Trump announces immediate Russian diesel supplies of more than 300,000 tonnes under temporary U.S. license
Key Facts
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal on Friday to supply Russian diesel, including an immediate shipment of more than 300,000 tonnes, the Associated Press reported. The announcement coincided with the U.S. Treasury Department's issuance of a temporary license allowing transactions involving the fuel, part of the administration's efforts to lower diesel costs. The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control published notice of the license's issuance on October 9, 2026, opening the way for transactions that had been subject to sanctions. The measure covers imports of Russian diesel into the U.S. market, as well as its delivery and unloading, according to the published license. Trump announced the supplies as his envoys met Ukrainian officials in Miami to discuss ending the war, according to Sky News.
The average U.S. diesel price was about $6.28 per gallon on the Friday the deal was announced, according to the Associated Press. The average was about $3.68 per gallon in the same period a year earlier, placing the U.S. move against a backdrop of higher fuel costs than a year ago. Diesel futures fell when the deal was announced, the agency reported, as additional Russian supplies were made available. But Daniel Sternoff of Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy said those supplies "will not bring them down significantly," referring to prices. Sternoff's assessment of the expected impact on fuel costs came despite the decline in futures prices on the announcement.
The White House attributed tight diesel supplies to the Russia-Ukraine war and a global shortage of refining capacity, according to its statement on lowering costs. The statement cited the war among the factors putting pressure on fuel availability, alongside constraints on refineries' ability to produce it. The Russian supply deal was preceded by another U.S. measure temporarily allowing dyed diesel, normally reserved for off-road use, to be used on public roads. That measure also included deferral of the federal tax applicable to such use, according to the White House fact sheet on diesel costs. The announced U.S. measures thus addressed both the availability of fuel for road use and transactions to supply diesel from Russia, while the White House linked tight supplies to the war and refining.
The deal drew objections from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who described it as "a weak decision by strong partners," according to Sky News. His comments coincided with talks Ukrainian officials were holding with Trump's envoys in Miami on ending the war. Kyiv had made a halt to its targeting of Russian refineries conditional on an end to Russian strikes on its facilities, according to Axios. The British government pledged to maintain pressure on Russia in response to the U.S. announcement, Sky News reported. The British pledge came alongside Ukrainian criticism as Washington temporarily allowed Russian diesel transactions as part of its efforts to address fuel costs.
The U.S. authorization rests on General License No. 135, issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the legal instrument governing Russian diesel transactions. Its text authorizes delivery of the fuel, allowing the delivery component of supply transactions covered by the license to proceed. It also covers the unloading and importation of shipments and explicitly includes imports into the United States among the permitted activities. The authorization remains temporary under the expiration date specified in the Treasury Department's text, rather than constituting a permanent lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel. The department set its expiration at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 7, 2027, tying the covered supply transactions to that legal deadline.
The supply schedule following the immediate shipment includes delivery of 500,000 tonnes during November 2026, according to Trump's announcement as reported by the Associated Press. Trump said a shipment of one million tonnes would arrive "immediately after that," linking its timing to the shipment scheduled for November. He also announced a further shipment of 3 million tonnes, to follow the initial deliveries under the announced supply schedule. On the Russian side, Alexander Novak said exports would increase in November and December as refineries resumed operations after maintenance, according to Reuters. Novak's statement links the expected increase in exports over those two months to the resumption of refinery operations, coinciding with the start of the subsequent shipments Trump announced for November and beyond.