Zelenskyy Requests His Own “Diesel Deal” with the United States, that has Nothing to Do With Diesel

October 13, 2026 | Sundance |

The people around Zelenskyy, his support network, are struggling trying to find solid footing for a counter narrative.

That’s why these remarks from Zelenskyy sound weird; in reality, they just don’t quite know how to respond because what President Trump is revealing in the “diesel deal” with Russia really doesn’t have much to do with diesel fuel supplies.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy (via X) – “I don’t believe the volume of diesel Russia will export will affect the price. Moreover, we see that they can export from 300,000 to 500,000 tons a month today. Meanwhile, global consumption stands at 120 million tons a month. What kind of impact can that have? I don’t think it would have any. If some people think otherwise, so be it.

So I believe there are entirely different reasons behind these actions. ==If this is the approach, then why isn’t America making a “diesel deal” with Ukraine?

== Let Ukraine propose a “diesel deal.” We do have influence over whether these ships can sail or not, whether these refineries can operate or not. If that’s the case, then let’s do it.

Electricity is what matters to us. That’s clear. If we can be guaranteed protection for our power system, then we will not strike Russia’s diesel infrastructure in response.

Electricity is first and foremost about helping people – keeping their lights on. It also means helping Europe. Everyone knows that we are connected to the European power grid. And if our energy infrastructure is not being destroyed, we can help some countries that are facing shortages by supplying them with cheaper electricity.

So, yes, let’s sign a corresponding “diesel deal” with the President of the United States.” (link)

Following the lengthy phone call with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, President Trump noted during remarks on the way to Ohio that his administration was unsure of who exactly would be conducting strikes against Ukraine power infrastructure. The lights going out in Kiev has a similar appearance to the performative air raid sirens whenever a high-profile EU govt official pays a visit [World War Reddit].

The answer to the Zelenskyy question is most likely, because the Trump-Putin diesel deal isn’t just about diesel. Just like the Belarus potash deal was not just about potash. What both the Russian-diesel fuel and Belarusian-potashhave in common is an agreed pricing system that is outside western commodity structures.

Whether he intends it or not, President Trump is revealing the banking and finance system that profits from control of how energy products are bought and sold. This is further evidenced when you look at the Ukraine support assembly through the prism of what nations and political interests promote the climate change agenda.

It is not accidental that every nation and political apparatus supporting Ukraine is part of the green energy, climate change, Paris Climate Treaty, Build Back Better advocacy group.

On the banking/finance side, the western control system tries to block funding for coal, oil and gas. Those who price the markets for these energy products operate directly inside the same institutions. Chairman Xi, President Putin, Crown Prince MbS and President Donald Trump represent the other side of that dynamic and support traditional low-price energy development.

Europe is simply Europe, acting hypocritically and trying to survive financially. Europe is governing itself inside a system they built that is unsustainable. They rail against cheap energy yet purchase cheap energy from Russia; all while accusing Vladimir Putin of aggression…..yet demanding their purchase prices flow through the western banking/finance systems they control.

President Trump must be looking at all of this and listening to the arguments by Putin, Xi, Modi et al, that suddenly take on an entirely new context as he watches how this same western control system is leveraging its power structures to diminish his political strength and weaken his office.

It is fascinating to watch all of this play out with a context for understanding that is missed by most of our neighbors.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/10/13/zelenskyy-requests-his-own-diesel-deal-with-the-united-states-that-has-nothing-to-do-with-diesel/#more-287878

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Delivers Her First Press Briefing – 9:45am Livestream

October 13, 2026 | Sundance |

Newly appointed White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia delivers her first press briefing from the Brady Room today at approximately 9:45am. Livestream Links Below:

Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Briefs Members of the Media, Oct. 13, 2026

https://www.youtu.be/g7we6gecwnc?si=AEGsrtao3ybEw4Ol

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/10/13/white-house-press-secretary-katie-zacharia-delivers-her-first-press-briefing-945am-livestream/

https://x.com/MikeRogersForMI/status/2109663970319589422

Updated Tue, Oct 13 202610:02 AM EDT

S&P 500 is flat after bank earnings deluge; Nasdaq slides on chip stock weakness: Live updates

Sean Conlon, Justina Lee, Fred Imbert

Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on June 26, 2026. NYSE

Stocks were mixed on Tuesday, with traders digesting a slew of corporate earnings reports from major banks along with a steep overnight decline in South Korea that put pressure on memory names.

The S&P 500 was down 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, rising 359 points, or 0.7%.

JPMorgan Chase reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that missed analyst expectations. The stock initially fell on the weaker-than-expected results, but it later recovered to trade 2% higher after the bank raised its net interest income guidance for 2026. Wells Fargo shed nearly 1% on mixed Q3 numbers, while Goldman Sachs jumped 2% after its revenue for the third quarter surpassed expectations.

UnitedHealth, meanwhile, rose 3% after the insurance giant’s results exceeded analyst expectations.

Memory stocks were under pressure after South Korea’s Kospi benchmark dropped 5.5% — reaching its lowest level since July 31 — on valuation concerns in the space along with growing competition out of China. This week, China’s CXMT said it plans to release a new, more powerful chip by year-end.

SK hynix, along with Seagate Technology, dropped around 6%, while Western Digital lost 7%. Micron Technology and Sandisk fell more than 5% and more than 4%, respectively.

The early reports could set the tone for an earnings season with lofty expectations. Analysts on average expect S&P 500 profits grew by nearly 30% from the year-earlier period, according to FactSet.

“Three groups will likely shape how investors read the season: 1) Banks (consumer and business health), 2) Big Tech (AI monetization), and 3) Energy (the durability of oil-driven profits),” wrote Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise. “Underneath these areas, the health of consumers and businesses amid higher interest rates, elevated costs, and concerns about the macroeconomic environment will be closely monitored across sectors throughout the season.”

Investors on Tuesday will also parse through existing home sales figures along with commentary from Federal Reserve officials Tom Barkin and Susan Collins.

Later in the week, inflation data for September will be released – which could jolt Treasury yields after they reached multidecade highs recently. The U.S. bond market was closed Monday due to the Indigenous Peoples’ Day holiday.

Piper Sandler upgrades VF Corp to overweight from neutral

Piper Sandler upgraded VF Corp to overweight from neutral on Tuesday.

Piper Sandler’s Fall Teen Survey of about 9,000 respondents found Vans ranked as a top footwear for male consumers.

“As a favorite footwear brand for all males (vast majority of customer base), Vans maintained its #7 spot vs. declining the past three surveys; for upper income guy, the brand moved up one spot,” analyst Anna Andreeva wrote in a note to clients.

Vans web traffic performance for the fiscal second quarter of 2027 was strong while foot traffic signaled to be positive, she said. Andreeva also raised her target to $20 from $16, implying 26.7% upside from Monday’s close.

— Ananya Chetia

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/12/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Zelensky prolonging fighting to avoid answering for corruption – Polish MEP

Ending the conflict would force the Ukrainian leader to hold elections that he fears losing, Ewa Zajaczkowska-Hernik believes

Published 13 Oct, 2026 11:20 | Updated 13 Oct, 2026 12:25

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky is deliberately prolonging the conflict with Russia to avoid being held accountable for his policies and rampant corruption within his inner circle, Polish MEP Ewa Zajaczkowska-Hernik has said.

Zajaczkowska-Hernik’s remarks came after Zelensky demanded a 60-day “total truce” to prepare for a presidential election, which he has repeatedly postponed since his term expired in spring 2024, citing martial law.Moscow dismissed the request as a pretext to buy time to rearm Ukrainian forces and prolong the conflict.

“Vladimir Zelensky’s term in office expired long ago, yet by dragging out the war,he manages to evade accountability, specifically for corruption,”= Zajaczkowska-Hernik told Poland’s Zet Radio on Monday.

According to Zajaczkowska-Hernik,the Ukrainian leader had many opportunities to make peace but “rejected [them] every time precisely to avoid facing the consequences, since he knew that [peace] would necessitate holding elections, which Vladimir Zelensky might lose.”

Zelensky’s popularity at home is “not so great,” the MEP argued,attributing it not only to the prolonged fighting but also to “massive corruption” within his inner circle. “The Ukrainians see it,” Zajaczkowska-Hernik said.

Ukraine has been rocked by a series of high-profile corruption scandals since last year, with the largest centering on a $100 million kickback scheme at state nuclear operator Energoatom reportedly led by Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Zelensky. Other recent graft probes have targeted former Ukrainian ministers, prosecutors, diplomats, and senior officials.

Zajaczkowska-Hernik has been a vocal critic of the Ukrainian government, particularly Kiev’s glorification of Nazi collaborators. In July, she tore up a flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) during a debate on Kiev’s bid to join the EU. UPA fighters massacred up to 100,000 ethnic Poles in one of World War II’s worst atrocities. The move landed the MEP on Ukraine’s notorious Mirotvorets ‘kill list’.

Zajaczkowska-Hernik’s remarks on Monday came just days after US President Donald Trump called for Zelensky to be replaced, accusing him of creating “problems for the world” by continuing to target Russian oil refineries and ignoring Washington’s objections.Trump blamed the strikes for contributing to rising global fuel prices and declared that it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president.”

Zelensky hit back by telling ABC that, if Trump “really wants some changes,” he should “tell [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, give us two months, 60 days off.”

Moscow, however, said it was ready to suspend strikes on Ukraine only on the election day itself, despite Kiev having launched an “unprecedented” drone attack on Moscow during Russia’s parliamentary elections last month. Russian officials also said Ukrainian strikes had damaged or destroyed 74 buildings housing election commissions.

Zelensky’s goal is “very simple: to bargain for time in order to secure a respite,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. During that period, Europe would be able to supply him “with new weapons to continue the terrorist war against the Russian people.”

https://rt-english.com/news/647106-zelensky-prolong-fighting-answer-corruption/

Finally, even the EU is even discussing the corruption and graft with Zelensky and they want their money back, he’s losing his corrupt bankers. His only way out is to disappear with the money one day. He will not be able to stay. He's in a dangerous situation, because his friends are not friends at all.

Iran Threatens to INVADE Neighboring Countries, SINK American Warships, and KILL US Sailors if Trump Resumes Military Strikes

by Jim Hᴏft Oct. 13, 2026 9:00 am

Iran is preparing for another potential showdown with President Donald Trump, and Tehran is now threatening to expand the conflict across the Middle East, launch ground incursions into neighboring countries, sink American warships, and kill U.S. military personnelif Washington resumes major strikes against the Islamic Republic.

Iran has reportedly constructed massive dirt mounds around its Pickaxe Mountain and Natanz nuclear facilities in an effort to obstruct potential ground raids by U.S. or Israeli forces. According to a report published Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal,the Iranian regime is reinforcing military installations, deploying ground forces along its borders, and preparing civilians for another round of fighting.

Iranian officials have reportedly warned regional governments that any renewed American offensive could trigger retaliatory attacks far beyond Iran’s borders, including the possibility of Iranian ground troops entering neighboring countries, according to individuals familiar with the warnings.

Earlier this month, Iranian Army Ground Force commander Brig. Gen. Ali Jahanshahi announced that more than 50 combat and support units (including mobile, rapid-reaction, armored, mechanized, artillery, engineering, missile, and UAV elements) remain deployed from the northwest through the west, southwest, east, southeast, and along the Makran coast.

Earlier reporting from Iranian outlets and regional media indicated the bulk of ground forces had been shifted to frontier positions, with special emphasis on the southern coastline facing the Gulf of Oman amid fears of potential US entry points.

Tehran has also reportedly informed mediators that American military personnel would face more aggressive attacks, including attempts to sink U.S. Navy vessels operating in the Middle East and kill their crews.

At the same time, the regime is preparing its population for renewed fighting. Billboards in Tehran now advertise civilian training courses in the use of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and sniper rifles.

Paramilitary forces have been sent to kindergartens to read war stories to children; in Sabzevar, a Revolutionary Guard unit visited young students, recounted earlier fighting, and displayed what it claimed was a neutralized US Tomahawk missile.The IRGC has also publicized training of its first female commando units in guerrilla tactics, firearms, and drone operations.

More from Wall Street Journal: Satellite images show Iran is strengthening sensitive locations, including nuclear sites and border areas, to make them more resilient to attacks. The government is also preparing Iranians for renewed war, sending paramilitary forces to read war stories to kindergartners, advertising training in firing shoulder-mounted antiaircraft missiles and holding rallies.[…]

Iran has stepped up its strikes on vessels in the Persian Gulf area. At least three commercial vessels were hit over the weekend in and around the strait, according to U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, which is affiliated with the Royal Navy. A drone attack set a fire on Emirati tanker Petro Dolphin near Oman on Sunday, leaving two Indian sailors missing.

The missile attack by Houthi militants on the airport in Riyadh killed at least 13 people and injured hundreds more on Saturday, the single deadliest attack on the U.S. or its Gulf allies in the conflicts related to the Iran war. […]

Iran has also reinforced protection around its nuclear sites and other security-related bunkers. Last month, it built passive defense measures such as makeshift dirt mounds around its Pickaxe Mountain and Natanz nuclear sites to impede any attempted raid by ground forces, according to Vantor satellite images analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.

Iranian officials are touting their efforts.The country’s airports, seaports and power plants “have prepared for wartime conditions,” installing shelters and backup supplies to continue operating in a crisis, Brig. Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, the official in charge of the country’s contingency plans, told reporters at the end of September.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/10/iran-threatens-invade-neighboring-countries-sink-american-warships/

CNN anchor looks tearful over Omar raid… but new info reveals how SERIOUS this really is… - Revolver News 1/2

October 12, 2026 (a day ago)

Nothing will make CNN more weepy and sad than a Dem radical being held accountable. And one of their favorite radicals is now sitting in a caldron of very hot water.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s DC house was the subject of a pre-dawn raid on Monday morning, and reports indicate it has to do with a fraud investigation, possibly tied to her immigration status.

Fox News:

BREAKING: Federal agents raid Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C., home early Monday morning as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.

Homeland Security Investigations agents arrived around 6 a.m., with both DHS and the Justice Department involved in the operation.

The DOJ confirms agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant, but officials have not publicly disclosed the full scope of the investigation.

The overall vibe on CNN today is rather solemn as they’re forced to report on the raid at Ilhan Omar’s home. The CNN reporter looks close to tears as she whines about the “proximity to an election.”

Funny, we tried to find a clip of this same reporter expressing similar concern about President Trump in 2024 but came up empty.

Some outlets are reporting that the raid was focused on Ilhan’s immigration status.

ABC News:

Sources tell ABC News that the investigation relates to Omar’s immigration paperwork.

“Today in the Washington, D.C. area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice,” a DOJ spokesperson said. “This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.”

It doesn’t look as if this situation can just be fluffed off as some “political retaliation.” New info is coming out that shows how extremely serious this matter is. A federal judge signed off on this raid.

And we also have further confirmation from Border Czar Tom Homan that this raid was tied to an ICE investigation into Omar.

Eric Daugherty:

JUST IN: HSI INVESTIGATORS are on scene RIGHT NOW outside Somali Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home

DOJ is involved.

The raid on her house took place at 6AM, PRE-DAWN: “Federal CRIMINAL investigation” 🔥

And the entire search even got JUDICIAL approval.

Ilhan Omar is furious, agents have been there for hours!

It’s finally happening. The case is building, and OMAR is under federal criminal investigation. The left will cry “weaponization,” but a FEDERAL JUDGE SIGNED OFF ON THIS.

It’s unclear if her Minnesota home is next.

Border Czar Tom Homan confirmed that ICE has an ongoing criminal investigation tied to the immigration fraud allegations against Omar.

JD Vance said months ago that DOJ was looking into it.

For years, the media called this a conspiracy theory. Now a federal judge has signed a search warrant!

Nobody is above the law, NOT even a sitting member of Congress

The truth is coming out! I VOTED FOR THIS RAID

And here’s Tom Homan discussing the raid on Fox News. One can’t help but wonder… is this the end of the line for Ilhan Omar’s political career in the US?

Most of you probably remember the longstanding allegations that Omar married her own brother.

President Trump has never been shy about bringing up the rumors surrounding Omar and her alleged “brother-husband.”

The theory is that Omar wanted to help her alleged brother secure US immigration benefits, and since sponsoring a sibling takes way longer than sponsoring a spouse, she married him to speed up the process.

That is illegal, by the way.

https://revolver.news/2026/10/cnn-anchor-tearful-omar-raid-new-info-serious/

>>25136378

2/2

Star Tribune:

Siblings who petition for a U.S. visa for a noncitizen sibling have typically had to wait more than a dozen years to obtain the document, according to the U.S. State Department. Applications for a spouse carry a minimal waiting period, but Minnetonka-based immigration lawyer Steven Thal said examples of siblings fraudulently marrying to gain immigration benefits are nearly unheard of compared to cases of strangers marrying to get green cards.

“It is so rare that you would think that it would be more easily uncovered,” Thal said.

Omar’s relatives could also clear the air, but they have remained silent about her marriage to Elmi. She declined to make her family available for this story.

In 2016, her campaign provided the names of six siblings, but only their first names, citing their need for privacy. Elmi was not among them.

Remember how much the left loved reminding everybody that “no one is above the law” whenever President Trump was facing legal trouble? Well, that rule applies to Dems, too.KEK

If investigators can prove Omar committed immigration fraud, her political career will be finished. And if the investigation also uncovers legal grounds to revoke her citizenship and deport her, she should face those consequences as well, even if that means a one-way ticket back to Somalia.

After all, we wouldn’t want to start making exceptions to the left’s favorite rule now, would we?

https://revolver.news/2026/10/cnn-anchor-tearful-omar-raid-new-info-serious/

You think Trump’s cracking down on illegals? Check out the sledgehammer he’s taken to LEGAL immigration…

October 12, 2026 (a day ago)1/2

President Trump’s immigration crackdown has been the biggest and best story of his second term. Most of the stuff you hear in the media is about ICE raids, deportations, and securing the southern border… which is exactly what most of us voted for.

But while everybody’s been watching the illegals get booted, President Trump has been quietly taking a sledgehammer to another part of the system that’s just as screwed up…

Legal immigration.

And once you see these new numbers, you’ll realize his admin has been way more aggressive than you probably realized.

And this is good news, because as you likely know, the Republican establishment has pushed the same tired line about immigration: We love immigrants! We just want them to come here legally!

You can practically hear Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney reciting those words.

And that message worked for a while, but these days, Trump’s base has a very different understanding of the problem.

The truth is, legal immigration comes with its own horrific set of loop holes, challenges, game-rigging, and big concerns about the visa system and American jobs, wages, housing, and our election integrity. Because while many point the finger at illegals voting, chances are the legal immigrants who’ve been here long enough to become “activists” are actually the ones voting in our elections.

This is why many Americans believe it’s time to hit the pause button on legal immigration while we get our own house in order, secure our elections, and figure out what kind of system actually serves the American people.

And apparently, Trump understands that desire a helluva lot better than the GOP establishment ever did.

Because according to a remarkable new analysis from the Cato Institute, his admin is cutting legal immigration at a rate that absolutely dwarfs the reductions in illegal immigration.

Keep in mind when you read this, that Cato actually favors more immigration. They looked at the latest available government data to see how much Trump’s policies have changed immigration into the US.

They looked at monthly legal entries across major immigration categories with the decline in illegal border crossings.

And the numbers are insane.

Cato found that the reduction in legal entries is way larger.

We’re talking about a difference of nearly three to one.

Cato:

When we put together the full picture of legal and illegal immigration, we see that President Trump has indeed cut legal entries far more than illegal entries in absolute terms. The available information suggests that about 2.7 times as many legal entries are being stopped as illegal entries: 144,569 versus 53,128. Among the cuts to immigration, three-quarters (73 percent) were from legal entries, not illegal entries.

This comparison inflates illegal entries because most illegal crossers caught by Border Patrol were not being released into the United States in December 2024. These are just the major visa categories. If we included every category, the cuts would be more severe. It also does not include all the people who are already in the United States and are banned from receiving legal status or converting from temporary to permanent status.

That’s a pretty darn remarkable turn of events, especially because of how quietly this snuck up.

And like we said earlier, Cato isn’t celebrating these numbers. They think Trump’s immigration restrictions are going too far. But for Americans who’ve been begging DC to take a serious look at the entire immigration system, this is really good news.

And this is definitely new territory, because the old Republican guard treated legal immigration like some sacred cow nobody was allowed to question.

One of the biggest changes involves immigrant visas. These are the docs that eventually put people on the path toward living in America indefinitely and potentially becoming citizens.

And Trump’s administration has been making huge cuts.

https://revolver.news/2026/10/you-think-trumps-cracking-down-on-illegals-check-out-the-sledgehammer-hes-taken-to-legal-immigration/

>>25136423

2/2

Cato:

The State Department has not published the number of immigrant visa issuances since September 2025. Since then, President Trump has banned all immigrant visas for nationals of 40 countries, including the Palestinian Territories, effective January 1, 2026. As I’ve previously described, this affected one in five immigrant visa applicants. The State Department also suspended the Diversity Visa Lottery, effective December 23, 2025.

Meanwhile, in a three-sentence press release, the State Department suspended immigrant visa issuances for 75 countries (for a total of 92 banned countries) on January 21, 2026.

As I’ve detailed before, these bans affected half of all legal immigrants from abroad, including half of all spouses and minor children of US citizens, based on 2024 immigrant visa processing data. In my original post on this subject, my estimates of this decline—based on the banned countries—understated the effect these policies would have because I assumed that more processing would shift to other countries. It didn’t because the purpose was to cut overall levels of legal immigration and because the State Department did not prepare for this new policy.

Now we’re gettin’ somewhere…

This is a massive change in how the US approaches legal immigration. And can we get an “amen” for the suspension of the Diversity Visa Lottery? That’s another huge step toward rethinking a failed system that has been chugging along for decades.

But one of the most interesting parts of this crackdown involves an immigration program that’s been pissing off American workers for years.

Of course, we’re talking about the H-1B visa program, which gives American employers the “green light” to flood-in cheap, foreign workers.

Trump has taken a chainsaw to this program, and Cato says the decline in visa issuances has been staggering.

Cato:

Based on these facts, I had estimated in April that the fee would reduce H-1B visa issuances by about a quarter last year because H-1B renewals were exempt from the fee. In fact, H-1B visas—along with H-4 visas for their spouses and children—were down 78 percent from the February 2024 level, implying that more than just the ban is to blame. Over the summer, a district court struck down the $100,000 fee as an unconstitutional tax, but we don’t yet know how the administration has implemented that order. Moreover, the president issued a new $100,000 fee proclamation in September 2026, and DHS has proposed a new $103,000 fee via regulation, though it is not yet in effect. It has also suspended several major companies—including Microsoft, Adobe, and Infosys—from sponsoring H-1B workers for green cards, as announced today. Given the uncertainty, many H-1B workers may be too scared to leave to renew their visas abroad.

Yowza. A 78 percent drop in those visa issuances is a yuge number, and it shows that Trump is willing to challenge the powerful corporate interests that’ve been the loudest, most obnoxious supporters of expanding “certain” legal immigration programs.

America’s immigration system is finally being forced to answer a question that should’ve been demanded a long time ago: Who is this system supposed to benefit?

And for Trump’s base, the answer is obvious…

The American people.

https://revolver.news/2026/10/you-think-trumps-cracking-down-on-illegals-check-out-the-sledgehammer-hes-taken-to-legal-immigration/