US official says Ukraine was asked at least 6 times to halt strikes on Russian refineries

Zelensky says deal gives Putin an 'unfair gift,' claims he was kept in the dark

Secretary of State Rubio warns escalation looms if peace talks remain deadlocked

The Kremlin said Friday that President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone for one hour to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. The file photo shows Putin (left) and Trump at their 2017 summit. [AP]
The Kremlin said Friday that President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone for one hour to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. The file photo shows Putin (left) and Trump at their 2017 summit. [AP]

Donald Trump's decision to strike a diesel supply deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin was driven in part by a deepening rift with Ukraine, according to reports. After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly refused Trump's demands to halt strikes on Russian energy facilities, Trump moved to negotiate directly with Moscow.

A Trump administration official told US online outlet Axios on Saturday that Washington had asked Ukraine at least six times to stop targeting Russian oil refineries — and that each request went unheeded.

"Zelensky is misreading the situation," the official said, adding that Ukraine's continued strikes on refineries were "damaging the goodwill built with Trump over the past six months."

The dispute centers on the conditions Ukraine attached to any halt. Kyiv told Washington it would stop hitting Russian refineries only if Moscow agreed to stop attacking Ukrainian power plants and the electricity grid.

Washington, however, did not view the two as equivalent, according to officials. A US official said Ukraine's strikes were disrupting Russian fuel production and, in turn, driving up energy prices inside the United States.

Ukraine has in fact intensified strikes on Russian refineries in recent months, significantly degrading Moscow's capacity to produce petroleum products. Russia subsequently restricted diesel exports, adding further strain to global energy markets already unsettled by supply disruptions from the Iran war.

Against that backdrop, Trump called Putin directly and agreed to channel Russian diesel to the United States and other world markets.

Under the plan Trump announced, Russia will initially supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 metric tons in November and an additional 1 million metric tons thereafter. A further 3 million metric tons could be added depending on refinery operating conditions. If fully carried out, total supply would exceed 4.8 million metric tons.

The US government also eased sanctions to allow the transactions. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a temporary general license authorizing trade in Russian diesel.

The move comes as a spike in diesel prices — a consequence of the Iran war — has increased inflationary pressure on the Trump administration ahead of November's midterm elections.

Zelensky, however, criticized the deal, saying Washington had eased sanctions on Russia without securing a corresponding ceasefire agreement.

In an interview with Axios, Zelensky called the arrangement "neither fair nor honest" and said it amounted to an undeserved gift to Putin. He said Ukraine had not been adequately informed in advance about the possibility of a Russian diesel deal while peace negotiations were still under way.

At the time, US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were meeting in Miami, Florida, with Ukrainian and European officials to discuss options for ending the war.

The roughly eight-hour talks covered a broad range of issues, including security guarantees for Ukraine after a ceasefire, territorial questions, and postwar reconstruction support. Ukraine's path to EU membership and its future relationship with NATO were also on the agenda.

Allegations also emerged that the United States had pressured Ukraine during the talks. A Ukrainian official said the American delegation warned that intelligence sharing could be cut off if Ukraine did not stop striking Russian refineries.

A US official denied that any such threat was made, saying Washington had simply conveyed that Ukraine — as a recipient of US support — should refrain from actions that harm American consumers.

The United States said it intends to press ahead with Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations separately from the diesel deal. Witkoff and Kushner are reportedly considering back-to-back visits to Moscow and Kyiv next week.

Whether the talks can achieve a breakthrough in the near term remains uncertain, however. Russia is demanding full control over the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, a condition Kyiv has refused to accept.

Against that backdrop, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that a prolonged stalemate in the peace talks could lead to a broader escalation of the war.

Speaking in Lisbon, Portugal, on Friday, Rubio said "another way the stalemate ends is escalation," expressing concern that the conflict could spill over into neighboring NATO member states.

"We do not believe there is a military solution to this conflict," Rubio said, stressing the need for a diplomatic resolution.


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