US turns to Russia for diesel despite fresh sanctions — SkimNews
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- Donald Trump announced a deal under which Russia would supply 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately, 500,000 tonnes in November, 1 million tonnes after that, and potentially 3 million more, claiming combined with US control of the Strait of Hormuz it would bring down US and global diesel prices.
- The US Treasury issued a temporary general license through OFAC to allow Russian diesel supply, despite the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, passed and signed last month, which targets buyers of Russian oil and grants authority for 100 percent tariffs on top importers.
- Analysts told Al Jazeera the volumes are implausible: Russia banned diesel exports in July through end of October after Q3 exports fell to 190,000 barrels per day from 850,000 in Q1, and for the first time Russia imported gasoline and diesel in Q3, with Ukraine claiming strikes destroyed more than half of Russia's oil refining capacity.
- US diesel prices hit a record $6.52 per gallon in September and currently stand at $6.20 per AAA, with Pew Research finding the economy is the most important issue for 84 percent of registered voters and Trump-voting states like Iowa and Kansas now in play.
- Global fuel supplies have been disrupted by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz (20 percent of world oil and gas in peacetime), attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, Houthi strikes around the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb, and reciprocal attacks on Russian and Ukrainian refineries.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the deal "a weak decision by strong partners" and said it "plays into Russia's hands, allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer," as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were meeting Ukrainian and European negotiators in Miami on ending the war.
- The G7 agreed last week to release 100 million barrels of emergency diesel and crude reserves after the Trump administration threatened a US ban on diesel exports, with Capital Economics warning that release "would be short-lived given that this is just a temporary solution."
Why it matters: Trump is betting a Putin-brokered diesel lifeline can hold down pump prices in MAGA-heavy battleground states before November 3, but the deal requires Russia to export fuel it has already banned from leaving its own market after Ukraine's refinery strikes — meaning the headline volume may be paper promises. Zelenskyy's rebuke exposes that Trump pressured Ukraine to halt energy-infrastructure attacks on Russia while not pressing Moscow to stop hitting Ukraine's grid, signaling an asymmetric ceasefire posture between the warring sides.
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