President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Russian fuel after agreeing with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Putin would release millions of tons of diesel into the global market. The decision came weeks before the midterm elections, as fuel prices surged. Former Vice President Mike Pence called the move a “betrayal” and urged Trump to reverse it.
The decision and its timing
Trump announced Friday that he and Putin had reached the agreement during a phone call. Politico described the move as lifting sanctions on Russian diesel and said it came amid rising fuel prices, weeks before the midterm elections. Before the agreement, Republicans had pressed Trump to lower diesel prices ahead of the elections.
Politico also reported that Trump suggested the United States might buy Russian diesel. The base account identifies no completed purchase; it describes only a possibility Trump raised. Under the agreement Trump described, Putin would release millions of tons of diesel into the global market.
The decision puts US sanctions policy toward Russian energy at issue. Trump and Putin agreed on the release of Russian diesel, while Pence called for the sanctions to be restored. The account links the timing to midterm pressure and surging fuel prices, but gives no price figures or details about the specific sanctions lifted.
Pence calls for reversal
Pence said the decision made “no sense” while Putin continued, in Pence’s description, to attack civilian targets in Ukraine. In a post on X, he called it “a betrayal of the legacy and leadership of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.” Pence said Graham had fought to enact tough sanctions and accused the president of “fueling the Putin's war machine.”
Pence also said he “saw firsthand in Ukraine last month” that “Putin is losing this war.” He argued the United States shouldn't provide what he called a “lifeline to Putin's war machine.” America, he said, should stand against Russian aggression as it did during the first Trump administration.
“Putin doesn't want peace. Putin wants Ukraine,” Pence wrote. He warned that if Russia overruns Ukraine, Russia’s military could eventually cross a border that US troops would have to deal with. The report gives Pence’s warning; it doesn't say any such crossing has occurred.
Competing claims over US policy
Pence called the United States “the Leader of the Free World” and urged Trump to “rescind this deal immediately.” He called for a return to what he described as the strong policies of their four years in the White House: harsh sanctions on any nation purchasing Russian energy, along with work with allies to ensure Ukraine receives military support to repel and defeat the Russian invasion.
The account sets out two competing positions: Trump’s agreement with Putin to release Russian diesel into the global market, and Pence’s demand for restored sanctions and continued support for Ukraine. Fox News' Brie Stimson contributed to the report.