Ukraine’s continued strikes on Russian oil facilities — despite repeated calls from Washington to halt them — reportedly played a decisive role in Donald Trump‘s decision to move forward with a deal with Vladimir Putin on Russian diesel supplies. According to an Axios report citing a U.S. official, Volodymyr Zelensky ignored six American requests to stop striking Russian refineries.
Read also: What the US-Russia energy deal brings: 4.8 million tons of diesel, Trump’s goal of immediate price relief, and Ukraine’s response
“Zelensky is not reading the room. By continuing to strike refineries, he is undermining the goodwill he has built with Trump over the past six months,” the American source said. For his part, the Ukrainian president told Axios that he was blindsided by the deal, calling it “unfair and dishonest” and describing it as an unjustified concession to Moscow.
Ukraine’s strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in recent months have caused significant damage to Russia’s oil sector. Moscow responded by imposing restrictions on diesel exports, adding further pressure to an international market already strained by the conflict in Iran.
Why Trump pushed to stop the strikes
According to the U.S. official cited by Axios, Donald Trump sought to end the Ukrainian strikes, believing they were contributing to rising fuel prices in the United States. Washington’s position was that Kyiv should halt the attacks even without securing a reciprocal commitment from Russia. Volodymyr Zelensky had proposed a different approach, requesting that Ukraine stop striking Russian refineries on the condition that Moscow suspend its attacks on Ukrainian power generation facilities. However, according to the same source, Trump did not view the two categories of strikes as equivalent — a key point of disagreement between the American and Ukrainian sides.
The eight-hour Miami talks and the diesel decision
The tensions surrounding the Ukrainian strikes were at the center of eight hours of talks held in Miami on Friday. During the discussions, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner informed the Ukrainian delegation that Trump was preparing to speak with Putin and move forward with lifting sanctions on Russian diesel exports. According to the U.S. official, the decision was linked to the assessment that Ukraine’s strikes were having a direct impact on American consumers through their effect on fuel prices.
Separately, a Ukrainian official claimed that during the talks, the two American envoys implied that Washington could cut off intelligence sharing with Kyiv if Ukraine continued to disregard its requests. The American side denied that any such threat was made. According to the official, Witkoff and Kushner made clear that the U.S. continues to support Ukraine through military supplies and intelligence, while stressing that Kyiv’s decisions should not come at a cost to American citizens. “Strikes on refineries hurt Russia, but they also hurt the United States,” the official was quoted as saying.
Security guarantees and a plan for rebuilding Ukraine
Despite the disagreement on energy matters, the Miami talks — which included Ukrainian and European diplomats — made progress on other critical issues, according to the same American source. Central to the discussions were the security guarantees that the U.S., European nations, and NATO could offer Ukraine as part of a potential agreement to end the war. Proposals regarding possible territorial arrangements were also discussed.
The American envoys also presented a post-war plan covering alternative financing options for reconstruction, strengthening Ukraine’s armed forces, and addressing the fiscal challenges caused by the conflict. The talks further touched on the prospect of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, its future relationship with NATO, and the possibility of shaping a broader European-Russian security framework after the war ends.
According to the U.S. official, Washington also raised the possibility of new energy agreements with Moscow, with the aim of stabilizing energy prices and creating incentives for Russia to make concessions in peace negotiations. Witkoff and Kushner are reportedly considering visits to Moscow and Kyiv the following week for further discussions, though it remains to be seen whether the new tensions will affect their plans. The American official stated that Washington believes Vladimir Putin remains open to talks aimed at ending the war and that the U.S. is working to shape a proposal that could lead to a deal.
Putin made no commitment to resuming peace talks
Despite U.S. diplomatic efforts, Russia has not committed to an imminent resumption of peace negotiations. Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov stated that Vladimir Putin gave no such assurance during his 90-minute phone call with Donald Trump.
Ushakov further argued that Ukraine’s strikes on Moscow and other Russian cities during Russia’s parliamentary elections had undermined the prospects for an early restart of negotiations.
“The president said we will consider when talks can resume,” Ushakov noted, leaving the door open to future discussions without specifying a concrete timeline.
