WASHINGTON — Top congressional Democrats accused President Donald Trump of betraying Ukraine, European allies, and U.S. national security following his announcement of a diesel supply deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply condemned the agreement as a weak concession that risks prolonging Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskyy warned that the arrangement would bolster Moscow’s military campaign, cautioning that Russia would repay the United States with “further terror and perfidy.”
“I believe our team is simply being used as a smokescreen,” Zelenskyy said in remarks released by the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington. “That is certainly not fair. It is not how partners should treat each other.”
The Ukrainian leader’s remarks coincided with a meeting in Miami between Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Ukrainian officials to discuss a proposal to end the war.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, jointly denounced the announcement as a betrayal of Ukraine, European allies, and U.S. national security.
“Enough is enough,” the senators stated. “The president must end his conflict with Iran instead of funding Russia’s war machine.”
Sharp Reversal
Trump announced the agreement on social media Friday after a phone call with Putin that was initially expected to address a suspected plague outbreak in Russia. Instead, Trump declared that Moscow would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter,” with an additional 3 million tons delivered “within a short period of time.”
The announcement marked a stark reversal of years of U.S. pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine and arrived weeks before the midterm elections, as rising energy costs squeezed American consumers.
The move also appeared to contradict a sweeping sanctions law Trump signed last month aimed at restricting Moscow’s oil and gas revenues and directing the administration to target nations continuing to purchase Russian energy.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a co-sponsor of the sanctions legislation, argued the decision made the United States complicit in Russia’s war effort.
“This agreement with a murderous dictator is a stain on our nation’s character, an insult to Lindsey Graham’s memory, and directly contrary to Congress’s intent in our bipartisan sanctions bill,” Blumenthal said.
Representative Don Beyer, the senior House Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, called the announcement “infuriating.”
“This is what we warned anyone who would listen: Trump isn’t the slightest bit trustworthy when it comes to Russia,” Beyer posted on X.
Sanctions Policy in Question
The deal has raised questions about whether the White House will enforce the new sanctions law as Congress intended. The legislation imposes sanctions on Russian officials, banks, and a shadow fleet of tankers; bans new U.S. investment in Russia; and restricts dealings in Russian sovereign debt.
It also directs the president to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with an exception for countries importing less than 15 percent of Russia’s natural gas exports that have taken significant steps to reduce reliance.
The United States has not imported Russian oil or gas since 2022, when the Biden administration banned such purchases following Moscow’s invasion, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Shortly after Trump’s announcement, the Treasury Department issued a temporary license permitting Russian diesel shipments loaded onto tankers as of Friday to be delivered without facing U.S. sanctions until April 2027.
The six-month reprieve is the latest in a series of U.S. measures easing restrictions on Russian fuel shipments since the war in Iran began earlier this year. It marks the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that Washington has extended diesel sanctions relief beyond the standard 30-day window.
The extensions underscore how fallout from the Iran war has bolstered Moscow’s ability to profit from energy exports, even as Washington continues to publicly support Ukraine.
Impact on Fuel Prices Uncertain
Trump defended the agreement as a necessary step to lower domestic fuel costs, stating on social media that reducing prices for Americans—particularly farmers, ranchers, and truckers—was his top priority.
Global fuel prices have surged amid the Iran war’s disruption of energy markets. While diesel futures dipped after Friday’s announcement, the U.S. national average remained high at $6.28 a gallon, according to AAA, down from a record $6.52 on Sept. 22.
Departing the White House for a campaign rally later Friday, Trump thanked Putin for the deal.
“We have massive amounts of oil coming into our country, and it’s diesel, which is what we want. So, thank you,” Trump said. He did not respond to shouted questions regarding Zelenskyy’s criticism.
The White House did not immediately clarify who would pay for the Russian diesel or when supplies would arrive.
In a Kremlin statement, Putin said the leaders devoted “significant attention to the prospects of resolving the Ukrainian crisis” and discussed the situation surrounding Iran and other bilateral matters.
Russia had “confirmed its readiness to supply oil and oil products to the American and global markets,” Putin said, expressing confidence the move would benefit the global economy.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov declined to say whether Washington had offered concessions in exchange for the supplies or what, if anything, Moscow had been promised.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow would immediately begin lifting diesel export restrictions ahead of schedule and could begin supplying the United States this month, adding that Russia’s domestic market would remain fully supplied.
Russia, once a major diesel exporter, restricted exports in July after Ukrainian attacks on its refineries and strong domestic demand strained supplies. The International Energy Agency estimates Russian diesel output has fallen roughly 30 percent.
Energy analysts cautioned the agreement might do little to reduce prices, as additional Russian supplies could merely redirect fuel from existing customers rather than increase global availability.
Clayton Seigle, an energy strategist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the deal was unlikely to significantly affect prices but would greatly benefit Russia and Putin, who are seeking to offload summer-grade diesel before switching to heavier winter and Arctic blends.
Michael Lynch of the Energy Policy Research Foundation, a nonpartisan research institution, said diverting Russian diesel to the United States would force existing customers to seek alternative supplies, potentially keeping prices largely unchanged.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, warned the arrangement would enable Russia to kill more people, prolong the war, and inflict greater damage.
“It plays into Russia’s hands — allowing it to kill more, wage war longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world,” he said.
