Trump says Putin agreed to supply diesel to world markets. The U.S. eased Russia sanctions to allow it.
President Donald Trump said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a phone call to release large amounts of diesel fuel to world markets, and the Treasury Department eased U.S. sanctions on Russia to allow the sales as diesel prices climb ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the American and global markets, another 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons right after that. He said Russia could deliver 3 million tons within a short period, depending on the condition of its refineries, and predicted prices would fall quickly.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license allowing the sale of Russian-origin diesel through April 7, 2027, The National reported. The U.S. has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, including on oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil in October 2025. Earlier this year Trump temporarily eased some sanctions on Russian oil to slow rising prices, an effort NBC News said largely failed.
Diesel prices have jumped because of supply disruptions tied to the Iran war and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, The National reported. Trump also expanded sales of red-dyed diesel earlier this week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the move “an obvious weakness” and warned that Russia would answer with further attacks. He said Ukraine would stop striking Russian refineries if Russia stopped attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
The announcement came as Ukrainian and European diplomats arrived in Miami for talks on ending the war, Axios reported. A European diplomat told the Kyiv Independent the move was unlikely to affect prices much, though its symbolism would matter. Putin said Oct. 1 that Russia had enough diesel but that sanctions kept it from supplying world markets.
This report is based on information from NBC News, Axios, CBS News, The Washington Times, The National and the Kyiv Independent.