Video: ‘Why doesn’t America make deal with us?’ Zelensky questions Trump’s Russian diesel deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Abdullateef Fowewe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has challenged United States President Donald Trump’s recent agreement to import Russian diesel, asking why America does not instead strike a similar deal with Kyiv and boasting that Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries give it real leverage over the fuel market.
Zelensky questions Trump’s Russian diesel deal
Speaking by video link at the Warsaw Security Forum, Zelensky said, “Why isn’t America concluding an agreement on diesel fuel supply with Ukraine? We influence whether these vessels move. We determine whether the oil refineries operate. Let’s do that.”
He argued that the volumes of Russian diesel involved in Trump’s deal were too small to meaningfully affect global prices and suggested other motives were at play.
The comments come amid escalating tensions between Kyiv and Washington over energy infrastructure attacks.
Trump announced last week a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to release hundreds of thousands of tonnes of diesel into U.S. and global markets, with temporary sanctions relief.
Trump has blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for contributing to higher diesel prices and had pressed Kyiv to halt them.
Zelensky previously called the U.S.-Russia arrangement a “gift to Putin.”
In a separate statement after recent Russian ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv, Zelensky said, “Unfortunately, we received no early warning from our partners about this strike,” highlighting the importance of intelligence sharing for saving lives. Reports had earlier indicated U.S. warnings about potentially limiting intelligence cooperation if Ukraine continued targeting Russian energy sites.
European officials at the Warsaw forum appeared uneasy about the growing public rift with the Trump administration, according to coverage of the event.
