US President Donald Trump’s announcement that Russia will supply diesel to the global market has sparked criticism, with opponents accusing his administration of weakening efforts to pressure Moscow into ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump announced the deal on Friday, claiming it would help bring down record-high diesel prices less than a month before the US midterm elections, where affordability is a major concern.
However, the move appears to contradict Washington’s recent efforts to curb Russian energy exports through sanctions and tariffs aimed at pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.
Just three weeks earlier, Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law. The legislation empowers him to impose tariffs of up to 100% on major purchasers of Russian oil and gas, among other restrictions.
Scott Lincicome, vice-president of the libertarian Cato Institute, questioned the apparent contradiction, noting that Congress had recently granted Trump the power to impose new tariffs on major buyers of Russian energy.
“Can America tariff America?” he quipped in a post on X.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, said the latest move was “directly contrary to Congress’s intent” in passing the bipartisan sanctions legislation.
Peter Harrell, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute of International Economic Law, argued that the decision demonstrated how the legislation might not compel the Trump administration to increase economic pressure on Moscow.
Criticism also came from within Trump’s own party. Republican Representative Michael McCaul of Texas warned that lifting restrictions on Russian oil could help finance the Kremlin’s war effort, despite the administration’s desire to reduce diesel prices.
“Unfortunately, while I understand the desire to bring down diesel prices, I am concerned the lifting of sanctions on Russian oil will only fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” McCaul said.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the agreement.
The announcement marks a shift from Trump’s earlier approach towards Russian energy exports. Less than a year ago, his administration imposed sanctions on several Russian oil companies, citing Moscow’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process.
Trump had also previously criticised NATO allies for continuing to purchase Russian oil and gas, arguing that such transactions weakened their negotiating position against Moscow.
“They’re funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one?” he said at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, referring to countries buying Russian energy while opposing Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Trump announced the latest agreement following what he described as a “highly successful discussion” with Putin.
Under the deal, Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel, followed by another 500,000 tonnes in November and a further one million tonnes “immediately thereafter”. An additional three million tonnes could be supplied, depending on refinery conditions, Trump said.
The US Treasury Department subsequently announced that Trump had directed the Office of Foreign Assets Control to issue a temporary general licence allowing Russian diesel supplies to reach the global market. The authorisation permits the specified transactions until April 7, 2027.
Russia welcomed the announcement, with an X account associated with Putin’s economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev saying cooperation between Moscow and Washington on diesel and energy would benefit the world.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the easing of restrictions, saying it played into Russia’s hands.
“Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious weakness,” Zelenskyy said.
He argued that allowing Russia to sell petroleum products would help finance a war that should be brought to an end rather than prolonged.
Trump later defended the agreement, saying the world needed oil and that the additional diesel supply would be welcome.
The administration has previously introduced temporary exemptions for Russian energy exports. In March, it issued limited 30-day waivers allowing countries to purchase sanctioned Russian oil that was already in transit amid market disruption following the start of the Iran war.
However, some analysts viewed Friday’s announcement as a more significant policy shift.
Jeremy Siegel, professor emeritus of finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, described the deal as a short-term measure rather than a lasting solution.
“It looks like Trump cut a deal with the devil,” Siegel told CNBC.
He added that reducing or removing sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine would be an “unfortunate consequence” of the agreement.
