Bipartisan bill to ban purchase of Russian oil is being prepared in US Congress

A bipartisan bill is being drafted in the US Congress that would completely block any purchases of Russian oil.

This was announced on social media platform X by US Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, according to Censor.NET.

The Reagan ‘Peace Through Strength’ Bill

"We will introduce a bipartisan bill to block all purchases of Russian oil. It will be called the ‘Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act’. It will be brought before the plenary session via a discharge procedure (where a bill is put to a vote by a majority of the House members, bypassing the relevant committee and the House leadership – ed.), and it will be passed by an overwhelming majority," the congressman wrote.

Criticism of Trump within the Republican Party

Fitzpatrick’s colleague Don Bacon, in a commentto "Ukrainska Pravda", described Trump’s decision to purchase Russian diesel fuel as a serious mistake.

"I can only speak for myself and, perhaps, for my close Republican friends. We categorically disagree with the President on this issue. I consider this a serious mistake. It looks like weakness: the President is pandering to Putin, who is a dictator and a war criminal. We must stand with Ukraine, a democracy that has been invaded and whose cities are being bombed. By allowing the purchase of Russian diesel fuel, we are channelling money into the Russian economy and its military machine. Just a year ago, the President criticised Europeans for buying Russian gas. I therefore completely disagree with this decision, and I consider the President’s policy towards Russia and Ukraine to be a failure. I and the ‘old-school’ Republicans, supporters of Ronald Reagan, are very disappointed," said the US lawmaker.

In his view, Trump’s motive is to try to lower diesel prices ahead of the mid-term elections. At the same time, he noted that most US citizens can see what lies behind this. According to him, polls consistently show around 70 per cent support for Ukraine amongst the population, although views on the form this should take – military aid or sanctions – vary.

The politician emphasised that most Americans perceive this decision as a sign of weakness towards Putin, which will not boost the president’s approval ratings.

"The president has always thought in transactional terms. I wish he had a stronger moral compass. We must do what is right, not what brings us a few pennies. He looks as though he is helping Putin, and this is a terrible, misguided decision," said Bacon.

What led up to this?

On 9 October, US President Donald Trump stated that he had spoken with Russian dictator Putin, with whom he had agreed on the supply of diesel fuel from Russia to US and global markets.
According to him, Russia will "immediately" supply over 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the US and global markets, a further 500,000 tonnes in November, and another million tonnes "immediately afterwards".
The US Treasury Department announced that, on Trump’s instructions, the Office of Foreign Assets Control is immediately issuing a temporary general licence to permit the supply of Russian diesel fuel to the global market.
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia’s authorisation to sell petroleum products as an "investment in war" and called on the US to hold firm talks with Moscow and impose sanctions under the Lindsey Graham Act.
It should be recalled that, against the backdrop of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, the Russian authorities have repeatedly extended the ban on diesel fuel exports until at least the end of October.
The US President has publicly stated that Ukraine must cease its strikes on the Russian energy sector, as this, he claims, is leading to a diesel fuel shortage. According to him, the shortage has arisen precisely because of the war in Ukraine, and not because of the US war against Iran.
Similar statements have been made by other US politicians. For instance, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Ukrainian strikes on the Russian energy sector were causing an energy crisis. He cited the war with Iran as the second cause of the crisis.