U.S. President Donald Trump announced a major energy agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 9, 2026, aimed at increasing the global supply of diesel fuel. Under the deal, Russia will immediately release hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel into the global marketplace to counteract surging energy costs driven by the ongoing war with Iran.
Sanctions Relief: To facilitate the arrangement, the U.S. Treasury Department formally issued a temporary license allowing Russian diesel to enter the market despite broader sanctions that remain in effect.
The move stunned the free world.
The volume of oil being released onto the global market is equivalent to approximately two days of U.S. consumption.
As one prominent economist from the University of Pennsylvania put it, there is neither economic nor political rhyme or reason to “cut a deal with the devil.”