Just Signed Sanctions, Now Signs Purchase Deal: Trump's Massive Russian Diesel Order Criticized as Funding the War

According to The Hindu, US President Trump announced a massive diesel purchase agreement with Russia: on social media, Trump said he and Russian President Putin finalized the agreement during a phone call originally meant to discuss a suspected plague outbreak, with Russia immediately delivering over 300,000 tons of diesel, another 500,000 tons in November 2026, followed by an additional 1 million tons immediately after, and another 3 million tons to be provided "in the short term."

This move stands in sharp contrast to the comprehensive Russia sanctions bill Trump signed just one month ago. That bill was intended to strike at the oil and gas revenue funding Russia's war. Reports indicate the timing of Trump's announcement came on the eve of the US midterm elections, intended to address high oil prices.

Zelensky's Anger

The day after the agreement was announced, Russian airstrikes took more civilian lives in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast. According to The Hindu citing Ukraine's State Emergency Service, Russian aerial bombs struck a residential building in Zaporizhzhia, killing at least 11 people, including 3 children, and injuring at least 18 others. Reports the same day also showed Zaporizhzhia regional officials reported at least 20 deaths in the oblast. Ukrainian officials said Russia's intense bombing over the past four days has killed more than 60 people across Ukraine. Missiles also struck Kyiv in broad daylight, with Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reporting 4 injured.

Ukrainian President Zelensky posted harsh words on social media, saying Russia would repay the deal with "more terror and treachery," characterizing the agreement as an investment in the war that would allow it to continue.

"This deal plays right into Russia's hands — allowing it to kill more people, wage war longer, hold the United States in even greater contempt, and cause greater losses and destruction to the world."

According to a statement released by the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, Zelensky called the agreement "a regrettable weak decision, a weak decision made by a powerful partner."

Same Day in Miami: Negotiating on One Side While Kept in the Dark?

According to The Hindu, what made Kyiv more embarrassed was that Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were meeting with Ukrainian officials in Miami on the same day the agreement was announced, to discuss plans to end the war.

Zelensky was blunt about it: "I believe our team was being used as a smokescreen. This is certainly unfair. This is certainly not how partners should treat each other."

The report noted that after more than four and a half years of full-scale invasion, Russian and Ukrainian forces remain locked in a stalemate on the frontline, with both sides exhausting each other in a long-range aerial battle, while Ukraine struggles to cope with escalating Russian bombing.