Donald Trump was on a fresh collision course with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European allies on Friday after a stunning agreement to buy Russian diesel, upending years of US and western pressure on the Kremlin to end its four-and-a-half year war against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy reacted furiously to Trump’s announcement of the deal with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, calling it “absolutely terrible” and “not fair and not honest”.
In a move likely to create a fresh crisis with Washington’s Nato allies, Trump announced the deal with Putin on his Truth Social network, saying it was essential to reduce fuel prices in the US, which have soared as a result of his decision to go to war with Iran.
“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein 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,” Trump wrote.
“Based on the condition of their diesel refineries, Russia will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 tons of diesel fuel.”
He added: “Diesel prices for Americans and, indeed, the world, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST! Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my greatest priority.”
Fuel prices have rocketed due to Iran’s closure of the strait of Hormuz, a strategically sensitive choke point that was the passageway for 20% of the global oil supplies before the war. While costs have risen for motorists – with a gallon of fuel now averaging $4.20 – it is the soaring price of diesel, which last month rose to a record high of $6.52, that has inflicted the most political damage to Trump and the Republicans as November’s midterm approach.
Diesel is the main supply chain fuel, and a rise in its costs feeds into consumer prices and also hurts US farmers, who need to operate machinery.
The agreement was criticized by Democrats, who said it undercut a law Trump signed last month allowing for a broad range of sanctions on Russian banks, officials and tankers, as well as directing him to impose steep tariffs on the top five importers of oil or natural gas from Russia. The law gave Trump wide discretion to make exceptions to its provisions.
“This is what failure looks like. Failure for President Trump to live up to his promises to lower costs for Americans. Failure to protect America from its adversaries,” the Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, joined by Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who is the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Banking Committee, said in a statement. “Failure to follow the law and the bipartisan will of Congress that only weeks ago passed legislation aimed at cutting off revenue for Russia’s war machine and curbing purchases of Russian oil and gas.”
Some Republicans were also critical of the agreement.
“Propping up Putin’s war economy is morally wrong as he uses that money to bomb cities,” congressman Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, wrote on X. “The President’s policies towards Russia and Ukraine are failures. We need moral clarity not moral ambiguity.”
Perhaps the fiercest response came from Zelenskyy, who told Axios that it “looks like a happy birthday present for Putin. It looks absolutely terrible.” The Russian leader turned 74 earlier this week.
In a long social media post, Zelenskyy, who has had an uneasy relationship with Trump, said the deal amounted to “an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged”. Russia was likely to repay it with “further terror and perfidy”.
“It plays into Russia’s hands – allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world,” he said.
Trump announced the oil deal as his envoys, Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, met with Ukrainian and European officials in Miami to discuss proposals to end the war.
Zelenskyy, in a separate statement released by Ukraine’s embassy in Washington on Friday, said the Ukrainian negotiators had been “used as a smokescreen for the deal”, which he called “a weak decision by strong partners”.
“That is certainly not fair. It is certainly not how partners should treat each other,” he said.
Trump has recently criticized Ukraine for attacking Russian diesel refineries, calling on Zelenskyy to choose alternative targets. The Ukrainian leader rejected the request unless Russia accepted a reciprocal de-escalation plan that would stop Moscow attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The agreement also comes on the heels of rising tensions between Russia and Washington’s Nato allies in Europe, amid speculation that Moscow might be preparing military action intended to test the alliance’s resolve.
The latest development is likely to lead to a further deterioration of Zelenskyy’s relationship with the Trump administration. He was infamously ambushed by Trump and the vice-president, JD Vance, last year in an explosive White House encounter when the president told him: “You don’t have the cards.”
But Trump has since reportedly grown disenchanted with Putin, expressing disappointment in his failure to reach a deal.
Trump’s willingness to reach an agreement with Putin that will lower fuel costs comes despite Russia’s support for Iran in its war with the US. Russia is believed to have given Iran satellite intelligence and overhead surveillance data detailing the locations of American forces, ships, aircraft and military bases. It has also provided drone components and ammunition.