Trump’s diesel deal with Putin, a rebuke from Brussels, and a squabble over Europe’s enormous Russian energy bill

EU leaders are expressing dissatisfaction with the recent deal between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin that allows Russia to supply diesel fuel to the U.S. This deal is seen as undermining sanctions and enabling the Kremlin to continue its war against Ukraine. Trump countered by stating that Europeans have paid Russia $250 billion for energy since the war began, while Russia claims the figure is too low.

Russia has reported that the EU has paid $320.7 billion for energy since 2022, with $21.3 billion in the first nine months of 2026 alone. The EU's account, presented by an unnamed European Commission representative, states that Russia supplied the EU with 197 billion euros ($209 billion) worth of energy from March 2022 to July 2026.

The EU claims that without Russian energy, the expenditure would have been 475 billion euros, more than twice the amount.

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