Trump’s Russian energy strategy could backfire
US President Donald Trump announced that the US would waive sanctions on Russian diesel exports until the spring and permit the release of 300,000 metric tons of diesel into the global market, before announcing an energy ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv. The diesel measure was condemned by a bipartisan group of senators, who argued the volume was too small to make a difference and extended a financial lifeline to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia appears to have violated the ceasefire almost immediately, and a Ukrainian official said Kyiv was temporarily holding off on further long-range drone strikes against Russian refineries while it assessed Moscow's behaviour.
Why it matters: The episode bears on the briefing's energy sanctions theme, because the diesel waiver and the proposed ceasefire together shape both the course of the war and the supply conditions of global fuel markets.