Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has criticised US President Donald Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel imports, accusing Washington of undermining Ukraine’s fight against Russia to address rising fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections…
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has criticised US President Donald Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel imports, accusing Washington of undermining Ukraine’s fight against Russia to address rising fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections.
Johnson’s criticism followed Trump’s announcement of an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin for additional diesel supplies to global markets, in a move aimed at easing soaring fuel costs.
The US Treasury subsequently issued a temporary licence allowing certain Russian diesel shipments to proceed despite existing sanctions.
Johnson described the move as “sickening”, arguing that it risked helping to finance Russia’s war against Ukraine while offering little prospect of significantly reducing fuel prices.
He also rejected attempts to blame Ukraine for rising energy costs, arguing that the disruption to supplies through the Strait of Hormuz was a major factor behind the price surge.
“It is sickening that the USA is now lifting sanctions on Russian fuel, and transparently ridiculous to blame Ukraine for the spike in prices that obviously began with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Johnson said in a post on X.
The former British leader accused Putin of continuing to kill Ukrainian civilians and said the Ukrainian people were fighting for their survival.
He further argued that American motorists could effectively end up financing Russia’s military campaign through the renewed flow of revenue from its energy exports.
“It won’t work and I doubt it will make much difference to the price of fuel,” he added.
Johnson insisted that restoring Russian oil and gas to international markets should follow an end to the war that guarantees Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence.
“If we want Russian oil and gas back on the world market then let’s end this war — with a free, sovereign and independent Ukraine,” he said.
The deal comes as the Trump administration faces pressure to contain fuel prices before the November 3 midterm elections, when control of Congress will be contested.
However, analysts have questioned whether the additional diesel supplies will be sufficient to deliver sustained price reductions, given the scale of the global fuel supply disruption.
The move has also exposed tensions between Washington’s efforts to ease domestic energy costs and the Western strategy of restricting Russian revenues over the war in Ukraine.
