U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he leaves the White House on the South Lawn October 10, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Aaron Schwartz | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Monday defended last week’s decision to temporarily ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports, after the announcement drew bipartisan criticism.
Trump, in an article for Truth Social, accused the media of hypocrisy for allegedly refusing to cover the European Union’s past purchases of Russian energy.
“The European Union paid Russia $250 billion for energy, and the fake media doesn’t want to be interested in this story,” Trump wrote.
Although the president did not elaborate, his figure roughly matches some estimates of how much the EU has spent importing fossil fuels from Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The European Commission has launched a plan to phase out its dependence on Russian energy.
“I made the right choice for the American people: ALWAYS, AMERICA FIRST!” Trump wrote in the social media post.
Lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns about Trump’s decision to let Russia supply diesel to the United States and global markets over the next six months.
The plan was rejected by several congressional Republicans who urged Trump not to lift the U.S. ban on energy imports from Russia until its President, Vladimir Putin, ends the war against Ukraine.
“The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians,” a group of seven senators, including four Republicans, said in a joint statement on Sunday.
Other Republicans have also raised questions about Trump’s deal.
“While I understand the desire to lower diesel prices, I fear that lifting sanctions on Russian oil will only fund the Kremlin’s war machine, emboldening more violence and destruction, as we have seen in recent days,” Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul said Friday.
Trump, whose party is eyeing a potentially tough midterm election that has coincided with widespread economic discontent, says the plan he coordinated with Putin will help bring down record-high diesel prices. Some analysts, however, say that this policy will not change much.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that easing U.S. sanctions against Moscow “plays into Russia’s hands.”
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