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Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images     (republicans-push-back-trump-ukraine-russia.html#img-1)   View image in fullscreen       Donald Trump speaks at a midterm campaign rally at the Dalton municipal airport in Georgia on 16 October 2026. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images       (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/republicans) Republicans     Republicans push back on Donald Trump’s wavering support for Ukraine   GOP lawmakers threaten to pull support for president’s agenda after Russia diesel deal and sanctions pause (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/oct/20/donald-trump-midterms-republicans-democrats-north-carolina-latest-updates) US politics live – latest updates            (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/ariana-baio) Ariana Baio in New York   Tue 20 Oct 2026 13.32 EDT  Last modified on Tue 20 Oct 2026 21.08 EDT   (mailto:?subject=Republicans push back on Donald Trump’s wavering support for Ukraine&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/20/republicans-push-back-trump-ukraine-russia?CMP=share_btn_url) Share          (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=theguardian.com) Prefer the Guardian on Google          A handful of Republicans have spoken out against (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) Donald Trump ’s (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/19/no-us-warning-russian-strikes-kyiv-power-plants-zelenskyy-ukraine-trump) softening stance on Russia , threatening to pull financial support for his agenda over his “embarrassing” handling of the Ukraine war. Don Bacon, an outgoing congressman in Nebraska, condemned Trump’s actions – which include a (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/09/trump-putin-russian-diesel-ukraine) stunning agreement to buy Russian diesel and the (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/17/trump-puts-new-russia-sanctions-passed-by-congress-on-hold-amid-deepening-row-with-ukraine) pausing of sanctions on Moscow – as “absolutely disgraceful” and accused the US president of cozying up to a “war criminal” in Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart.  “It really is disgraceful, and the (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/republicans) Republicans that I associate with, there’s a lot of us, can’t stand it,” Bacon (https://x.com/TheLeadCNN/status/2112322167685705771) told CNN on Monday. “I think the president’s leverage in this Congress is shot.” (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/19/no-us-warning-russian-strikes-kyiv-power-plants-zelenskyy-ukraine-trump)  US gave us no warning of Russian strikes on Kyiv power plants, Zelenskyy says     Read more        Last week, Trump waived sanctions imposed on Russia through a (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5025) law named after his longtime ally and late senator Lindsey Graham. The legislation, which he (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/17/trump-puts-new-russia-sanctions-passed-by-congress-on-hold-amid-deepening-row-with-ukraine) signed only last month, was intended to increase financial pressure on Russia, more than four years after it invaded Ukraine. Instead, Trump announced he had struck a deal with Putin to import diesel fuel, which has become more expensive for Americans largely due to Trump’s war with Iran. Trump (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117389259991976695) has previously blamed Ukraine’s strikes on Russia. Over the weekend, (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117463828588421761) Trump claimed Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “doesn’t care” about the impact of Ukraine’s strikes on Russia and “doesn’t want to end this war and probably never did” because Ukraine is receiving financial support from Europe. Trump also suggested Zelenskyy should step down on Monday, saying it was “time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine”. In an (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-18/zelenskyy-says-trump-is-pushing-ukraine-to-capitulate-to-russia) interview with Bloomberg , (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/18/killed-injured-russia-ukraine-strikes-power-infrastructure) Zelenskyy said he believed Trump was taking steps to “convince Ukraine to capitulate” to Russian demands. On social media, (https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/2112454693225902553) Zelenskyy reaffirmed Ukraine’s partnership with the US . Darline Graham, the sister of Lindsey Graham and now a senator from South Carolina, broke with the president on his decision over the weekend, (https://x.com/MegKinnardAP/status/2111504100995342414) telling reporters on Saturday : “Personally, I would choose to put the pressure on Russia to end the war and get gas prices down because I don’t trust Putin, and I don’t trust Russia.” “[Ronald Reagan] and [Lindsey Graham] would be ashamed of this,” Bill Cassidy, the outgoing US senator from Louisiana, (https://x.com/SenBillCassidy/status/2112237066981720146) wrote on X in response to a recent (https://www.wsj.com/opinion/to-russia-with-love-signed-donald-bffbcdc8) Wall Street Journal editorial on the matter. Mitt Romney, a former Republican senator and presidential candidate, (https://x.com/MittRomney/status/2111505611120583096) wrote on social media that if the US abandoned Ukraine, it would also “abandon liberty”. Some lawmakers had already raised concerns about the president’s support for Ukraine after Ukrainian officials said the country’s access to Starshield, a military version of the Starlink satellite internet service powered by Elon Musk’s company, (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/14/ukraine-soldiers-combat-access-starlink-satellite-internet-restricted) was restricted last week . Musk (https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2110445577184133456?s=46) hinted on social media  that the US government controlled Ukraine’s access. