Russian Deputy PM Novak Confirms Three Tankers Carrying 500,000 Tonnes of Diesel to Atlantic

Three tankers carrying Russian diesel are crossing the Atlantic toward the eastern coast.

Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said the vessels fall under an arrangement announced this month by US president Donald Trump. Russian companies are authorized to supply 500,000 metric tonnes of fuel to US and global markets during October. Trump agreed to temporarily lift US sanctions on Russian fuel in return for Russia supplying diesel to world markets to help bring down prices. Novak said the shipments were moving with significant support from the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Reuters reported that one vessel, the Malta-flagged medium tanker Agioi Fanendes, carries ultra-low sulphur diesel. It is scheduled to reach the United States on 7 November.

The fuel deliveries coincide with a ceasefire agreed for Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine held since February 2022. The White House said military operations in the city stop from 27 October to allow aid delivery and evacuation preparations. Russian and Ukrainian officials said all sides were close to agreeing to the terms. An estimated 2,000 people remain in Oleshky amid shortages of food, water and electricity, with some residents reportedly living on weeds, boiled grass and bread.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the US agreed to technical-level meetings in the first half of November in Abu Dhabi. A US official said the three countries might meet again in a couple of weeks, in Abu Dhabi or Switzerland. The diplomatic track follows a rift between Washington and Kyiv and Trump moves that include limits on the Starlink system Ukraine uses against incoming attacks. Trump said on Friday he would raise the issue with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk if access remained difficult.

EU leaders pressed UK prime minister Andy Burnham at a Brussels summit to contribute more to Ukraine's defence ahead of the first budget under his leadership next week. EU officials also said Canada and Japan should do more. The IAEA said repairs to power infrastructure near the Zaporizhzhia plant were completed under a temporary ceasefire it brokered, strengthening the connection to its sole external line, Ferosplavna-1.