Russian leader Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, Oct. 21, that the first tanker under the Kremlin’s diesel agreement with the White House would sail in two to three days, revising an earlier announcement that it would depart on Thursday.
The ship will carry 40,000 metric tons (about 44,100 US tons) of diesel, Putin said during talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
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“The first tanker will leave in 2-3 days,” Putin said, adding that more tankers would follow.
He also said the financial arrangements needed to be in place for the shipments to work. He did not announce a departure port or an arrival date in the US in the quoted remarks.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the first tanker was scheduled to leave for the US on Thursday, Oct. 22, with supply contracts in the final stages of signing.
Novak said Russia could fully restore diesel export volumes by the end of the year, depending on its refineries’ capabilities. Other countries could also receive additional supplies as production recovered and Russia met the Trump representatives’ request.
Novak described the vessel’s displacement as 40,000 metric tons (about 44,100 US tons). Putin separately referred to that quantity as the diesel cargo.
Putin’s subsequent estimate of two-to-three days indicates instead a departure around Oct. 23-24.
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First cargo is a fraction of Trump’s initial pledge
The shipment amounts to approximately 13 percent of the initial 300,000 metric tons (about 330,700 US tons) that President Donald Trump said Russia would release immediately under the agreement.
Trump announced the arrangement on Oct. 9, saying larger volumes would follow in November and afterward. He claimed the deal is a way to bring down fuel prices for American farmers, truckers and consumers.
Putin said Russia was preparing several tankers, indicating that the first cargo would be part of a wider sequence of shipments.
The timing he gave refers to departure, rather than delivery to an American buyer. Shipping and unloading would still have to take place after the vessel sails.
Ukraine’s sanctions envoy calls cargo a “rounding error”
Ukraine’s presidential sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk said the announced 40,000-metric-ton diesel cargo would cover less than two hours of American diesel consumption.
He estimated that the voyage would take approximately three weeks, during which the US would export around 100 times as much diesel of its own.
“A rounding error for the market. A sanctions loophole for the Kremlin,” Vlasiuk wrote.
His post referred to the earlier announcement of an Oct. 22 departure, before Putin gave a revised timeline.
For context, US Energy Information Administration data shows domestic distillate fuel supplied averaged 4.323 million barrels per day in the week ending Oct. 9. That category includes both diesel and heating oil.
Sanctions relief draws criticism from Kyiv and Congress
The diesel agreement has become a source of friction between Washington and Kyiv.
After Trump announced the deal, the US Treasury authorized transactions involving Russian diesel through April 7, 2027, easing restrictions imposed over Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Trump later signed an Oct. 16 executive order waiving sweeping new Russia-related sanctions and tariffs shortly before they were scheduled to take effect.
The suspended measures included additional 500% tariffs on Russian imports and 100% duties targeting major buyers of Russian oil and gas.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized the diesel arrangement and broader sanctions relief, arguing that additional energy revenues would help Russia finance its war rather than persuade Putin to stop it.
Opposition has also come from US lawmakers. A bipartisan group of 12 senators urged Trump to rescind the diesel agreement, warning that it would reward Moscow while offering limited relief to Americans.
The senators called for stronger enforcement of economic pressure on Russia as attacks on Ukraine continued.
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