Michelle Brouhard
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Trump announces Russian diesel deal, Zelensky calls it "birthday gift for Putin"
On 9 October 2026, US President Donald Trump announced a phone agreement with Vladimir Putin to supply millions of tons of Russian diesel fuel to US and global markets, accompanied by a Treasury general licence temporarily lifting sanctions on Russian-origin diesel. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticised the move as "obvious weakness" and a "birthday gift for Putin" that would help finance Russia's war, while a senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that Kyiv would continue long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries despite the deal.