After multiple Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy assets earlier this year, the Kremlin in July imposed a diesel fuel export ban. It has since been extended through the end of October.
Trump has publicly pleaded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop bombing Russia’s diesel refinery plants.
“The problem I have with Ukraine and Russia is that, you know, a lot of the diesel comes … from Russia, and the Russia plants are being hit by Ukraine,” Trump told reporters recently. “And I’ve asked President Zelenskyy not to hit the diesel plants.”
“That’s what’s driving it up,” Trump said, referring to the cost of diesel. Ukraine, he added, has “Got to stop.”
On Sept. 14, Trump claimed that Zelenskyy and Putin had agreed to stop targeting energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy, however, denied that he had agreed to stop targeting Russian energy assets, telling CBS News he would only stop striking oil and gas targets if Russia agreed to the same terms.
But the Kremlin has increased its targeting of Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure this summer and fall.
Just hours before Trump’s announcement Friday, Zelenskyy welcomed a delegation of U.S. senators to the presidential palace in Kyiv.
“We can only protect ourselves from this terror by working together, and we discussed how the United States can help save lives,” Zelenskyy said on social media.
“This is a matter of political will, and it is now important to show leadership and fully cut off the financial flows sustaining Russia’s war machine.”
Zelenskyy described Trump’s move to ease sanctions on diesel Friday as “an obvious weakness.”
“It plays into Russia’s hands — allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world,” he said.
This is not the first time Trump has tried to use U.S. sanctions relief for Russia to help slow rising oil prices. The Treasury Department issued a series of 30-day sanctions waivers for Russian oil on the water this spring.
But they expired and largely did not impact the trajectory of oil and gas prices, which have continued rising for months.
Diesel futures fell 4% Friday in the wake of Trump’s announcement, but they remain higher by more than 110% since the start of this year.
Likewise, the price of crude oil barely budged. Brent crude oil traded around $104 per barrel Friday, down just 0.3% on the day.
Trump’s announcement also came just as Ukrainian negotiators departed for the U.S., for a new round of talks aimed at bringing an end to the war with Russia.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner had been expected to lead the discussions. It was unclear late Friday whether they would continue as planned in light of the latest sanctions waiver.