On Friday, October 9, President Trump got off the phone with Vladimir Putin and posted a deal on Truth Social.
Russia would ship more than 300,000 tons of diesel right away. Another 500,000 tons would follow in November, then 1 million tons after that. A further 3 million tons would come later, depending on the condition of Russia's refineries.
That same day, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135.
It authorizes the sale, delivery and importation of Russian-origin diesel, including into the United States, until 12:01 a.m. Eastern on April 7, 2027.
"I want to thank President Putin, to be honest with you," Trump told reporters.
The next morning, Russian aircraft dropped guided bombs on a five-story apartment building in Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine's emergency service put the final toll at 23 dead, four of them children.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X, "Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia."
Those two days tell the whole story. For four years, energy sanctions were the West's most dependable weapon against Moscow. This month they turned out to have a price tag.
It reads roughly six dollars a gallon.
The Pump Price That Moved Washington