US President Donald Trump’s agreement to allow Russian diesel onto American and global markets is a “catastrophic miscalculation” that could damage Washington’s international standing, The Telegraph’s Executive Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor Con Coughlin argued.
In a commentary published Sunday, Oct. 11, Coughlin said Trump had provided the Kremlin with a financial lifeline while Russia remained under Western sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.
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“Ordinary Ukrainians will pay for cheaper global diesel prices with their lives,” he wrote.
Trump announced the agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Under its terms, Russia is expected to immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to US and global markets, followed by another 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons more afterwards.
The US Treasury Department issued a waiver permitting Russian diesel sales and imports despite sanctions imposed over Moscow’s war.
“Sell-out of the Ukrainian cause”
Coughlin described the agreement as a “massive sell-out of the Ukrainian cause,” arguing that the new export revenue could help Russia finance further attacks.
He also criticized Trump for blaming Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for surging US diesel prices. The primary cause of higher fuel costs is the US-led war against Iran rather than Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, Coughlin argued.
Trump is facing political pressure over energy prices ahead of the November midterm elections. He has demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian refineries and warned President Volodymyr Zelensky that he had “better damn well stop” if Kyiv wanted continued Western support.
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Trying to Make Sense of Trump’s Ukraine Policy
Trump’s “diesel deal” with Russia shows once again that he is pro-Russian and an enemy of Ukraine.
The US president also urged Ukrainians to elect a new leader who could reach an agreement with Moscow.
Coughlin argued that Trump’s approach reflected not only concerns about fuel prices but also his long-running hostility toward Zelensky, dating back to Trump’s first presidential term.
The columnist predicted that the diesel agreement would damage Trump’s reputation more than Zelensky’s, particularly if the Russian supplies failed to lower prices before the election.
Deal faces bipartisan backlash
Republicans fighting in the midterm elections have turned on Donald Trump over his diesel deal with Putin.
Two republicans have spoken out, with another incumbent in a key state, describing the deal as a “grave error.”
Other Republicans have also rounded on the US president, suggesting his attempts to assuage energy price concerns may already be backfiring.
Zelensky condemned the agreement, accusing Washington of demonstrating weakness and warning that renewed Russian revenue would lead to more attacks and deaths in Ukraine.
Trump subsequently announced an immediate “energy ceasefire” between Ukraine and Russia, claiming that both sides had agreed to halt strikes on energy infrastructure.
Kyiv said it was prepared to comply if Moscow reciprocated but had not received clear details of the arrangement. Russia continued striking Ukrainian power facilities after Trump’s announcement, while the Kremlin did not immediately confirm that it had accepted the truce.
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