Trump authorises Russian diesel deal despite his own sanctions law

Donald Trump has authorised temporary supplies of Russian diesel to global markets, arguing the arrangement would help lower fuel prices. The decision comes only weeks after he signed legislation permitting tariffs on countries that purchase significant volumes of Russian oil and gas.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the deal in forceful terms, saying that easing pressure on Moscow "plays into Russia's hands" and describing the agreement as an investment in a war that must be ended rather than prolonged. Hours after the deal was announced, Ukraine struck a Russian fuel facility.

Critics have questioned the legal and moral consistency of the move, noting that the administration had previously warned other nations, including India, against purchasing Russian energy on the grounds that such trade finances Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine. The decision to strike its own arrangement with Russia has prompted accusations of double standards, with observers asking what distinguishes an American purchase of Russian fuel from one made by any other country the administration has sought to penalise.

The White House has not publicly addressed how the temporary authorisation squares with the recently enacted sanctions law, leaving open the question of whether the president has the legal authority to waive its provisions unilaterally.