Trump says Russian diesel deal will lower prices as Zelensky criticises move

US President Donald Trump said he has reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin that would allow Russian diesel to enter the global market immediately. He said 300,000 tonnes would be supplied at once, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and another 1 million tonnes after that. The announcement was framed as a way to bring down fuel costs for Americans and for the wider market.

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Shortly after the announcement, the US Treasury Department issued a temporary licence allowing Russian diesel into the market. That gave the deal an immediate policy effect, although the White House did not clarify who would pay for the fuel or when the supplies would begin to arrive. It also did not say whether the next deliveries would come before the 3 November midterm elections.

The move comes at a politically sensitive moment, with US diesel prices elevated and fuel costs under pressure from the war in Iran. The average diesel price in the United States is about $6.28 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association, down from a record $6.53 at the end of September. Diesel is used in trucking, agriculture and heating, so changes in supply can affect freight costs, consumer prices and inflation expectations.

US President Donald Trump says he has reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin that will allow Russian diesel to be released into the global market immediately. Trump said the deal would see 300,000 tonnes of diesel released at once, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and another million tonnes after that. The announcement was presented as a move to bring down fuel costs, with Trump saying diesel prices for Americans and the wider world would fall quickly.

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The US Treasury then issued a temporary licence allowing Russian diesel into the market, giving the agreement an immediate policy follow-through. Trump made the announcement on social media, where he linked the deal directly to lower prices. He said diesel prices in the United States had risen sharply since the war with Iran began in February.

According to the American Automobile Association, the average diesel price in the US is currently $6.28 a gallon, down from a record $6.53 at the end of September. The move comes at a politically sensitive moment for the White House, with higher fuel costs adding pressure on Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Diesel is a key transport fuel, so changes in supply can affect freight costs, consumer prices and wider inflation expectations.

Any increase in available supply could therefore have implications beyond the energy market itself. The announcement also signals a rare direct link between a US president and Russian energy flows at a time of wider geopolitical tension. The agreement was welcomed by Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy for Putin, who said Russia-US cooperation on diesel and energy would benefit the world.

His response suggests Moscow sees the arrangement as more than a short-term market intervention. It also indicates that energy remains one of the few areas where practical cooperation can still be publicly framed as mutually beneficial. For Washington, the deal appears aimed at easing domestic price pressure while using a temporary licensing mechanism to make the supply move possible.

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The timing is notable because the reported diesel prices had already eased slightly from their recent peak, but remained elevated by historical standards. The latest figures cited put the average US price well above levels that would normally be considered comfortable for consumers and businesses. That makes the announcement potentially significant for trucking, agriculture and other sectors that depend heavily on diesel.

It also raises questions about how long the temporary licence will remain in place and whether the staged volumes will be delivered as described. What remains unclear is how the agreement will be implemented in practice, including the route, buyers and duration of the temporary licence. It is also not yet clear whether the staged releases will be enough to materially shift prices in the US or globally.

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