Pressure Systems edition
Trump Waives Russian Diesel Sanctions Amid Ukrainian Advances
October 17, 2026
What this edition shows
Washington's decision to waive sanctions on Russian diesel to blunt soaring global fuel prices has driven a wedge through the alliance with Kyiv, even as Ukrainian forces reclaim territory across occupied Donetsk. The White House's bid to stabilize domestic pumps reopens Moscow's export lifelines while shifting strategic costs onto frontline battlefields and downstream energy markets. As Middle East supply disruptions and pipeline sabotage reverberate internationally, domestic fuel vulnerabilities continue to override wartime alliances.
Reporting and analysis behind this edition 13 sources
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The Global Diesel Crisis, Explained
How did the world reach a tipping point, and who holds the leverage?
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Ukraine advances in occupied Donetsk as Trump hands Putin diesel deal
Ukraine’s 'Operation Vivaldi' reclaimed more occupied territory in Donetsk during a week when Trump sided with Russia.
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Trump’s Diesel Deal Has No Winners
It won’t help consumers, won’t help Kyiv, and won’t mean riches for Moscow.
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Donald Trump just gave Putin the advantage in Ukraine
By lifting sanctions on Russian diesel, the US president dooms Ukrainians to a brutal winter in a violent, endless war
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The Politics of Solar Energy Are Getting Weird, Mean, and a Little MAGA
A mysterious super PAC that doubles as a pro-solar-energy outfit is funding some of the most knives-out attack ads of the midterms season.
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Trump waives Russia sanctions as rift with Zelenskyy widens
US President Donald Trump has waived more sanctions on Russia in a bid to ease energy prices.
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What the Iran war has done to the world’s energy supply, in charts
Fossil fuels produce 81 percent of global energy. We look at Middle East’s role and what happens when supplies are cut.
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Solar power booms in Philippines as war on Iran spikes energy costs
With Southeast Asia's largest electricity bills rising even higher, Filipinos invest in rooftop panels.
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Two Syrian pipelines damaged amid spate of attacks on energy infrastructure
Fuel theft cited in Baniyas-Homs leak as gas export line in Hasakah catches fire.
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Subsea cables and oil pipelines: The infrastructure linking AI, empire, and occupation
The growing importance of subsea cables in military and economic policy offers an entrypoint into understanding the corrosive, yet dependent, relationship between AI and oil infrastructure
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As negotiators struggle to advance a plastics treaty, Iran war underscores the urgency
Blocked Middle East oil shipments upended supply chains and prices for fossil fuel-based plastics, offering yet another reason nations must support a global treaty that shifts to sustainable materials, environmental advocates say.
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The Oil Crisis America Saw Coming
This is an edition of Time-Travel Thursdays, a journey through The Atlantic’s archives to contextualize the present. Sign up here. In December 1987, The Atlantic had some reassuring news for readers: The next oil crisis didn’t have to happen. The United States had already endured the oil shocks of t…
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The war tax you're actually paying at the pumps
Canadian oil producers and refiners are collecting some of the largest windfalls in the history of the business, all because of a war they, too, had nothing to do with. Most of that money leaves the country. So no, the government is not making sure more money stays in Canadians' pockets.