FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2026 — President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has reached a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring Russian diesel into the United States — 4.8 million tons of it, on a staggered schedule beginning immediately. The announcement, made on Truth Social after what Trump called a "highly successful discussion" with the Russian leader, would reverse years of sanctions policy and inject Moscow's fuel directly into an American market where diesel prices are near record highs.
"I want to thank President Putin, to be honest with you," Trump said, in remarks carried by the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal.
The terms, as Trump stated them
According to Trump's announcement, Russia will deliver 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, another 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons "immediately thereafter" — with 3 million more tons to follow "within a short period of time," contingent on Russian refinery conditions. Add it up and the deal totals 4.8 million tons.
That final qualifier matters. Moscow suspended diesel exports earlier this year after Ukrainian strikes battered Russian refineries, the Journal reported — a domestic crunch made worse by demand from Russia's own wheat harvest. Putin is promising fuel from a refining sector that has spent the year getting hit by drones.
The sanctions waiver
For the deal to work, the sanctions have to go — and Treasury is already moving. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a temporary general license letting companies buy or sell Russian diesel without fear of US sanctions, and sanctions tied to Russian diesel sales are waived until April, the Journal reported.
The context here is a hard break from recent policy. The Biden administration banned Russian oil imports after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine; those sanctions were partially eased earlier this year after energy prices spiked with the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran. Now, with this waiver, Russian diesel — the fuel that powers the trucks, tractors, and trains of the American economy — is on a path back into the US market.
The waiver continues a reversal that began earlier this year, when the sanctions regime was partially eased after energy prices spiked with the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, per USA Today — the same war that pushed diesel prices up roughly 70% and set the stage for Friday's deal.
Zelenskyy's answer: "a weak decision"
Kyiv did not take it quietly. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blasted the deal Friday, calling it a "weak decision" by "strong partners" and warning that "gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilised world," Reuters reported.
He told Axios it "looks like a happy birthday present for Putin," and, according to the AP and Newsmax, added that Ukraine's team feels "used as a smokescreen."
The timing stings in Kyiv: the deal landed while a Ukrainian delegation was in the United States for peace talks, Reuters reported. Zelenskyy's framing was direct — letting Russia sell diesel to America, he said, is an investment in the war.
The price at the pump
Trump's stated reason for the deal is prices — and the numbers are ugly. US diesel averaged $6.23 to $6.28 a gallon Friday, per AAA data reported by the AP, Newsmax, and the Journal — within shouting distance of the record $6.52 set September 22. Prices are up roughly 70% since the US-Israeli war with Iran began, Reuters reported.
"Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority," Trump said in the announcement. Diesel is the lifeblood fuel for the people who move and grow the country's goods, and a 70% spike in its price touches everything from groceries to freight.
Europe is paying even more — diesel averages $9.12 a gallon across the EU, per USA Today — and European allies continue to hold their sanctions on Russian oil in place. The split is now stark: Washington is carving out a diesel exception while Europe keeps the door shut.
Markets moved on the news. Ultralow-sulfur diesel futures fell about 3% Friday, while WTI and Brent crude settled up 0.4%, MarketWatch reported. The oil slide that followed Trump's decision to push Iran strikes past the midterms had already shown how sensitive this market is to Washington's moves — Friday's announcement just made that sensitivity explicit.
What happens now
The immediate shipments — 300,000 tons, "immediately" — put the deal into motion before the November tranche even lands. The open questions are the familiar ones: whether Russian refineries, still recovering from Ukrainian strikes, can actually deliver the full 4.8 million tons; whether the Treasury waiver survives past April; and whether Europe and Kyiv's pressure pushes Washington to narrow what this exception covers.
For now, the deal stands as a bet: that cheaper fuel at home is worth the cost abroad, in Kyiv's anger and in the erosion of a sanctions regime built over four years. "I want to thank President Putin, to be honest with you," Trump said. Zelenskyy's answer: "Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilised world." The two quotes will be hard to shake.
