Trump Eases Russia Sanctions: Inside the Diesel Deal with Putin

President Donald Trump has eased sanctions pressure on Russia following a secret agreement with Vladimir Putin, allowing the resumption of Russian diesel exports by sea. The White House also blocked a new sanctions package against Moscow. Tankers carrying Russian diesel have departed for Turkey and Brazil, while the Kremlin openly discusses direct fuel shipments to the United States. Experts call the volumes negligible for the market but geopolitically damaging, noting European and British embargoes remain in force. Trump signed an executive order refusing to implement the "hellish sanctions" law he had approved a month earlier, which would have imposed tariffs up to 100 percent on countries buying Russian energy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the move as a sign of weakness.