President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he had reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply Russian diesel fuel to the United States and global markets, a sudden reversal of years of US pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
The White House did not immediately say who is paying for the fuel, when it will arrive, or on what terms it was negotiated. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov declined to say whether the US made any concessions in exchange.
According to Trump's social media post, Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons "immediately thereafter." A further 3 million tons would follow "within a short period of time," contingent on the condition of Russian refineries.
The US Treasury Department swiftly issued a temporary general license authorizing specified transactions in Russian-origin diesel through April 7, 2027. It is the first such license covering diesel for longer than the standard 30-day window since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A reversal weeks after new sanctions
The announcement comes just weeks after Trump signed a sweeping Russia sanctions law — named for the late Senator Lindsey Graham — aimed at clamping down on the oil and gas revenues funding Moscow's war effort. That law directs the administration to impose steep tariffs on top importers of Russian oil and gas.
The US has not imported Russian oil or gas since 2022, when imports were banned following the invasion.
Trump framed the deal as a necessary step to lower fuel prices, writing that diesel prices "will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST" and that lower costs for "our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority." He later thanked Putin by name.
The move comes less than a month before the November 3 midterm elections, with the national average for a gallon of diesel at $6.28 on Friday, according to AAA, after hitting a record $6.52 on September 22.
Analysts doubt the price effect
Energy experts were skeptical that the deal would meaningfully lower prices.
"It's kind of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic," said Michael Lynch of the Energy Policy Research Foundation. "If we get diesel from Russia, basically it means that their existing customers are not going to get it and they'll have to go somewhere else, and that will keep the price basically where it is now."
Clayton Seigle, an energy strategist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the deal was unlikely to materially lower prices but was "a great benefit to Russia and to Putin," allowing Moscow to offload summer-grade diesel before winter.
Russia banned diesel exports in July after Ukrainian strikes on its refineries; the International Energy Agency estimates Russian diesel output has fallen by about 30%.
Zelenskyy: "Gifts to Putin will not bring peace"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted angrily, calling the agreement a "gift" to Putin and "an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged."
"Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement is an obvious weakness," Zelenskyy wrote. "It plays into Russia's hands — allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer."
On Saturday, Russian strikes killed at least 15 people, including three children, in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, according to Ukrainian officials. Zelenskyy said Russia was "repaying" the diesel deal with terror, adding that Moscow interprets "any easing of pressure" as license to keep fighting.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine was prepared to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries if Russia stops targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure — a proposal he said Washington has the power to help secure.
Backlash in Washington
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, joined by Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren, called the deal "a betrayal of Ukraine, the European allies and US national security," urging Trump to "end his war with Iran instead of funding Russia's war machine."
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a co-sponsor of the sanctions law, said the agreement makes the US "complicit in Putin's war against Ukraine." Some Republicans also objected, with Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon calling it "morally wrong" to prop up Putin's war economy.
The announcement coincided with talks in Miami between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Ukrainian officials on proposals to end the war. Zelenskyy said he believed the Ukrainian team was "being used as a smokescreen" for the deal.
What remains unknown
Neither Washington nor Moscow has detailed who will purchase the diesel, how it will be paid for, or precisely when shipments will begin. It is unclear whether the November tranche will arrive before Election Day.
Britain said it would maintain its sanctions pressure on Moscow, while the European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Whether the deal lowers prices at the pump — and whether it leads to any broader easing of sanctions on Russian energy — remains to be seen.