Michelle Wiese Bockmann
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Trump announces US-Russia diesel deal after call with Putin; Ukraine and allies criticize the move
On 9 October 2026, US President Donald Trump announced he had agreed with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during a phone call to allow large volumes of Russian diesel fuel to be supplied to US and global markets. The US Treasury issued a temporary general license authorizing the imports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticized the move as a "weak decision," an "unfair and dishonest" birthday gift to Putin that would finance Russia's war, while EU, UK, German, Estonian, Finnish, Swedish, Latvian and Australian officials all reaffirmed their own sanctions and continued support for Ukraine.