US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russia had agreed to immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the American and global marketplace after what Trump described as a “highly successful” discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump added that Russia would supply another 500,000 tons of diesel fuel in November and 1 million tons immediately thereafter, followed by another 3 million tons within a short period of time, depending on the condition of its diesel refineries. Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised the agreement on social media, saying that Trump and Putin had a “successful call” and that “Russia-US cooperation on diesel and energy will benefit the world.” A gift for PutinUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed what he called “gifts to Putin” on social media, saying that “allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.” Zelenskyy, whose country has been fighting a costly defensive war since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, added that “peace never comes through weakness” and called on Washington to hold a “strong conversation” with Moscow and increase sanctions on Russia. The announcement comes a week after the G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency reserves and pledged to refrain from energy export restrictions among themselves after pressure from Trump. The US leader had warned that Washington could ban diesel exports, which would sharply reduce supplies to Europe, which has become increasingly reliant on US supplies. He subsequently said the US would not impose the ban. Global fuel prices have surged this year largely due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which began with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. In response to the strikes, Tehran severely restricted shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of the world’s oil supplies passed before the conflict. Diesel and petrol prices subsequently skyrocketed to record levels, with some countries, such as Poland, introducing temporary measures to soften the financial blow on motorists looking to fill up their vehicles. Trump’s attempts to lower energy prices come ahead of US midterm elections next month, which could see the Democratic Party wrest control of Congress away from Trump’s Republicans, amid the US president’s career-low approval ratings among polled citizens. This story uses material from Reuters