Trump says U.S. to get diesel from Russia, relaxing pressure on Moscow to ease prices before midterms

President Donald Trump says Russia has agreed to sell diesel to Americans, a sharp turn from sustained pressure on Moscow over Ukraine, and one aimed at bringing down fuel costs before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Trump posted that he reached the arrangement with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone. The first shipment, he wrote, would top 300,000 tons, with 500,000 tons due in November, 1 million tons after that and another 3 million tons later. Trump's post made no mention of sanctions or the war, and the White House did not say who would pay for the fuel or whether November deliveries would land before Election Day. Shortly afterward, the Treasury Department issued a temporary license exempting Russian diesel already loaded on tankers from sanctions until April 2027, according to NPR.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the move, saying it would help Russia prolong the war, and complained that his side was being used as cover while Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Ukrainian officials about ending the fighting. Representative Don Beyer, a Democrat, called the announcement "infuriating." The deal also raises doubts about enforcing a sanctions law Trump signed last month. Diesel averaged $6.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NPR’s reporting. Read the full story at NPR →