Trump strikes deal to bring in Russian diesel; Zelensky calls it a 'gift to Putin'

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Headline graphic: Russian diesel deal, over a file photo of Donald Trump greeting Vladimir Putin in Alaska

Cover photo: File photo (Trump welcomes Putin in Alaska, Aug. 2025) by Benjamin D Applebaum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; cropped, darkened and text added by The Southbound 105.

By The Southbound 105 | Oct. 10, 2026

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Friday that Russia will release millions of tonnes of diesel to the U.S. and global markets, and the Treasury Department suspended sanctions on Russian diesel exports to make it happen. The move drew sharp condemnation from Ukraine and its European allies, and by Saturday Trump was calling for Ukraine to replace its president.

What's in the deal

Trump said on Truth Social that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately "to the American and global marketplace," followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and another million tonnes after that. A further 3 million tonnes would follow "within a short period," he wrote, depending on the condition of Russia's refineries, which Ukraine has been attacking with drones.

The U.S. Treasury is suspending sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April 7 and issued a temporary license allowing Russian diesel into the market, the BBC reported. Other Russian assets, including those held in American banks, remain frozen. Putin said Russia was willing to supply oil and petroleum products to the U.S. and global markets but did not give amounts.

The BBC said it had asked the White House what Russia would get in return. The deal is a reversal for Washington: Congress recently passed, and Trump signed, legislation authorizing new sanctions and tariffs on countries that import Russian oil and gas.

Ukraine and Europe object

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the deal a gift to Putin and "an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged." He said Russia would repay it with "further terror," pointing to deadly overnight strikes on Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv. He told Axios the move was "not fair and not honest."

On Saturday, Trump fired back. "Zelensky could have settled this war many times," he told reporters, blaming Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries for higher fuel prices. "I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president." Ukraine has been under martial law since the 2022 invasion, which suspends elections.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said suspending sanctions "provides Moscow with more revenues to wage war," adding that "this is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won't." European foreign ministers plan to approve their biggest package of Russia sanctions since the full-scale invasion on Monday. The U.K. said its position "could not be clearer."

Will it lower prices?

Probably not by much, analysts told the BBC. Tim Armitage of Quilter Cheviot said the first shipment equals about 2.25 million barrels, compared with U.S. consumption of around 3.8 million barrels a day, "so it won't make a material difference to pump prices in the U.S." Analysts have also questioned whether Russia, whose diesel production has fallen nearly 30% because of Ukrainian drone strikes according to International Energy Agency estimates, can deliver the amounts promised.

The average U.S. diesel price was $6.28 a gallon, according to AAA, down from a record $6.53 at the end of September. Fuel prices have soared since the war with Iran began in February; the global benchmark Brent crude remains above $103 a barrel, compared with about $73 before the war.

With the midterm elections weeks away, Trump has been looking for ways to bring prices down. This week he said he was "thinking about" suspending the federal gas tax and said red-dye diesel could be used on highways without federal tax. He also pushed G7 nations to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from stockpiles.

Why it matters here

Diesel powers the trucks, trains and cargo-handling equipment that move goods out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, so high diesel prices ripple into what Southern Californians pay for groceries and other everyday goods. Whether this deal changes that depends on how much diesel actually arrives, and how fast.

Sources

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