Zelensky Blasts Trump-Putin Diesel Deal After Strikes Kill 15
Volodymyr Zelensky condemned a US-brokered diesel deal with Russia after strikes killed 15 in Ukraine, as EU's Kaja Kallas warned against easing pressure on Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned a diesel supply arrangement between the United States and Russia on Saturday, saying it undercuts Western pressure on Moscow just as Russian strikes killed 15 people in Ukraine, according to the Times of Israel.
Zelensky said the US sanctions relief tied to the deal signals to Russia “that it could simply keep attacking,” the outlet reported. The remarks mark the sharpest public criticism Zelensky has leveled at Washington’s approach to Moscow since the diesel arrangement emerged this week, and they come as the death toll from the latest wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine climbed to 15, up from the 12 fatalities reported a day earlier (see “Russia Strikes Ukraine After Diesel Deal”).
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas echoed Zelensky’s concerns, saying now is not the time to “ease pressure” on Russia, per the Times of Israel report. The comment places Brussels at odds with the Trump administration’s posture toward Moscow, which has centered on brokering energy and trade arrangements rather than tightening sanctions.
A Widening Public Rift
The dispute over the diesel deal has escalated into an open disagreement between Kyiv and Washington. The Guardian’s Ukraine war briefing described the public tussle between President Trump and Zelensky over the Russian fuel deal as worsening through the week.
Trump responded to Zelensky’s criticism by suggesting it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president,” according to a BBC report. The comment follows the same line Trump took earlier in the week, when he first floated the idea of new Ukrainian leadership amid the diesel-deal rift (see “Trump Calls for Ukraine’s New President Amid Diesel Rift”), and comes days after Trump publicly thanked Putin for agreeing to the fuel arrangement (see “Trump Thanks Putin for Russian Diesel Deal”).
Separately, Trump told reporters that Putin “would like to reach a deal” to end the war, according to RTE. That assessment stands in tension with the scale of this week’s strikes and with Zelensky’s own framing of the diesel deal as a signal of continued Russian aggression rather than a step toward negotiation.
Why It Matters
Zelensky first warned that the diesel arrangement would help “bankroll” Russia’s war effort when the deal was announced (see “Zelensky Warns Diesel Deal Bankrolls Russia”). His latest comments sharpen that argument by directly linking the US sanctions relief to the continuation of Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory.
The disagreement surfaces a broader split in Western strategy toward Moscow heading into the war’s fourth winter. Kallas’s statement suggests the EU intends to maintain or increase sanctions pressure even as Washington pursues energy diplomacy with Moscow, a divergence that could complicate coordinated transatlantic policy on Ukraine in the weeks ahead. Neither the White House nor the Kremlin issued an immediate on-the-record response to Zelensky’s remarks.
This is a developing story. America Strikes will update as officials in Washington, Kyiv and Brussels respond.
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