Zaporizhzhia death toll reports differ as U.S. eases Russian diesel sanctions

What did Trump announce, and what did Treasury authorize?

Trump announced the arrangement Friday after a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said Russia would supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, 500,000 tons in November, 1 million tons immediately afterward and a further 3 million tons within a short period. Those are announced volumes, not confirmed deliveries, and the plan concerns U.S. and global markets—not only the United States.

On Friday, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued Russia-related General License 135. It authorizes transactions involving the sale, delivery, offloading and import of Russian-origin diesel, allowing fuel sales that U.S. sanctions had restricted.

The United States banned Russian oil and gas imports in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia had restricted diesel exports since July as domestic supply pressures persisted and Ukrainian attacks hit refineries. The International Energy Agency put the decline in Russian diesel output at about 30%, the AP reported.

Putin said Russia was ready to supply U.S. and global markets. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia was lifting diesel-export restrictions ahead of schedule and could start supplying the United States in October; he also said the domestic market would receive fuel.

Will the Russian diesel deal lower prices?

Trump has presented the arrangement as a way to reduce fuel costs, naming farmers, ranchers and truckers as intended beneficiaries. Diesel prices also matter to freight and delivery networks, where fuel costs can affect the expense of moving goods.

The debate over how the arrangement could affect U.S. prices turns on whether the announced supply adds fuel to the market or redirects shipments from existing buyers.

The AP reported that Michael Lynch, a distinguished fellow at the Energy Policy Research Foundation, questioned whether the deal would lower prices: Russian fuel sent to the United States could leave existing customers seeking supplies elsewhere. That shift, he argued, could keep prices from falling.

Daniel Sternoff, a senior fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, said resumed Russian exports could help stabilize global diesel prices. He also pointed to constraints on other refining capacity that could keep prices elevated. AP reported that another energy-policy expert saw a potential benefit for Moscow if the arrangement eased pressure on Russian revenues.

The arrangement puts Trump’s promised price relief for farmers, ranchers and truckers alongside Russia’s opportunity to resume sales under a U.S. license. Its economic test is whether the announced fuel reaches buyers as additional supply and lowers costs, rather than simply shifting who purchases Russian diesel.