Trump defends Russian diesel supply deal as senators from both parties say it breaks US law

US President Donald Trump has defended an agreement under which Russia would supply diesel to the United States and other markets, after seven senators from both parties said it violates US law. The deal, announced on Friday, October 9, comes weeks before the November midterm elections, with US diesel prices near record levels, according to ThePrint.

What was announced

Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release 300,000 metric tons of diesel immediately, followed by 500,000 tons in November, one million tons after that and a further three million tons within a short period, depending on the condition of Russian refineries, according to a BBC-based report published by Ada Derana. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed those figures to the Tass news agency and said export volume could reach three million tons a month in future, the report says. Reuters put the first stage at more than 2.25 million barrels.

On the US side, ThePrint reports that the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 on October 9, temporarily authorizing specified transactions involving Russian-origin diesel until April 7, 2027. Other Russian assets in American banks remain frozen, according to Ada Derana's report.

The objections

Seven senators, Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and John Curtis and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden, said on Sunday the deal breaks US law and urged Trump to reverse course, according to the BBC-based report. They said the US should not give Putin a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians, and that Congress banned Russian energy imports in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the deal a gift to Putin. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting also criticized it, the report says.

The agreement came less than a month after Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which allows tariffs of up to 100 percent on countries that keep buying Russian oil and gas, ThePrint notes.

The administration's defense

Trump wrote on Truth Social that lower prices for Americans were his greatest priority. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News the deal works through existing legal channels and that anyone in Congress saying otherwise is wrong, according to the BBC-based report. On Monday, Trump called the deal "the right choice for the American people," Reuters reported, as republished by Ada Derana.

Reuters, citing three people familiar with a Friday meeting in Miami, reports that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner told Ukrainian officials the deal is part of an effort to bring Russia back to negotiations. One source said it could help soften Moscow's position. The Russian Embassy in Washington and Kyiv's presidential office did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Will it lower prices?

Analysts quoted by ThePrint are skeptical. Commodity analyst Natalia Katona said the arrangement targets a shortfall of diesel on the US East Coast, expected volumes of 300,000 tons immediately, 500,000 in November and one million in December, and doubted that it would significantly ease global shortages or lower prices. Energy strategist Umud Shokri said deliveries depend on Russian supply, export rules, shipping and payments. Constraints include a Russian diesel export ban for producers extended to October 31 and Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries, ThePrint reports. According to AAA figures cited in the BBC-based report, the average US diesel price is $6.28 a gallon, down from a record $6.53 at the end of September.