On October 9, 2026, Trump posted that after “a highly successful discussion” with Vladimir Putin, “it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter,” and that diesel prices would be “COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!” The same day the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135, authorizing transactions related to “the sale, delivery, offloading, or importation, including importation into the United States, of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin” through April 7, 2027. Putin said only that he had informed Trump of Russia's “readiness to supply oil and petroleum products,” without specifics, NBC News reported.
A U.S. official told Axios that Trump made the deal after Volodymyr Zelensky ignored half a dozen U.S. requests to stop attacking Russian oil refineries. Energy experts told AP the volume appears to be less than what the U.S. uses in a day. Zelensky wrote, “Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world.” On October 10 Trump said of Zelensky's refinery strikes, “He better damn well stop,” and suggested Ukraine get a “new leader who can make a deal,” Politico reported.
On October 11, seven senators, Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and John Curtis and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden, said the decision “runs directly counter” to the 2022 law banning Russian energy imports and that “The Administration has also failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation to justify its decision as required by statute.” Tillis said on Meet the Press, “I do believe there's a legitimate case for saying the president's not following the law.” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) vowed to force a House vote through a discharge petition to block Russian oil purchases, Axios reported. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “We're going to do it with all the legal authorities we have,” and that anyone in Congress who says a law prohibits it “is wrong,” Reuters reported. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) defended Trump: “The president is balancing and has to make tough decisions.” On October 12 Trump wrote, “I made the right choice for the American People — ALWAYS, AMERICA FIRST!”
On October 11, Trump also announced, “Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” Zelensky said Ukraine was caught off guard, and that evening Russia struck the CHP-5 thermal power plant in Kharkiv at least twice, ABC News reported. Two European officials told CNN that the State Department and Pentagon warned over the weekend that the U.S. could suspend intelligence sharing and European purchases of U.S. weapons for Ukraine if Kyiv did not halt its strikes on Russian energy facilities; a Ukrainian official gave the Kyiv Independent a similar account. These accounts rest on anonymous sources, and a NATO official said supplies through the weapons program continue to flow.
Update (October 13, 2026): twelve senators, six Republicans and six Democrats, wrote to Trump that the deal is “a betrayal of the people of Ukraine” and “a gift to our adversary,” Axios reported. The Republican signers were Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Alan Armstrong, Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn. The administration's deadline to implement the Graham sanctions law Trump signed in September is October 18, though that law lets the president waive key provisions. Trump's October 9 post also promised that Russia “will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel”; all tranches together would equal about 10 days of U.S. demand, CNBC calculated, while the first 300,000 tons is less than a day's. The New York Times reported that when Ukrainian officials asked at the October 9 meeting what Kyiv would get, “The Americans then mentioned U.S. intelligence assistance,” which some in the room heard as a veiled threat; a U.S. official denied any threat was made.
Update (October 14, 2026): after Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv on consecutive nights, Zelensky wrote, “Once again, no advance warning from our partners,” without naming the United States, the Guardian reported. Trump said on October 13, “We are helping them, and we are sharing intel.” CBS News reported, citing multiple unnamed sources, that the U.S. “may have intentionally withheld” the warnings; one Ukrainian official told NBC News, “this doesn't look like a coincidence,” while another blamed bad weather. No outlet has confirmed that warnings were held back on purpose, and CBS's sources said the warning system appeared to be working again for a later wave of strikes. Asked in an interview with Piers Morgan whether he felt betrayed, Zelensky answered, “Really, yes ... but it's a little bit more complicated than just my emotions or my feelings,” and said, “It's painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side,” Reuters reported.
Update (October 17, 2026): on October 16, two days before the Graham Act's sanctions were to take effect, Trump waived nearly all of its Russia provisions (see Trump Waives the Russia Sanctions Law He Signed a Month Earlier, Two Days Before It Took Effect). Separately, Reuters reported, citing two U.S. officials and a Western official, that Pentagon leaders received a message from inside the White House that Ukraine's military Starshield service “needed to be slowed”; a senior U.S. official said, “No such request was ever made by the president.” Asked about it, Trump said, “Well, I don't know if it was anybody because it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon.” Nine senators from both parties asked the Pentagon inspector general to “determine whether any U.S. officials approved of or had advance knowledge of the disruptions in service.” Who ordered the restriction has not been confirmed.
Update (October 18, 2026): in a Newsmax interview aired October 15, after Zelensky said Ukraine was done holding off strikes on Russian energy sites, Trump said of the renewed strikes on refineries, “I think that's a disgrace,” and, “I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin,” the New York Post reported. He also said, “I'm not a big fan of Zelensky. They've destroyed that country,” and, “He says he wants to settle, but he doesn't,” according to the Kyiv Independent and the BBC. The BBC noted the strikes could affect Moscow's ability to deliver its side of the diesel deal. Headlines saying Trump called Zelensky the destroyer of Ukraine overstate the quote, whose subject was “they.”
Update (October 20, 2026): asked on October 19 about a possible summit with Putin and Xi, Trump said, “Not so much on Ukraine because Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine, they haven't been doing much, and the same with China,” The Hill reported; a Russian drone strike killed six people that day, including two children, the Kyiv Independent reported. Of Zelensky he said, “I think that it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine,” the Washington Examiner reported. Sen. Thom Tillis said on CNN, “Putin is playing President Trump like a fiddle,” and Rep. Don Bacon said, “It's absolutely disgraceful our president is morally blind on this war.”