Novak: Russian diesel exports could return to past levels after US eases sanctions

Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said on Monday, 13 October, on state TV channel Rossiya-24 that the country can restore its diesel exports to levels last seen before Ukraine began targeting Russian oil refineries. By the end of the year, he said, exports could reach 3–3.5m metric tons a month. The claim follows a decision by US president Donald Trump's administration to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian fuel. Russia's diesel exports had collapsed because of Ukrainian strikes on refineries and Moscow's own restrictions on overseas sales.

The deal and the backlash

Trump announced on Friday that Russia had agreed to supply diesel to global markets to ease supply concerns. Under the arrangement, Russia will provide more than 2.25m barrels of diesel to the US and other markets. Ukraine and other US allies have condemned it. In Washington it has prompted bipartisan objections: a group of Republican and Democratic senators urged Trump to reverse course, saying the deal may violate a 2022 law meant to support Ukraine. Republican senator Jerry Moran said sanctions should be tightened, not undercut. Trump defended the deal, calling it "the right choice for the American people".

Reuters, citing three people familiar with the meeting, reported that Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner told Ukrainian officials in Miami on Friday that Russian president Vladimir Putin was not ready to negotiate an end to the war, and that the deal could help restart trilateral talks. The report has not been officially confirmed.

Ukraine's response and the strikes

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told European security officials in Warsaw that Kyiv would respond if attacks on its power grid continued. He later told Fox News that Ukraine had refrained from striking Russian energy sites since Trump's truce announcement on Sunday and was ready to honour an energy ceasefire as "a good first step".

A Russian strike on a 25-storey residential building in Kyiv's Darnitskyi district killed two people and injured at least nine. Attacks in other regions killed at least six. In Kharkiv, mayor Ihor Terekhov reported heavy shelling; five people were injured when the entrance to an apartment block collapsed, and residents may still be trapped under rubble.

Separately, the EU will open new accession negotiations with Ukraine on Tuesday. Ukraine's parliament on Monday passed a law protecting national minority rights, removing a major obstacle to its membership bid.