Lisa Murkowski says Trump should use sanctions powers "instead of allowing Russia to export diesel"

Lisa MurkowskiU.S. Senator from Alaska, in a post on X

Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the president should use the sanctions and tariff authorities Congress passed instead of allowing Russia to export diesel and earn revenue while continuing its war in Ukraine, and that everything fueling the war should be cut off.

“The President should be using those authorities instead of allowing Russia to export diesel, rake in revenues, and continue its catastrophic war in Ukraine. We can discuss Russia’s return to global energy markets once the war is over, but in the meantime, we need to cut off everything fueling it.”

Original post

Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Sen. Lisa Murkowski's post on Russian diesel exports (X post) · Lisa MurkowskiFull post, October 9, 10:33 p.m. EDT.

Reporting

Open source (opens in a new tab)GOP lawmakers reject U.S.-Russia diesel deal, Trump's Zelensky commentsParagraphs quoting Sen. John Kennedy and former Rep. Mike Rogers, and the paragraphs on Fitzpatrick's bill.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump shake hands on a stage marked Alaska 2025, with fighter jets and Air Force One behind them.
Credit: DoD photo by Benjamin D. Applebaum

Where this statement fits

Should the U.S. lift sanctions on Russian diesel to bring down fuel prices?

On October 9, 2026, President Donald Trump said that after a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia would supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately and up to 4.8 million tons in all to the American and global markets, and that diesel prices would come down. The same day, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135, which authorizes the sale, delivery and importation of Russian-origin diesel until April 7, 2027. The U.S. has not imported Russian oil or gas since 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said easing sanctions without a de-escalation agreement plays into Russia's hands, and lawmakers in both parties said the arrangement would fund Russia's war in Ukraine. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said he would introduce a bill to block all purchases of Russian oil and force a vote by discharge petition. The dispute is over whether the U.S. should ease sanctions on Russian diesel to lower fuel prices.

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Source and context

Original post

Sen. Lisa Murkowski's post on Russian diesel exports (X post) (opens in a new tab) · Lisa MurkowskiFull post, October 9, 10:33 p.m. EDT.

About this source

The senator's own post on her official account.

Reporting

GOP lawmakers reject U.S.-Russia diesel deal, Trump's Zelensky comments (opens in a new tab)Paragraphs quoting Sen. John Kennedy and former Rep. Mike Rogers, and the paragraphs on Fitzpatrick's bill.

About this source

The Hill report on Republican objections to the diesel arrangement. It quotes Kennedy and Rogers from a Friday campaign appearance in Michigan, where a reporter asked about the deal.

Before the quotation

Murkowski began the post: "A few weeks ago, Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation to increase sanctions and tariffs on Russia."

After the quotation

The post links to an AP report on the diesel arrangement.

How this statement is classified

Condemned

The label describes this statement's response within the context above.

Why this label?

The case asks whether the U.S. should ease sanctions on Russian diesel to lower fuel prices, as the administration did on October 9. Murkowski says the president should use the sanctions authorities Congress passed "instead of allowing Russia to export diesel, rake in revenues, and continue its catastrophic war in Ukraine". That opposes the easing, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, since she leaves room to discuss Russia's return to energy markets after the war; it loses because she rejects it while the war continues.

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Cite this record

Publisher
The Dispute Index
Title
Lisa Murkowski says Trump should use sanctions powers "instead of allowing Russia to export diesel"
First published
Last updated
Permalink
https://disputeindex.com/events/5480-sen-lisa-murkowski-said-the-president-should-use

Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.

The Dispute Index. "Lisa Murkowski says Trump should use sanctions powers "instead of allowing Russia to export diesel"". First published: 2026-10-11. Last updated: 2026-10-11. https://disputeindex.com/events/5480-sen-lisa-murkowski-said-the-president-should-use