Relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump are facing a new escalation over strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and the energy truce announced by Washington. Bloomberg reports that the US side is demanding that Kiev stop attacks on Russian oil refineries, while the Ukrainian leadership sets a condition for Moscow to do the same.
Trump unexpectedly announced an agreement on an “energy truce“ between Ukraine and Russia and called on Zelensky to refrain from strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. The US president simultaneously defended his agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the export of diesel fuel.
Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev is ready to stop the strikes if Russia stops its attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities. “Ukraine is ready to refrain from attacks on Russian energy infrastructure — and we count on the same readiness from Russia“, said the Ukrainian president in his evening address to the nation.
Zelensky pointed out that Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy continue, mentioning the latest attack on a thermal power plant in Kharkiv. Thus, Kiev rejects the unilateral cessation of actions and insists on mutual implementation of the agreement.
The dispute also spread to diesel fuel
The tension between the two presidents intensified even before the announcement of the energy truce. Trump criticized Zelensky and suggested that he consider resigning from the presidency. According to Bloomberg, this happened just a day before the announcement of the agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
An additional cause for discord is the agreement between Trump and Putin on the export of Russian diesel fuel. According to Bloomberg sources, Ukrainian negotiators broke off talks with US representatives in Miami after learning about the deal.
The US delegation included Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff. During the meeting, they emphasized that the US provides Ukraine with ammunition and intelligence information, but made it clear that Kiev should not take actions that harm American consumers. The strikes on Russian oil refineries were cited as a specific example.
Several Bloomberg interlocutors perceived this position as an indirect threat that the US could limit or stop providing intelligence information on Ukraine. At the same time, European representatives who attended the meeting, according to one of the sources, were not informed in advance about the planned deal between Washington and Moscow on diesel fuel.
At this point, the main disagreement remains whether the energy truce can be implemented mutually. Washington insists that Ukraine stop attacks on Russian energy facilities, while Kiev says it will do so only if Russian attacks stop at the same time.
Sources: focus-news.net