A call that was supposed to be about a suspected plague outbreak in Russia turned into something far bigger. On Friday, President Donald Trump announced on social media that he had reached an agreement with Vladimir Putin for Russia to supply the United States with diesel fuel, a move that reverses years of American pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. According to Trump, Russia will send more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately, with 500,000 tonnes more arriving in November and a further 1 million tonnes "immediately thereafter." An additional 3 million tonnes is expected to follow "within a short period of time," he wrote, though he gave no details about pricing or delivery dates.

The White House has not said who will pay for the fuel, nor whether the November shipment will arrive before the US midterm elections on November 3. The announcement is striking because it comes barely a month after Trump signed a sweeping sanctions law targeting Russian banks, officials and energy exports, a law that also directs his administration to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy Russian oil or gas. The US itself has not imported Russian oil or gas since 2022, when Washington banned such purchases following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Trump did not mention the sanctions law or the war in his post, focusing instead on domestic politics: "Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority," he wrote.