Russian diesel release to top 1.8m tons, Trump says

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had agreed to release more than 1.8 million tons of diesel to US and global markets, and that the move would help lower energy costs.

“Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after talks with Putin.

Trump said Moscow would supply another 500,000 tons in November and 1,000,000 tons immediately after that.

The US Treasury Department issued a temporary license allowing Russian diesel to flow to global markets through April 2027.

Trump said the fuel release would help cool surging energy costs amid the war with Iran. “Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority,” he wrote.

The announcement comes weeks before US midterm elections in which Trump's Republican Party risks losing its current grip on Congress, while voters face cost-of-living concerns.

Moscow has faced waves of US and allied sanctions since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Temporary US sanctions waivers this year allowing sales of Russian oil have raised concern because they could complicate efforts to deprive Moscow of revenue for its war in Ukraine.

Trump's announcement also came as US, Ukrainian and European officials were due to hold talks in Miami in a new diplomatic effort to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Moscow, which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, occupies roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.