President Donald Trump announced Friday that Russia has agreed to release hundreds of thousands of tonnes of diesel onto world markets, as the White House moves to suspend sanctions on Russian fuel exports in a bid to ease pump prices ahead of next month's midterm elections.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to release 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately "to the American and global marketplace," with another 500,000 tonnes to follow in November and a further million tonnes after that, plus up to three million more tonnes "within a short period," depending on the condition of Russian refineries that Ukraine has been striking. The US Treasury moved quickly to formalize the arrangement, issuing a temporary license suspending sanctions on Russian diesel exports through 7 April, though other frozen Russian assets, including funds held in American banks, remain untouched.
Zelensky Calls It 'A Gift to Putin'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticized the arrangement, calling it a gift to Putin that amounts to "an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged." He said Russia would repay the diesel "with further terror," and pressed Washington for a "strong" conversation with Moscow rather than a weak one. Zelensky also defended Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, which the International Energy Agency estimates have cut the country's diesel production by nearly 30% this year, saying Kyiv would stop targeting the facilities only when Russia halts its own attacks on Ukraine's energy grid.
Putin confirmed the call with Trump in a statement, saying Russia was "willing to supply oil and petroleum products to the US market and global markets at large." Presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the deal on social media as mutually beneficial for both countries. The agreement marks a striking reversal: Congress recently passed, and Trump signed, legislation authorizing new sanctions and tariffs on countries that import Russian oil and gas.
Analysts questioned whether the deal will meaningfully lower prices. Tim Armitage, an investment strategist at Quilter Cheviot, noted the first tranche amounts to roughly 2.25 million barrels against daily US consumption of about 3.8 million barrels, calling the move "a slightly desperate" attempt to curb inflation before the midterms. The average US diesel price stood at $6.28 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA, down from a record $6.53 at the end of September but still elevated since the February outbreak of the Iran war pushed Brent crude above $103 a barrel from roughly $73 beforehand.
A UK government spokesperson said its position "could not be clearer," pledging to keep working with allies to support Ukraine and maintain what it called the toughest sanctions regime it has ever imposed on Russia. The White House had not said by Friday night what Russia receives in return for the commitment, and the lack of detail in Trump's social media post left exactly how the fuel will reach global markets unclear.
