The Kremlin said it expects to sign the contracts to export diesel to the US in the coming days on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Kremlin’s main negotiator with the US, said Moscow is in close contact with the US to finalize the deal.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
“It will all happen in the next few days… We are in very close, hourly contact with the American side, and everything is moving very quickly,” AFP reported, citing Russian state media.
The comments follow US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement on Friday allowing Russia to export millions of tons of diesel to the US and global markets. Trump has since demanded that Kyiv stop striking Russian refineries, calling for an immediate energy truce that would protect Russian refineries but not Ukraine’s energy grid.
Dmitriev, born in Kyiv and whose sister reportedly entered Ukraine after 2022, has played a major role in Moscow’s negotiations with the US and is reportedly the chief architect of Washington’s 28-point peace plan, unveiled in late 2025, which repackages Kremlin war goals as peace terms.
Alexander Novak, Russia’s deputy prime minister for energy, confirmed that discussions are ongoing, with some shipments heading directly to the US.
“We are currently working with American colleagues, at both the ministry and corporate levels, on supply contracts,” Novak said, adding that overall volumes could reach 3.5 million tons by the end of 2026.
Other Topics of Interest
Kyiv Mayor Faces Questioning as Russian Attack Triggers Fresh Water Cuts
As Russia unleashed another overnight ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s energy grid, water supplies to Kyivans were cut off once again as an energy truce remains elusive.
“Deliveries will be made to global markets, including directly to the United States,” he added.
The overall volume amounts to about half of the US’s daily consumption, according to the BBC, despite sanctions relief running well into April 2027.
Kyiv and Europe have pushed back on Trump’s diesel deal, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying Kyiv, not Moscow, decides whether diesel leaves Russian ports after Kyiv reportedly wiped out over 40% of Russia’s refining capacity.
On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of 12 US senators signed a joint letter urging Trump to rescind his diesel agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it a gift to Moscow and a betrayal of Ukraine.
Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.