Foreign Policy on CrossGov.com

Trump's Animosity Toward Ukraine Rewards Putin: From the Oval Office Ambush to a Russian Diesel Deal

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t think the US owes Ukraine an open chequebook. Europe should carry most of the cost of a war on its own continent, and it now does. A President who pushed allies to pay more, demanded accountability for every weapon and pressed both sides toward a ceasefire would be doing his job.

Then there’s what this President has actually done. Over 20 months he has treated the country that was invaded as the problem, and the country that invaded it as a partner in waiting.

No New US Aid for Ukraine Since 2024: Weapons Now Flow Through NATO-Funded PURL Sales

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Congress hasn’t approved significant new money for Ukraine since April 2024, the Congressional Research Service noted in its update of 31 August 2026. The US has committed more than $68 billion in weapons and equipment since February 2022. About $4.96 billion in authority to send weapons from US stocks remained unused at the end of June.

US weapons still reach Ukraine. Since July 2025 they’ve mostly come through PURL, the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, under which European and other allies pay for US equipment. On 8 October the chair of NATO’s Military Committee said Ukraine had received $10 billion worth of US weapons that way.

The Graham Russia Sanctions Act Takes Effect on October 19 as Trump Strikes a Diesel Deal With Putin

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 18 September the President signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. It passed the Senate 86 to 11 and the House 262 to 159. Its main provisions take effect on 19 October.

The law lets the President impose tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods, and of up to 100% on the five largest buyers of Russian oil or gas, or the five biggest helpers in evading sanctions. It requires sanctions on Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank, bans trading in some Russian securities, and adds sanctions on Rosatom, the state nuclear company, from 2028. Lifting the Russia measures requires a peace deal Ukraine accepts. The President can waive almost everything on national interest grounds.

US Nuclear Push Gets a $120 Billion Korea Framework for AP1000s While the Palisades Restart Stalls on a Tipped Fuel Assembly

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 30 September the US and South Korea announced a framework for up to $120 billion in Korean investment to finance eight large reactors on federal sites: six Westinghouse AP1000s in three two-unit plants, and two Korean-designed APR1400s. Korea would take a 5% to 10% stake in Westinghouse. The terms aren’t binding.

The same day, Holtec filed for permission from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to retrieve a fuel assembly that tipped over during fuel loading at the Palisades plant in Michigan on 30 August. The NRC noted “significant bowing” of the assembly. Fuel loading is paused, and there’s no new restart date for what was meant to be the first US reactor to come back after shutting down.

After USAID: GAO Counts 6,780 Awards Ended as the State Department Takes Over $52 Billion in Foreign Aid

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 30 September 2026 GAO published its accounting of what happened to the US Agency for International Development. Between January 2025 and March 2026, USAID ended about 6,780 of its 7,510 awards, on which $79.1 billion had been obligated. About $52.1 billion in active awards remains, now managed by the State Department. USAID’s staff fell from about 13,600 to 241 by April 2026.

GAO also found that State had no documented guidance for deciding which awards to end. It made three recommendations, which State accepted.

US Boat Strike Death Toll Reaches 238 a Year After the First Attack, With Maduro Awaiting Trial in New York

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 4 October a US military strike on a boat in the Caribbean killed four people the administration described as drug traffickers. It was the first strike in 15 days and brought the total killed since September 2025 to 238, according to a USNI News count. By early September there had been at least 68 strikes. Most in 2026 have been in the eastern Pacific.

The campaign began on 2 September 2025 with a strike that killed 11. Thirteen months on, its legal basis still rests on an administration position that Congress has argued over and never voted to endorse.

Project Vault Signs Glencore and Mercuria as the FORGE Critical Minerals Price Floor Agreement Stays Unsigned

Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 23 September Glencore and Mercuria became the first commodity traders to join Project Vault, the US critical minerals stockpile, committing $1 billion between them. Project Vault is backed by a $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank, the bank’s largest ever, plus about $2 billion of private money. It’s run by a private company, VaultCo, with EXIM as a non-voting board observer, and can buy any of the 60 minerals the US Geological Survey lists as critical. No purchases have been disclosed.

US Arms Sales in 2026: Saudi F-35s Approved, Taiwan's $14 Billion Air Defence Package Frozen After the Xi Summit

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 17 September the State Department notified Congress of a proposed sale of 48 F-35 fighters to Saudi Arabia, worth $24.3 billion. It would make Saudi Arabia the second country in the Middle East, after Israel, to fly the jet. The same month brought a $5 billion sale of more than 10,000 bombs and $750 million in tank engines to Riyadh.

Meanwhile a record $14 billion package for Taiwan, mostly Patriot interceptors and an integrated air defence command system, has been on hold since the President’s summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing in May. Taiwan’s defence minister said on 29 September that it was still pending.

Rubio Made Permanent National Security Adviser as the NSC Runs With Fewer Than 50 Policy Staff

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 22 September the White House said Marco Rubio is now the permanent national security adviser, after 16 months as acting adviser. He stays Secretary of State. The only other person to hold both jobs at once was Henry Kissinger, from 1973 to 1975.

The appointment formalises how the National Security Council has worked since May 2025: a small White House staff, with the State and Defense departments doing the policy work the NSC once coordinated.

US Allows Nvidia H200 Sales to China With a 25% Cut, but Shipments Stay Trivial as Beijing Blocks Imports

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In January 2026 the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security changed its rules to allow exports of Nvidia’s H200 chip, and similar parts, to approved customers in China. The rule took effect on 15 January. In return the US government takes 25% of the sale value, collected through a duty when chips pass through the US for checks before export.

Eight months later, very little has shipped. Nvidia confirmed its first H200 deliveries to Chinese customers on 27 August, and said China revenue remained under 1% of its data-centre sales. Its guidance for the current quarter assumes no China data-centre revenue at all.