Democratic senators
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Trump agrees Russian diesel deal with Putin; Zelensky calls it 'birthday gift for Putin'
On October 9, 2026, US President Donald Trump announced a phone-call agreement with Vladimir Putin for Russia to supply millions of tons of diesel fuel to the United States and global markets, and the US Treasury issued a temporary general license lifting the related sanctions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticized the move as "absolutely terrible" and a "birthday gift for Putin" that would help finance Russia's war, while a senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that Ukraine would continue long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries. The announcement came during parallel US-Ukraine talks in Miami led by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with Zelensky accusing Washington of using those negotiations as cover for the pre-arranged deal.