A bipartisan group of 12 US senators has urged President Donald Trump to abandon a diesel deal with Russia, arguing that it would betray Ukraine while doing little to curb surging energy prices.
The decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports, announced on October 9, reportedly blindsided Ukraine and America’s European allies, reigniting Trump’s public feud with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.
In a letter sent on Tuesday, the senators argued that “granting Moscow the ability to sell Russian diesel freely in global markets damages American security interests and is a betrayal of the people of Ukraine.” They further claimed that the move would have “a negligible impact on fuel prices,” while the proceeds would allow Russia to fund its military operations in Ukraine and “advance its security cooperation with China, Iran, and North Korea.”
“It will also endanger servicemembers operating overseas in support of Operation Epic Fury,” the senators wrote, referring to the US war with Iran. They urged Trump to impose additional sanctions on Russia and its trading partners under legislation named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham, a vocal Russia hawk, which the president signed into law last month.
The letter was signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal, Thom Tillis, Jeanne Shaheen, Susan Collins, Dick Durbin, Alan Armstrong, Sheldon Whitehouse, Lisa Murkowski, Jack Reed, Chris Coons, Mitch McConnell, and John Cornyn.
Trump has defended the agreement with Russia as beneficial to American consumers. “I made the right choice for the American People – ALWAYS, AMERICA FIRST!” he wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
According to Axios, Trump decided to strike a deal with Moscow after Zelensky rejected “half a dozen” US requests to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, which Trump blamed for rising gas prices.
Trump further suggested that it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president” after Zelensky criticized him for easing sanctions on Russia. Zelensky’s five-year presidential term expired in May 2024, but he has not called new elections, citing martial law imposed following the escalation of the conflict with Russia.
Trump also pointed out that the EU has continued to import Russian energy despite pledging to phase out supplies from Moscow. The bloc has spent more than $320 billion on Russian energy since 2022, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said earlier this month.
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