A first tanker carrying Russian diesel to the United States under a new import agreement has set sail, the Kremlin said Friday, two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump said he struck a deal with President Vladimir Putin despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
“The first oil tanker has sailed off to customers, and regular supplies will continue,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said without elaborating.
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The diesel deal was seen as an attempt by Trump to address high fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections.
It caused alarm and dismay in Ukraine, which has pleaded with foreign countries to tighten sanctions on Moscow and deny it revenue for the invasion launched in February 2022. In the U.S., the agreement was also criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for violating American laws and drawing the country closer to Russia. The deal joins a growing list of actions in which the Republican president has sided with Putin, often at Ukraine’s expense.
Marine intelligence firm Kpler said the vessel signaled that it was headed to New York to arrive Nov. 7 and would be the first Russian diesel delivery to the United States since July 2023.
The import agreement, which Trump says foresees millions more tons of Russian diesel reaching the U.S. in the coming months, is unlikely to make a dent in painfully high prices at the pump or elsewhere, energy policy experts say.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said earlier this week that the first shipment would amount to 40,000 tons of diesel, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency. That’s around 300,000 barrels, or about 7% of the roughly 4 million barrels of diesel the U.S. economy consumes in a single day.
Russia’s diesel production has come under strain from repeated Ukrainian drone strikes on its oil refineries. The attacks caused fuel shortages, which now have eased. Trump last month asked Kyiv to stop the attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump’s deal “a weak decision by strong partners.”
The diesel agreement was a sudden policy reversal, coming just weeks after Trump signed into law a sweeping sanctions package that called for up to 100% tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas. He later put the measures on hold.
The development is the latest twist in the at times volatile relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy, which in recent weeks has sunk to a new low.
Zelenskyy said he spoke Friday with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, after they consulted with Putin in St. Petersburg. They also spoke with the Ukrainian leader earlier this week in Norway.
Kyiv is keen to add momentum to peace efforts in a planned three-way meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States that may take place next month at a venue to be decided, Zelenskyy said in comments via video link to the Hudson Institute research organization in Washington.
"We need diplomacy to move forward,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine's pressing issues are protecting its power grid from Russian attacks ahead of winter, getting more U.S.-made Patriot air-defense interceptors to counter Russia's ballistic missiles and finding more financial support from foreign countries, Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine is still experiencing Starlink and Starshield speed limits that are choking its drone operations, Zelenskyy said. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week that the satellite internet service would be fully restored within 72 hours, according to the Ukrainian leader.
Meanwhile, Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said Friday afternoon that all four Moscow airports — Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky — stopped flights arriving and departing for security reasons.
At Sheremetyevo airport, passengers were told to take shelter, Russian news agency Interfax reported. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that air defenses downed 21 Ukrainian drones targeting the Russian capital in the afternoon.
The airport restrictions were lifted three hours later.
In other developments, the White House announced that first lady Melania Trump brokered an upcoming ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the war-ravaged Ukrainian city of Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians.
The first lady said in a news release that the situation there is “on the brink of disaster.”
Ukraine’s top negotiator involved in the humanitarian mission told The Associated Press that the local ceasefire would start Tuesday — two days before the mission begins — and last several days.
Also Friday, Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war for the first time since August.
The Russian Defense Ministry said each side released 270 prisoners. Ukraine said 270 of its soldiers and civilians were freed, most of them held in captivity since 2022.
Elsewhere, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said a Russian embassy staff member has been declared persona non grata after a Russian drone violated the country's airspace and crashed near homes.
Police said a local resident discovered a drone in the village of Chistelnita in Telenesti District, less than 100 meters (330 feet) from a home. Specialists were sent to investigate. No one was reported hurt.
“Russia’s war keeps putting Moldovan lives at risk," Sandu wrote on X. "Today, a Russian Geran attack drone violated our airspace and fell near family homes and an energy facility.”
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Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England, contributed.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
