Analysis: Trump's Global Headaches Set to Worsen Weeks Before Decisive Elections

US President Donald Trump weathered a stormy weekend, announcing a diesel deal with Russia and an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. With midterm elections approaching, Trump appears set to return abroad to lend a hand.

With elections that will determine control of Congress just weeks away and American voters already casting ballots in some battleground states, President Donald Trump has turned his eyes abroad — and Russia in particular — to help one of his most pressing problems.

However, global issues rarely offer easy answers, and developments elsewhere threaten to undermine his efforts to lower fuel prices before they can pay political dividends.

A whirlwind weekend began Friday afternoon, as Trump announced a new deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that would provide the United States with hundreds of millions of tons of Russian diesel fuel in the coming months.

High energy prices have been a source of frustration for American voters, especially for Midwestern agricultural states that rely on diesel to power their farm machinery and get their goods to market.

Polls show that they see the Iran war as the main cause of their problems, and overall support for Trump and his approval of his handling of the war, and especially of the US economy, have fallen sharply.

In a social media post, Trump touted his deal with Russia as "lower prices for Americans" as he ordered his Treasury Department to end U.S. restrictions preventing Russian diesel from being sold on global markets.

Two days later, Trump returned on his social media website and promoted a new energy ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine

The truth was more complicated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had no prior knowledge of the deal, although he said his country would abide by it. Russia, on the other hand, was silent. And on Sunday night, it launched a new wave of attacks on Ukrainian power plants.

"It's clear that Putin doesn't read Truth Social," Zelensky noted angrily on Monday. He added: "This winter, if Russia does not agree to the energy ceasefire, we will respond."

Trump and Zelensky had a tumultuous relationship during his second term. The US president has alternated between Russia and Ukraine for the ongoing conflict, which he has previously said would be easy to end once he returns to the White House.

In recent days, Zelensky has been the main target of Trump's ire, as Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil infrastructure have contributed to energy shortages around the world.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday that it was time for Ukraine to elect a new president. And the Financial Times, foreign, and CNN, foreign, have reported that the United States has threatened to cut off arms sales and intelligence exchanges with Ukraine if Zelensky does not stop attacks on Russian refineries. Zelensky "better stop," Trump said.

"I think the president has a public record of a decade of flogging people who don't do what he wants, when and how he wants," the independent think tank Pangea Policy told the BBC.

It now appears that Trump's celebration of an "energy truce" may have been a familiar move for the president, promoting a deal before it was sealed and delivered. For example, in the past, he has prematurely announced Middle East ceasefires and broad peace agreements.

Whether it's the president's impatience with the slow pace of diplomacy or shrewd negotiating tactics to push a deal over the finish line, the result has been a flurry as the world decides what that means — and how to react.

These reactions did not take long to arrive.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has become a staunch critic of the president on the international stage, offered "strong support" for the energy truce but condemned the diesel deal as undermining peace and stability in Europe and helping Russia finance an "illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine."

In the United States, Trump's announcement on diesel fueled similar concern, even among members of his own party. Four Republican senators joined Democrats in a letter urging the president to immediately reverse course.

"Congress expressly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent U.S. dollars from financing Putin's brutal war against Ukraine," the senators wrote in a statement released Sunday. "President Trump's decision to allow the import of Russian diesel into the United States directly contradicts this law."

Power outages in Ukraine after Trump's claim of an energy truce

Zelensky says six Ukrainian energy sites have been attacked by Russia since Trump announced the ceasefire

WATCH: Trump says it's time for Ukraine to have a new president

Trump is facing increasing reactions due to his plans to import diesel from Russia

What could be worse for the president than criticism is that the announced truce has had little effect on diesel prices, which are still below their record high but still well above $6 a gallon.

Meanwhile, as the latest twists in the Russia-Ukraine conflict unfold, fresh violence in the Middle East will put more pressure on global energy markets, regardless of what happens to Russian oil.

A wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including attacks on airports and energy infrastructure that killed at least 13 people over the weekend, threatens to escalate a decade-long conflict that has been raging during the U.S.-Iranian war.

Michael Ratney, the former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told the BBC: "These Houthis are sending a message that they're not just targeting military targets, they're not just targeting energy infrastructure, they're attacking civilian airports that can kill a lot of people."

He said that the war between America and Iran was a conflict that none of the Arab countries in the region wanted, and the recent attack by the Houthis was a predictable result. With the United States and Iran currently locked in a prolonged standoff, any new hostilities could lead to more regional conflicts and send oil prices soaring again.

"I think it's going to get uglier before it really goes down," he said.

In recent weeks, Trump has pointed to Ukraine, not the Middle East, as the main source of the world's energy problems. He points to the increase in oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which was effectively closed due to Iran's military threat.

However, this may be wishful thinking—an attempt to convince the American people to channel their energy-related anger toward a conflict that began under the watch of another president.

However, there is only one president at a time. And when American voters cast their ballots, they tend to hold those currently in power accountable.

After a difficult weekend that proved once again that there is no easy solution to the global energy crisis, this may be the worst news for the US president.