US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally to support Republican Senate candidate Mike Collins and gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson, in Dalton, Georgia, US, October 16, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
A former ambassador to Ukraine sounded the alarm Sunday as President Donald Trump continues to send "kisses" to one of the U.S.'s chief adversaries.
Last week, Trump announced that the U.S. was planning to buy millions of barrels of Russian diesel fuel in an effort to lower gas prices ahead of the midterms. Trump backed up that move this week by lifting sanctions against Russia that were included in the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, a law passed in honor of the late Republican Senator from South Carolina who took a hard-line approach to dealing with Russia. Both moves caused a plethora of outrage from Republicans and Democrats alike, although no legislative action has been taken to rein in Trump.
John Herbst, senior director at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center and a former ambassador to Ukraine, said on "CNN Newsroom" with host Fredricka Whitfield that Trump's moves are a "very bad look" for the president and the U.S. as a whole.
"They haven't handed him victory, but they've given him several gifts over the past week, [or] week and a half, while Putin has done everything he can, not just to conquer Ukraine, but to counter the United States in the Middle East," Herbst said. "So, while Putin is warringagainst us, we are sending himkisses, and that's a very badlook."
Herbst also took issue with reports that White House officials ordered a slowdown of Ukraine's Starshield system, the military equivalent of the Starlink internet service provided by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Trump denied knowing who gave the order, which raised speculation that he himself gave it.
The former ambassador described the Starshield service as "one very good element of support that Trump has provided and actually precedes Trump."
"In his term, he's providedalmost the entire time," Herbst added. "Cuttingthat off is very serious. It makes it much harder for Ukraine to stop the strikes that are killing civilians, going after Ukrainian energy and water infrastructure. So that's the most importantthing."