Gregory Brew
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US temporarily lifts Russian diesel sanctions after Trump-Putin call; Ukraine pledges to keep striking refineries
On October 9, President Donald Trump announced an "extremely successful" phone call with Vladimir Putin and an agreement for Russia to supply millions of tons of diesel fuel. The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control immediately issued a general licence authorizing the trade, drawing sharp criticism from President Volodymyr Zelensky and bipartisan voices in Congress. A senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times Kyiv would continue long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries regardless.