US President Donald Trump has decided to reach a deal with Russia over diesel supplies and ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports after Ukraine ignored repeated US requests to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, Axios has reported, citing a US official directly involved in the negotiations.
The report says the decision has triggered fresh tensions between Washington and Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios he was surprised by the agreement, describing it as an unjustifiable gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US official said Trump viewed Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries as contributing to rising fuel prices in the United States.
According to Axios, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner informed the Ukrainian delegation of Trump’s plan during eight hours of talks in Miami on Friday. A Ukrainian official said the US representatives had also warned that Washington could stop sharing intelligence with Kyiv if it continued to disregard US requests. The dispute could further strain relations between the two allies and complicate efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
