"... Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious weakness. It plays into Russia’s hands – allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world.
"Ukraine is ready to take symmetrical de-escalatory steps, and the American team knows our position. Our strikes on Russian oil refineries and other oil facilities are a response to Russia’s years-long campaign of terror against Ukraine’s energy sector. Ukraine will not set Russian oil refineries on fire if Russia does not destroy our energy infrastructure. This is the kind of agreement we are proposing to America, and we believe the United States has enough power to achieve such a compromise.
"Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world. Russia will “repay” the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged. What is needed is real de-escalation with Russia on a reciprocal basis.
"We count on America’s fair support for our defense of life, for our defense of people in Ukraine – and on the United States having a correspondingly strong conversation with Russia. A strong one, not a weak one." -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, yesterday on X, reacting to the "deal" the stupid, desperate, and easily manipulated Malignant Fascist made with mentor and war criminal Putin for supplies of Russian diesel. In addition to dropping the sanctions against Russian energy products, the MF's "deal" would amount to funding Putin's war effort against Ukraine, all for a window-dressing gesture that, even if the Russians could make good on their promise, wouldn't alleviate the diesel crisis that is sinking MAGAt Republicans in the mid-term elections. Here's why:
Context:
300k tonnes of diesel = 93 million gallons.
US uses 160 to 170 million gallons per day - so 300k tonnes would last 13-14 hours.
Total order of 1.8 million tonnes = ~82 hours of US use = ~3 days 10 hours.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) October 9, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Oops.
The MF's "deal" may have gone up in smoke anyway after Ukrainian drones damaged the NZNP Rostovsky oil export terminal last night, setting it on fire. Oops again.
So, instead of a strong President with resolve, we have a stupid, weak, corrupt, self-interested narcissistic sociopath who is perfectly willing to sell out his country's interests and allies and what's left of its reputation in order to gain an ephemeral "win" in an election in which his party's circling the drain. As Zelenskyy rightly notes, it plays into Russia's hands so they "have even less respect for America" (than they already do). That's a particularly dangerous place to be.