Trump’s Russian Diesel Deal Draws Fire As Zelensky Calls It “A Gift To Putin”

The US Treasury has licensed Russian diesel imports to 7 April. Analysts say the volumes will barely move pump prices — but the political cost is already rising.

A sudden pivot on Russian energy

US President Donald Trump has announced an agreement under which Russia will supply diesel to American and global markets — a move that reverses months of sanctions posture and has drawn sharp condemnation from Kyiv.

Speaking on Truth Social, Trump said Vladimir Putin had agreed to release 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and a further one million tonnes thereafter. A further three million tonnes, he added, would follow “within a short period,” depending on the condition of Russian refineries — facilities repeatedly struck by Ukrainian drones.

Shortly after the announcement, the US Treasury formally issued a temporary licence admitting Russian diesel into the market. Sanctions on those diesel exports are understood to be suspended until 7 April; other measures, including frozen Russian assets held in American banks, remain in force.

Kyiv’s objection

President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the deal as a gift to Mr Putin that amounted to “an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.” He warned that Russia would repay the diesel “with further terror,” and defended Ukraine’s refinery strikes as a response to “Russia’s years-long campaign of terror against Ukraine’s energy sector.”

“We count on America’s fair support for our defence of life… and on the United States having a correspondingly strong conversation with Russia. A strong one, not a weak one,” he wrote.

The numbers, questioned

Market analysts challenged both the scale and the logic of the deal. Tim Armitage of Quilter Cheviot said the figures were “relatively small”: the first tranche is roughly 2.25 million barrels against US consumption of about 3.8 million barrels a day, “so it won’t make a material difference to pump prices in the US.” He described it as “a slightly desperate move by President Trump to try to lower inflation ahead of the midterms.”

Questions also remain over whether Russia can physically deliver. The International Energy Agency estimates Russian diesel output has fallen by nearly 30% after two severe domestic fuel shortage waves this year, and Moscow itself imposed an export ban earlier this year. Mr Putin confirmed only a general “willingness to supply oil and petroleum products,” without specifying volumes.

The political backdrop

The announcement is the latest in a string of measures aimed at the pump: Trump has floated suspending the federal gasoline tax, allowed untaxed red dye diesel on public highways, pressed the G7 to release 100 million barrels from stockpiles, and backed a US diesel export ban. Average US diesel stands at $6.28 a gallon, per AAA, down from a record $6.53 in late September. Brent crude remains above $103 a barrel, against roughly $73 before the Iran conflict that began in February.

Crucially, Congress recently passed — and the President signed — legislation authorising new sanctions and tariffs on countries that import Russian oil and gas. The BBC has asked the White House what Russia receives in return; no details have been published, and the deal’s terms remain opaque.

London distanced itself: a UK government spokesperson said its position “could not be clearer,” pledging continued military and financial support for Ukraine and “the toughest sanctions regime ever imposed by the UK.” Mr Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the opposite view, calling US–Russia energy co-operation a benefit “to the world.”