Russia Dismisses FT Report on Russian Diesel Shipments to US

By Staff, Agencies

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev has accused the Financial Times of spreading “fake news” after the newspaper reported that a diesel fuel deal between Moscow and Washington was “unravelling” following changes in the routes of several tankers carrying Russian fuel.

The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that two tankers transporting Russian diesel toward the US East Coast had changed course less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump’s Republican Party lost control of Congress in the US midterm elections.

One vessel reportedly diverted from the Atlantic Ocean toward the Mediterranean, while another changed its declared destination to Brazil.

A third tanker continued toward the United States but indicated that its cargo was awaiting a buyer, while a fourth remained on course toward Massachusetts.

The newspaper interpreted the diversions as signs of hesitation among American buyers, suggesting that Trump’s controversial effort to import Russian diesel ahead of the midterm elections was facing difficulties.

Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and one of the figures involved in brokering the agreement, rejected the report. “Tankers destined for the US continue on course,” he wrote on X on Thursday, questioning what he described as the newspaper’s repeated publication of “fake news.”

RT confirmed that two tankers had changed course, while a third had signaled “for orders,” indicating that its cargo did not yet have a confirmed buyer. However, the agreement did not specify how much diesel would be sold to US customers and how much would be directed to other international markets.

Under the agreement reached with Trump last month, Russia committed to releasing more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel into US and global markets, followed by another 500,000 tons in November and additional supplies thereafter.

The arrangement came amid record-high American gasoline and diesel prices linked to the US-“Israeli” war on Iran and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. It was widely viewed as an effort by Trump to ease fuel costs ahead of the midterm elections.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected suggestions that the shipments were connected to US electoral politics, saying that the purchase of Russian diesel and the routes taken by the tankers had nothing to do with the American elections. He added that all the shipped fuel would “definitely find its buyer.”

Trump previously described the agreement as “the right choice for the American People.” Although its announcement reportedly contributed to a 4.6% decline in wholesale diesel prices, dissatisfaction over the cost of living and the war on Iran continued to weigh on Republicans in the midterm elections.