Seven tankers with 288,000 tonnes of Russian diesel head to US as legality disputed

Seven oil tankers carrying an estimated 288,000 tonnes of Russian diesel are currently sailing toward the United States, according to tracking by the environmental pressure group Greenpeace. It is uncertain whether the vessels will be able to unload because of a political row over the shipments' legality.

The deliveries are the first stage of a contentious supply agreement negotiated by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, which reversed years of sanctions on Russian oil. Earlier reports had counted three tankers that left Russian oil terminals in the Baltic Sea, but Greenpeace says its monitoring, which draws on shipping tracking websites and other sources, is the most complete to date.

Greenpeace Ukraine energy specialist Shaun Burnie said the shipments should be stopped by Congress or US local authorities. "Instead of rewarding Russia for its vile war against Ukraine, there needs to be more punitive sanctions against Russia," he said. "These shipments can be stopped."

One tanker, the Taurus, is relatively close to the US, while when the map was first published five others were near the UK and three were sailing through or into the English Channel.

Attacks in Ukraine

In Ukraine, reports said 14 people were killed on Thursday morning when a Russian drone struck a crowded train platform in Dnipro. Five others were reported killed in daytime attacks on Chernihiv and Kremenchuk. Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine's state railway company, said a high-speed jet-powered drone hit as a commuter train was getting ready to leave Dnipro's main station at about 11am, leaving bodies scattered.

The diesel deal

Under a surprise agreement announced on 9 October, Putin agreed to supply the US with 1.8m tonnes of diesel, beginning with 300,000 tonnes straight away. Trump allowed the shipments by announcing a six-month pause on existing sanctions. Russia has been targeted by successive rounds of economic sanctions from the US, EU, UK and other leading western economies since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since the autumn, Trump has shifted direction and tried to work more closely with Putin, despite Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine.

US legal and political fight

Earlier this week, Democratic senators and other US lawmakers told banks and port authorities that handling the Russian diesel could lead to congressional investigations and other legal action. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic governor of New Jersey, said she was looking at ways to stop the diesel being unloaded in her state, describing the deal as "corrupt and illegal". Reports suggest the White House has been urging US companies to take the oil, but it is not clear that buyers will step forward because of the legal risks ahead of next Tuesday's midterm elections.

Trump's approval has declined as US fuel prices have climbed since he attacked Iran in the spring. Polls indicate a strong chance that Democrats could win control of the House of Representatives, while the Senate is considered too close to call. Trump had said the Russia deal would bring diesel prices down, but the average price per gallon has gone up from $6.28 when the agreement was announced to $6.33, according to the American Automobile Association.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, condemned the agreement, arguing that the money raised would help fund the Kremlin's war and that "backroom deals" gave Putin more opportunities on the battlefield. The Kremlin has sought to keep details of the latest oil exports secret. A presidential decree at the end of September limited the publication of oil export information as part of efforts to evade international sanctions.

Source: The Guardian World.