US President Donald Trump said on Friday (October 9) that Russia had agreed to immediately supply diesel to US and global markets in an effort to lower fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections, although analysts said the amounts would likely not reduce prices greatly, Reuters reports.
The move comes as the price of diesel, used in agriculture, heating homes and trucking, is near a record high. The November 3 congressional elections will determine control of Congress.
Speaking to the media Trump said it was a "big deal" and thanked President Vladimir Putin. "Oil prices are already dropping like a rock, so we're very happy to get it.”
An envoy for Putin, Kirill Dmitriev, praised cooperation between Russia and the United States on diesel and energy in a post on X shortly after the call.
The unusual move comes after the US imposed sanctions on Russian energy companies over Russia's full-scale war with Ukraine that began in 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized Trump's move. "Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world. Russia will 'repay' the diesel with further terror and perfidy," he said on X.
The US Treasury Department issued a general license on Friday allowing importation of Russian diesel until April 7.
Trump said Russia would supply another 500,000 tons in November and a further 1 million tons "immediately thereafter."
Trump said on Friday (October 9) that Russia had agreed to supply diesel to global markets in an effort to lower fuel prices, and his administration temporarily lifted US sanctions on Russian fuel that were designed to deprive Moscow of revenues for its war on Ukraine.
Prices for diesel, used for agriculture, heating homes and trucking, are near a record and risk for Trump's fellow Republicans ahead of the November 3 congressional elections that will determine whether they maintain thin control of Congress. Diesel prices fell after the announcement, but analysts said the deal may not be enough to keep them down.
Trump said on social media he had a "highly successful" discussion with President Vladimir Putin in which they agreed that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to US and global markets, equal to about 2.25 million barrels of fuel. The US exports about 1.5 million barrels of diesel per day.
In October 2025, the US imposed sanctions on Russian oil companies over Moscow's war that began in 2022. The diesel exports could provide Moscow with billions of dollars in revenues that could help Putin continue the war with Ukraine.
