Follow-Up: Russia's First Diesel Cargo to the US Sails Thursday With 40,000 Tons; Deputy PM Alexander Novak Eyes Full Export Restoration by Year-End
According to Reuters on October 21, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia's first diesel shipment to the United States will depart on Thursday (October 22), with the first tanker carrying 40,000 metric tons of diesel and the paperwork for the fuel supply nearing completion. He did not name the port from which the tanker will sail.
Novak said additional shipments will follow, and that Russia will meet the United States' needs, to the extent of its capabilities, under the agreement reached by the two leaders. He also said Russia may fully restore diesel exports by the end of this year. GSM previously reported that after an October 9 call with Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump announced imports of Russian diesel, with the Treasury temporarily waiving related sanctions through April 2027; Russia lifted its diesel export ban on October 9. The ban had been imposed to tackle domestic shortages triggered by Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries.
Under the schedule Trump has outlined, Russia will first export 300,000 metric tons of diesel (about 2.25 million barrels), followed by 500,000 tons in November and a further 1 million tons thereafter. For scale, the United States itself exports about 1.5 million barrels of diesel per day.
On the same day as Novak's remarks, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg. Witkoff thanked Putin for lifting the export restrictions, and Putin said global diesel prices had fallen 5% to 6% since the agreement. Reuters noted that U.S.-Ukraine ties have deteriorated sharply since the diesel deal, with Kyiv complaining of disruption to some intelligence sharing and to its use of the Starshield military satellite system.
Related: Trump Strikes Diesel Deal With Putin; Treasury Waives Russian Diesel Sanctions Through April 2027
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 油轮「Koala」号在圣彼得堡（资料图，2026年）。Germash19 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0 授权，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布／Oil tanker Koala in Saint Petersburg (file photo, 2026). Photo: Germash19, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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