Three Russian Tankers Are Bound for the US Under a New Fuel Deal

Three tankers carrying Russian diesel are moving toward North America, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday. He said the vessels were already on their way to the eastern Atlantic under an arrangement announced this month by US President Donald Trump. Under that deal, Russian companies could supply 500,000 metric tonnes of fuel to US and global markets in October.

Novak said the first three fuel tankers were underway with support from the Russian Direct Investment Fund. He said Russia agreed to send diesel to world markets to help lower fuel prices, and Trump agreed to temporarily lift US sanctions on Russian fuel in return. Reuters reported that the Malta-flagged tanker Agioi Fanendes is carrying ultra-low sulphur diesel and is expected to reach the United States on 7 November.

The White House said on Friday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine. The city has been under Russian control since February 2022. The White House said both sides would stop military operations there from 27 October so aid could be delivered and civilians could be prepared for evacuation. An estimated 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, where food, water and electricity are in short supply.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the US had agreed to technical-level meetings in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November. A US official said later that the three countries might meet again in about two weeks in Abu Dhabi or Switzerland. Zelenskyy said he hoped a meeting of the countries' leaders would follow.

The diplomatic activity comes after tension between Washington and Kyiv, and a series of Trump moves seen as favoring Russia. Those moves include limits on the Starlink system Ukraine uses to detect incoming attacks. Trump said on Friday that if Ukraine still had trouble reaching the system, he would address it and, if needed, raise it with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

EU leaders pressed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at a Brussels summit to contribute more to Ukraine's defense. The UK government is due to present its first budget under Burnham next week, and EU officials say Canada and Japan should also do more to support Ukraine. The IAEA said Friday that repairs to power infrastructure near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant were finished under a temporary ceasefire it brokered, strengthening the plant's connection to its one remaining external power line.