Trump's Russia Energy Ceasefire Draws Fire Over War Funding — SkimNews
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- Trump announced an immediate "energy ceasefire" on Sunday between Russia and Ukraine, asking Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian oil facilities while a parallel deal with Putin commits Moscow to release 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately plus another 1.5 million tonnes.
- Zelenskyy said the truce was "news to me," reporting that Russian drones continued striking Ukrainian power plants — including a Kharkiv facility — after Trump's announcement; academic Alexey Muraviev questioned whether any real agreement had been reached.
- The Trump administration issued a 30-day waiver in early March letting India buy stranded Russian oil amid Strait of Hormuz disruptions, expanded it globally through April 11, and later signed a diesel export deal with Moscow running through April 2027.
- Brent crude fell to roughly $103.04 a barrel and WTI to about $90.96 after the ceasefire announcement, though prices remain elevated by the US-Israel war on Iran, Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure, and Ukrainian refinery strikes that worsened diesel shortages.
- US diesel prices hit a record $6.52 per gallon in September, prompting the G7 to release 100 million barrels of emergency oil and diesel reserves under Trump pressure — even as critics warn the revived Russian fuel sales could funnel revenue back into Moscow's war effort.
- Wealth Club's Susannah Streeter told Al Jazeera Trump is "caught between his geopolitical ambitions and the domestic political consequences of expensive energy," with the politically-timed announcement arriving weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
Why it matters: By reviving Russian fuel flows ahead of November 3 midterms while record diesel prices pressure his Republican base, Trump is trading long-term strategic concessions to Moscow for short-term consumer relief. The arrangement gives Putin both revenue and a diplomatic win, while leaving Ukraine publicly blindsided, weakening any coordinated Western energy strategy alongside the parallel G7 reserve release.
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