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/18/killed-injured-russia-ukraine-strikes-power-infrastructure) Zelenskyy also accused the US government of (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/19/no-us-warning-russian-strikes-kyiv-power-plants-zelenskyy-ukraine-trump) withholding intelligence about an incoming Russian missile attack on Sunday evening – the third accusation of its kind. (republicans-push-back-trump-ukraine-russia.html#EmailSignup-skip-link-14) skip past newsletter promotion     Free newsletter | Weekly, plus breaking news alerts    Sign up to The Stakes 2026  A weekly guide to what really matters in the US midterms, plus breaking news alerts.  ()   Enter your email  ()   Sign up      after newsletter promotion   (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/15/starshield-starlink-ukraine-restriction-explained)  What is Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade Starlink system, and how will its restriction affect Ukraine?     Read more        Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania congressman, (https://www.ms.now/news/trump-russia-ukraine-republicans) told MS Now on Monday that the Trump administration had not given “sufficient answers” about the recent disruptions to Starshield and the diesel deal. “This is wildly unacceptable, and it’s not going to stand,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s going to be consequences to this. And by the way, it’s not just Starshield. It’s the diesel deal. It’s the lifting of sanctions. It’s all of this stuff.” Fitzpatrick said lawmakers would “demand accountability” and that they could take “punitive budgetary action” to force the administration to provide answers. Bacon told CNN he was unwilling to support the president’s agenda, such as building a triumphal arch or a new White House ballroom, while he withheld support for Ukraine. “Why would I want to support the president’s priorities, like the victory arch?” Bacon asked. “Frankly, what I see him doing here is surrendering.” Bacon added: “Why should we try to accommodate him and meet him halfway on funding when he is embarrassing this country so bad with what he’s doing with Putin and Zelensky?”         Explore more on these topics (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/republicans) Republicans  (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) Donald Trump  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine) Ukraine  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/russia) Russia  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/volodymyr-zelenskiy) Volodymyr Zelenskyy  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/vladimir-putin) Vladimir Putin  (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-foreign-policy) US foreign policy  (https://www.theguardian.com/tone/news) news    (mailto:?subject=Republicans push back on Donald Trump’s wavering support for Ukraine&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/20/republicans-push-back-trump-ukraine-russia?CMP=share_btn_url) Share     (https://syndication.theguardian.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Foct%2F20%2Frepublicans-push-back-trump-ukraine-russia&type=article&internalpagecode=us-news/2026/oct/20/republicans-push-back-trump-ukraine-russia) (Reuse this content) Reuse this content                            Most viewed      Most viewed                                                               (https://www.theguardian.com/world) World  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news) Europe   (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news) US news  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/americas) Americas  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/asia) Asia  (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news) Australia  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/middleeast) Middle East  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/africa) Africa  (https://www.theguardian.com/inequality) Inequality  (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development) Global development       (https://www.theguardian.com/) News  (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree) Opinion  (https://www.theguardian.com/sport) Sport  (https://www.theguardian.com/culture) Culture  (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle) Lifestyle    Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning (https://www.theguardian.com/info/2018/sep/17/guardian-us-morning-briefing-sign-up-to-stay-informed) Sign up for our email     (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us) About us  (https://manage.theguardian.com/help-centre) Help  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/complaints-and-corrections) Complaints & corrections  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us/contact) Contact us  (https://www.theguardian.com/tips) Tip us off  (https://www.theguardian.com/securedrop) SecureDrop  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/privacy) Privacy policy  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/cookies) Cookie policy  (https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2026/07/22/STL_Global_Tax_Strategy_for_the_year_to_31_March_2027.pdf) Tax strategy  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/terms-of-service) Terms & conditions   (https://www.theguardian.com/index/subjects/a) All topics  (https://www.theguardian.com/index/contributors) All writers  (https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?INTCMP=DOTCOM_FOOTER_NEWSLETTER_US) Newsletters  (https://theguardian.newspapers.com) Digital newspaper archive  (https://bsky.app/profile/us.theguardian.com) Bluesky  (https://www.facebook.com/theguardian) Facebook  (https://www.instagram.com/guardian) Instagram  (https://www.linkedin.com/company/theguardian) LinkedIn  (https://www.threads.com/@guardian_us) Threads  (https://www.tiktok.com/@guardian) TikTok  (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGuardian) YouTube   (https://usadvertising.theguardian.com) Advertise with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-labs-us) Guardian Labs  (https://jobs.theguardian.com) Search jobs  (https://workwithus.theguardian.com/) Work with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/accessibility-help) Accessibility settings         (republicans-push-back-trump-ukraine-russia.html#top) Back to top      © 2026Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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