U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he has secured a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to global and U.S. markets to help lower fuel prices ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
An additional 500,000 tons is scheduled for November, followed by 1,000,000 tons immediately thereafter, and up to 3,000,000 tons soon after.
The U.S. Treasury Department issued a temporary license valid through April 2027 to permit the flow of Russian diesel onto global markets despite existing sanctions.
The agreement marks a sharp pivot from Trump’s signing of a sweeping Russia sanctions law just a month prior aimed at cutting off Moscow’s energy revenues.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the move, calling it a ‘weak decision’ by partners, while analysts noted that 6 million barrels total across the promised shipments would only cover about a day and a half of U.S. demand.
Trump said millions more tons of Russian diesel would be supplied following the first tranches ‘based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries.’
‘We are talking PERHAPS a 5-6% increase in supply between now and year end,’ Dan Pickering, founder and chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners, said about the the president’s announcement in an email.
Russia banned exports of diesel in early July, after Ukrainian drone strikes on its refineries triggered widespread fuel shortages across the country.
