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Debt Desk — Debt Desk — October 20, 2026: Ukraine Rift, Election Enforcement and the Refinance Divide

Good morning. It is Tuesday, October twentieth.

The national brief begins with the sharpest deterioration yet in the relationship between the United States and Ukraine.

President Trump said Monday that Russia has been fine on Ukraine, criticized President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and suggested somebody else should negotiate for Kyiv. Those comments followed the president's decision Friday to waive new sanctions on Russia and move forward with a plan to import Russian diesel.

This is a meaningful new turn in the sanctions story we have been following. The debate is no longer only about whether…

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