President Donald Trump said on Truth Social on October 9 that he had struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call. He said it secured an agreement for Russia to supply diesel fuel to US and global markets. Within minutes, the US Treasury Department said on X that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which administers US sanctions, is "immediately issuing a temporary general license" for Russian diesel.
Confirmed: Trump's post and the Treasury action. Claimed by Trump and not independently verified: the terms. According to his post, Russia would supply over 300,000 tons immediately, a further 500,000 tons in November 2026, then 1,000,000 tons thereafter. Up to 3 million tons more would follow "within a short period of time", depending on refinery conditions. That would total about 4.8 million tons.
Latest state of play
The Treasury document authorizes "the sale, delivery, offloading, or importation, including importation into the United States, of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin". It runs until 12:01 a.m. EDT on April 7, 2027. The license is a confirmed US government action.
Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's envoy, reposted the Treasury announcement on X and wrote that "Russia-US cooperation on diesel and energy will benefit the world." He did not confirm the volumes, and no statement from the Kremlin or the Russian Energy Ministry had been reported. Trump previously announced a bilateral pause on energy strikes that neither side confirmed. The license also sits alongside the Russia sanctions law the Senate passed 86-11 in August and Trump signed in September.
Market figures are still moving. In market coverage on October 9, shortly after the announcement, European diesel futures fell about 4%. Brent crude traded near $104, down 0.3%. Diesel futures remain up 135% since the start of 2026. The US diesel average was $6.23 a gallon on October 9, according to AAA, after a record $6.52 on September 22.
Observers are reading: what the Kyiv Independent's sanctions-relief report could mean for the diesel license and the Black Sea truce talks.
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Diesel license in force, Russian response awaited
The Treasury license is a confirmed government action. The supply volumes remain Trump's account. Moscow has welcomed the cooperation through envoy Kirill Dmitriev but has not confirmed the terms. On September 13 Trump demanded that Ukraine halt strikes on Russian refineries. Further updates as verified information becomes available.
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