Trump-Zelenskyy rift deepens over Russian diesel export deal (Img: X)
Washington: US President Donald Trump has demanded that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stop attacks on Russian oil refineries and suggested Ukraine needs new leadership, escalating tensions with Kyiv over Washington’s decision to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports.
“He better damn well stop,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday, referring to Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries. A day after announcing an arrangement allowing Russia to supply diesel to global markets, Trump also called for a change in Ukraine’s leadership.
“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal,” he said.
The remarks came amid a growing disagreement between Washington and Kyiv over Trump’s decision to pursue the arrangement with Russian President Vladimir Putin. An Axios report, citing a US official with direct knowledge of the matter, said Trump decided to proceed after Zelenskyy ignored six US requests to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Zelenskyy has warned that easing restrictions on Russian diesel exports would provide Moscow with additional revenue to prolong the war. He said the decision had caught him off guard and accused Russia of responding to the easing of pressure with deadly attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
According to the US official cited by Axios, Trump wanted Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries regardless of whether Moscow agreed to halt attacks on Ukrainian power plants.
During discussions with Trump and his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Zelenskyy had offered to suspend the strikes if Russia stopped targeting Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure. However, Trump wanted Kyiv to halt its attacks without making the move conditional on similar action by Moscow, the official said.
Washington’s position was partly driven by concerns about rising fuel prices in the United States. The official said the administration believed Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries were adding to the pressure on American consumers.
“The attacks on the refineries cause pain in Russia, but it causes pain for the US, too,” the official said.
The official also said Trump did not consider Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries comparable to Russian attacks on Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure.
Ukrainian strikes in recent months have disrupted Russia’s energy sector. Moscow subsequently banned diesel exports, tightening global supplies already under pressure from the war in Iran.
Witkoff and Kushner held eight hours of talks with Ukrainian negotiators in Miami on Friday as diplomatic efforts to end the war continued.
During the discussions, the US envoys said Trump was expected to speak with Putin and lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports. They also explained that the decision followed repeated US requests for Ukraine to stop attacking Russian refineries.
A Ukrainian official alleged that the envoys warned Kyiv that continued defiance could prompt Trump to suspend US intelligence support. The US official rejected that account, saying the envoys had instead stressed Washington’s importance as a partner supplying weapons and intelligence to Ukraine. They urged Kyiv to avoid actions that could hurt American consumers.
The disagreement threatens to complicate Washington’s efforts to negotiate an end to the war, with the US pressing Ukraine to halt refinery strikes while Kyiv argues that easing sanctions would benefit Moscow financially.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly criticised the arrangement, describing it as a “gift” to Putin that would help Russia finance its military campaign and prolong the conflict.
He also accused Moscow of responding to the easing of sanctions with fresh attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
“Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Zelenskyy said on social media on Saturday.
Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes in the country’s south-east early on Saturday killed 15 people, including three children. The reported deaths came hours after Zelenskyy warned that easing pressure on Moscow would encourage further attacks.
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“Last night confirmed once again that in Russia, they take any easing of pressure to mean they can keep fighting, to mean they can keep dropping bombs on cities. Different signals are needed,” he said.
Large-scale power outages were also reported in Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s largest private energy provider.
The latest exchanges have further strained relations between Washington and Kyiv. While Trump has defended the diesel arrangement as a way to address fuel-price pressures, Zelenskyy maintains that easing restrictions on Russian exports would strengthen Moscow’s ability to continue the war.
