Pro-Ukraine senators oppose the White House

A bipartisan group of senators – six Democrats and six Republicans – has sent a letter to US President Donald Trump asking him to rescind his agreement with Russia reached last week. Under the terms of the agreement, Washington would have lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports and Moscow would have immediately supplied 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the United States and global markets. They described the agreement as “a betrayal of the Ukrainian people and a gift to our adversaries” and added that “it will not benefit Americans”.

In the letter, spearheaded by Democrat Richard Blumenthal, the senators acknowledged that Trump is seeking to curb high diesel prices, which last month reached $6.53 per gallon across the country, but they also stated that importing Russian diesel would do very little to curb prices in the United States, whilst ultimately helping to fuel Moscow’s war machine. According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a federal statistical agency that publishes independent information on energy, the quantity referred to by Trump is less than the U.S. transport sector’s consumption for a single day. 

“Allowing Moscow to sell its diesel freely on global markets undermines American security interests and is a betrayal of the Ukrainians, who continue to defend themselves against Putin’s illegal and murderous war,” the letter states. The senators also pointed out that last month Trump signed the bill passed by Congress in honour of the late Senator Lindsey Graham – a foreign policy hawk and staunch supporter of the Ukrainian cause – which gives the president the power to impose 100 per cent tariffs on major importers of oil and natural gas from Russia, and they urged him to abide by it.

Among those signing the letter on behalf of the Republicans were former Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Maine Senator Susan Collins, who is fighting for re-election in a neck-and-neck race against Democratic candidate Troy Jackson, in one of the most closely contested states of the upcoming election cycle. One notable absence from the list of signatories is Darline Graham, who was appointed to the Senate to replace her brother Lindsey: a move that spares her from having to take a direct stand against the President, who wanted her in the Senate and provided her with significant support during the election campaign.