'He must reverse course': Republican, Democratic senators condemn Trump's agreement with Putin on Russian diesel

A bipartisan group of seven lawmakers from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee condemned on Sunday President Donald Trump's agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which would lift sanctions against Russia and allow its oil to reenter the global economy. The statement is signed by three Democratic senators — Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden — and four Republicans — Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, Susan Collins and John Curtis.

"Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine. Congress was clear: the U.S. should not import oil from Russia until it ends its aggression against Ukraine and ceases threats against our NATO Allies. President Trump’s decision to allow Russian diesel imports to the U.S. runs directly counter to that law. The Administration has also failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation to justify its decision as required by statute. The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The Administration must immediately reverse course," the group wrote in a statement.

On Friday, the U.S. president announced that Russia will supply diesel to the United States and the global market, following a "very successful" conversation with Putin. According to a post on Truth Social, Moscow will ship more than 300,000 metric tons "immediately," another 500,000 metric tons in November and 1 million metric tons "immediately afterward."

According to Trump's post, he spoke with Putin and the two agreed that Russia would deliver another 3 million metric tons of diesel "shortly." The post does not specify how much of that fuel would go to the U.S. or whether that figure is in addition to the previous amounts.

The Republican president even lashed out harshly at his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after the latter questioned his decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel supplies, going so far as to suggest that Ukraine should change its leader. In response to questions from reporters, Trump asserted that the Ukrainian president "could have ended this war many times," but "chose not to."