MINERVA ZEN
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US lifts sanctions on Russian diesel after Trump-Putin call; Ukraine and Europe push back
On 9 October 2026, US President Donald Trump announced a phone-call deal with Vladimir Putin under which Russia would supply millions of tonnes of diesel fuel to US and global markets. The Treasury Department simultaneously issued a temporary general licence allowing imports of Russian-origin diesel. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the move an "unfair and dishonest" "birthday gift to Putin" that finances Russia's war, and a senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv would keep striking Russian refineries regardless. European leaders, including EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, said Europe would not ease pressure on Russia and announced the bloc's largest sanctions package since the war began would go to a vote on 12 October.