Russia announced Saturday that it was beginning to lift domestic restrictions on diesel exports following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement Friday of an agreement to purchase Russian diesel, marking a significant policy reversal after years of American pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
Axios reported overnight, citing a U.S. official familiar with the matter, that Trump decided to pursue the agreement with Russia after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ignored repeated American requests for Kyiv to stop attacking Russian oil refineries.
Kyiv appeared unwilling to comply with Trump's demands even after the agreement. Ukraine launched an overnight attack on Russia involving some 500 drones, according to the report, including a strike on an oil facility in the Rostov region.
The American official criticized Zelensky, saying he was misreading the situation and that continued Ukrainian attacks on refineries were undermining the trust the Ukrainian president had built with Trump over the past six months.
Zelensky sharply criticized the U.S.-Russia agreement Friday, accusing Washington of exploiting negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation as cover for its own dealings with Moscow.
"I believe our team is simply being used as cover. This is certainly not fair and not how partners should treat each other," Zelensky said.
Ukrainian media reports noted that officials in Kyiv doubted the agreement would achieve Trump's objective of lowering global fuel prices. They nevertheless acknowledged that the deal itself weakened Ukraine's negotiating position.
A Ukrainian attack on an oil refinery in Russia
Russian petroleum exports have been restricted by both international sanctions and domestic export bans imposed after Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities disrupted production and caused fuel shortages inside Russia.
Now, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the country's energy sector, Moscow is beginning to lift those restrictions ahead of schedule.
Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he had reached the agreement during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders had been expected to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia.
Instead, Trump said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel, followed by another 500,000 tons in November and an additional 1 million tons shortly afterward. Russia would then supply another 3 million tons within a relatively short period, he added.
Warm exchanges between Trump and Putin
Senior Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov described the conversation to Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
"The conversation lasted an hour and a half, and neither side wanted to be the first to hang up," Ushakov said. He added that Trump had expressed his willingness to continue speaking with Putin that evening, overnight and the following day.
Putin's economic adviser Kirill Dmitriev, meanwhile, posted several messages on social media thanking Trump for the agreement. One of the posts consisted of a single word: "Diesel."
Ushakov and Kremlin-aligned media sought to portray the agreement as evidence of a new phase in relations between Moscow and Washington, arguing that it demonstrated Russia could no longer be considered internationally isolated.
Describing the personal exchanges between the two presidents, Ushakov said Trump had warmly congratulated Putin on his 74th birthday earlier in the week. Trump wished Putin success and conveyed greetings from first lady Melania Trump, Ushakov said.
"Vladimir Putin thanked his American counterpart for the congratulations and warm words," the senior Russian official said, adding that Moscow appreciated the attention Trump and his team were devoting to dialogue with Russia despite domestic U.S. issues and developments in the Middle East.
On the ground, however, Russian attacks deep inside Ukraine continued to exact a heavy toll on civilians.
Overnight, Moscow launched a missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. According to Ukrainian media reports, at least seven people were killed when a residential building suffered a direct hit. Local authorities said another 14 people were missing.