Russia to supply US with nearly 5m tonnes of diesel: Trump’s deal

Russia will “immediately” deliver more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the American and world markets, with volumes set to grow in the coming months. US President Donald Trump announced this on Friday after a phone call with Vladimir Putin. Moscow confirmed it is ready to supply oil and petroleum products.

How much was promised, and when

According to Trump, Russia will send a further 500,000 tonnes of diesel in November, followed straight away by one million tonnes. In addition, “depending on the state of the refineries”, another three million tonnes will arrive in the short term. By the business press’s count, that comes to almost five million tonnes of Russian diesel in total.

On the social network “Truth Social”, the US president promised that diesel prices in the US and around the world would fall “sharply and quickly”. He called low prices for Americans, above all for farmers, cattle ranchers and truck drivers, his top priority.

The licence is already issued

The same day, the US Treasury issued a temporary general licence on the president’s instruction. According to American television, the sale, delivery, unloading and import of Russian diesel, including import into the US, are permitted until 7 April 2027. Putin said the supplies would have a positive effect on the global economy.

What Kyiv and the world are saying

Volodymyr Zelensky called the easing of sanctions on Russia without a clear and lasting agreement on de-escalation “an obvious sign of weakness”: in his words, it will only allow Moscow to kill more people and cause more damage. International news agencies called Trump’s announcement shocking: it is his way of tackling high fuel prices in the US ahead of the November congressional elections.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz