Trump just struck a diesel deal with Putin, then turned around and publicly called for Ukraine to replace Zelensky. Yesterday, when I saw that Trump and Putin had agreed on buying Russian diesel, I figured Ukraine might be in for a tough time. Sure enough, today he’s already saying Ukraine needs a new president—one who’s willing to make a deal with Russia. The U.S. midterm elections are coming up, and diesel prices are too high. Higher costs for transportation and agriculture are piling up, and voters’ frustration will ultimately fall on the ruling party. Trump is in a rush to bring prices down, and since Russia is willing to supply oil, the two sides have a basis for doing business. Plus, Russia knows Trump doesn’t have many cards left to play right now. Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries were originally aimed at weakening Russia’s ability to continue the war. But now, with the U.S. relying on Russia to increase diesel supply and ease price pressures, Ukraine’s actions are clashing with Trump’s agenda. Not to mention, Trump has already blamed high U.S. oil prices on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This deal puts Ukraine in an even tougher spot. If Russia becomes Trump’s go-to supplier for lowering diesel prices, any further attacks by Ukraine on Russian energy facilities could bring pressure from the U.S. as well. Now that Trump has gone as far as saying “change the president,” I bet both Iran and Ukraine feel like they’ve been stabbed in the back. Check out @Gate for more market trades.