 100 percent on the countries that buy the most Russian oil and gas.
The law also spells out how its measures can be eased. Section 115 lets the president waive provisions after sending Congress a written certification that doing so is in the national interest, along with an explanatory report. Section 117 allows termination of sanctions on Russia only after the president certifies that Russia has signed a peace agreement accepted by Ukraine’s government and has ceased hostilities, followed by a 30-day congressional review period. The text of General License 135 does not reference the 2026 law or a waiver under it.
Pence’s Record on Graham and Russia Sanctions
Graham died on July 11 at age 71. The senator’s death followed an announcement, days earlier, that he and Sen. Richard Blumenthal had reached an agreement with the Trump administration to move their updated Russia sanctions legislation forward. Pence then made a public push to honor him through the bill. He told Fox News Digital that “no more fitting tribute” to Graham’s life and vision existed than for Congress to pass the sanctions bill and for the president to sign it, and he urged lawmakers to put Graham’s name on it. In a post on X, he wrote, “Put Lindsey’s name on it.”
Pence’s support for the legislation extends back further. In an interview last year, he urged the Senate to send Trump secondary sanctions on Russia, saying Congress should give the president added leverage in peace talks. He told the interviewer that “Putin will not be stopped until he is stopped.” In a separate statement gathered by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Democratic staff in August, Pence said the bill’s passage “could set into motion” what he described as Graham’s “fondest hope,” a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.
A Long Record of Backing Ukraine
Pence has framed support for Ukraine as a national-interest question since Russia’s 2022 invasion. During a surprise June 2023 visit to Ukraine, where he met Zelenskiy and toured Irpin, he said that “America’s the leader of the free world” and that supporting those fighting for freedom is “always the American cause.” He also said at the time that American troops should never be sent into the fight. The warning in Saturday’s post, that a Russian victory in Ukraine could eventually force a confrontation with American forces, echoes language he used then.
His Position on the War With Iran
The wars in Ukraine and Iran are linked by fuel prices, which Trump has cited as the reason for the diesel agreement. Diesel prices are up about 70 percent since the United States and Israel launched the war with Iran on February 28, and the AAA motorist group put the average U.S. price at $6.28 a gallon on Thursday. Pence, however, has publicly supported the Iran campaign. In March, he described the strikes as finishing a conflict he said had been nearly 50 years in the making, and in early May he told an interviewer that the war “had to happen.” In June, he said he did not trust the Iranians and that “no deal is better than a bad deal” unless Tehran dismantled its nuclear and missile programs.
Trump Responds on Zelenskiy as Midterms Near
The dispute escalated Saturday when Trump called for Ukraine to get a new president, accusing Zelenskiy of repeatedly rejecting chances to end the war. The exchange came as fuel costs weigh on Republicans ahead of the November 3 congressional elections, which will determine whether the party keeps its thin control of Congress. Analysts told Reuters the diesel agreement was unlikely to produce sustained lower prices, with one oil market researcher calling it a “nothing burger” given how much more diesel Russia typically exports when its refineries are not under attack.
What Pence Is Demanding
Pence’s post sets out three demands: that Trump rescind the deal immediately, that he impose harsh sanctions on any nation purchasing Russian energy, and that he work with allies to give Ukraine the military support to “repel and defeat this Russian invasion once and for all.” The second demand tracks the secondary-duty mechanism written into the Graham law, which targets the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas. Pence closed with the Ukrainian rallying cry “Slava Ukraini.”