WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of seven U.S. senators on Sunday rebuked President Donald Trump’s plan to import Russian diesel fuel, urging him to abandon the deal and warning it would hand Moscow a “financial lifeline” while Russia continues its war against Ukraine.
Trump announced Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to release 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, another 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons thereafter, and that the Treasury Department would lift sanctions to let the fuel flow. Trump framed the move as a response to elevated diesel prices ahead of November’s midterm elections.
In a joint statement, Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, John Curtis of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina joined Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut in objecting, according to The Times, citing AP reporting.
The senators said the administration had failed to consult Congress or submit the justification required under a 2022 law barring Russian energy imports to the United States. “The U.S. should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians,” the statement said. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had criticized the deal as a “birthday gift” to Putin, said Sunday that “Ukraine wants peace. The question is whether Russia does,” adding that Kyiv was awaiting details of the U.S.-Russia dialogue. He said Ukraine’s skies had been “infested” with Russian drone and bomb strikes.
Russia continued bombing Ukraine’s energy grid and other targets in Kyiv on Sunday, with explosions audible throughout the day and power cuts continuing. French President Emmanuel Macron said he supported an energy truce, adding that Russia “continues to refuse it by intensifying its strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.”
The rebuke followed Trump’s Saturday call for Ukraine to get “a new president” and his warning to Zelenskyy to stop Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he blamed for rising global fuel prices.
