Russia Agrees to Supply US With Diesel, Trump Says

Russia is expected to immediately begin shipping diesel to the strained global market, with the United States temporarily removing sanctions placed on the country over its war with Ukraine to try to ease prices for Americans as the midterm elections approach, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Oct. 9.

The agreement was reached after speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday, Trump stated in a Truth Social post.

More than 300,000 tons of diesel will be shipped immediately, the U.S. president said. Another 500,000 tons of diesel are expected in November, followed by a million tons in December to help make up for supply lost by the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran.

Russia could deliver another 3 million tons of diesel to the global market beginning next year, depending on the condition of refineries, Trump said.

“Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!” Trump said in the post.

“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority,” Trump added. “This is a very big and important announcement.”

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued Russia a temporary general license Friday to allow the country to supply diesel to the global market.

Putin released a statement about the agreement, saying the phone call also involved resolving the Ukraine crisis, and touched on the situation in Iran and bilateral relations.

“In discussing the global energy situation, Russia reaffirmed its readiness to supply oil and petroleum products to the U.S. and global markets,” Putin said in the statement, according to an unofficial translation posted by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Facebook. “I am confident that this will have a positive impact on the entire global economy.”

The two leaders also agreed to maintain personal contact and cooperate on intelligence services and with other agencies, Putin said.

Fuel expert Patrick de Haan, of Gas Buddy, had doubts about whether the Russian deal could be realized.

“While a lot is being said about a potential deal for Russia to supply more diesel, it may be difficult to achieve,” De Haan stated in a post on X. “The psychological impact may reduce prices temporarily but it’ll take more time to determine if Russia has such ability.”

De Haan said the agreement could have some impact—around 10 to 20 cents per gallon—in the short term.

Recent Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries and sanctions on Russian petroleum have impacted the diesel fuel supply worldwide, knocking out nearly a third of the country’s export capacity, according to the International Energy Agency.

“Russia has historically been the world’s third-largest producer of refined oil products, after the United States and China,” the IEA reported last month. “However, a long-standing Ukrainian campaign of deep drone strikes on Russian refineries has intensified significantly over the past 18 months.”

In the first eight months of this year, a Russian refinery has been hit by Ukrainian missiles or drones on average once every three days, the agency reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed disappointment with Trump’s decision to speak with Putin and agree to the Russian oil deal.

A U.S. congressional delegation that included two Republican senators and two Republican congressmen met with the Ukrainian leader Friday in Kyiv. Zelenskyy said they asked him “what is needed to end the war?”

The Ukrainian president didn’t say if he had agreed to a ceasefire agreement meeting, but instead called for the U.S. lawmakers to pass more sanctions against Russia.

“The answer must be strength,” Zelenskyy said. “There must be pressure on Russia for its war. And today, there was a conversation between the leaders of America and Russia. A conversation that leads to something different.”

Zelenskyy also reiterated his angst over the European Union’s decision to lift sanctions on two wealthy Russia-linked businessmen, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, on Sept. 22.

“Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious weakness,” Zelenskyy said.

The agreement announced by Trump has drawn mixed reactions from officials around the world so far.

U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) praised the deal for bringing peace to the table.

“Massive OIL deal, benefit benefits, everyone! Wait till you see what the trade deal looks like. Peace deals are a good thing,” Luna posted on X.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called it a “filthy deal.”

“Trump is doing a deal with the devil to try to help his flailing political fortunes from the shockingly high diesel prices caused by his own reckless, illegal war in the Middle East,” the senator said in a post on X.

Marko Mihkelson, with the Estonian Parliament, said on X that Russia was “being rewarded with diesel deals” after waging a “genocidal war in Europe, helping Iran target US assets.”