Zelensky Flips Out Over Trump’s Russian Fuel Deal, But New Report Says the Deal Is His Fault

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is furious with President Donald Trump over a new fuel agreement with Russia, but a new report suggests the Ukrainian leader may have helped bring about the controversial deal himself.

According to Politico, Trump announced Friday that he had reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to increase Russian diesel supplies to the United States and global markets.

The agreement includes an immediate shipment of more than 300,000 tons of diesel, with additional shipments planned for November and beyond.

Trump touted the agreement as a way to combat soaring American fuel prices, particularly for farmers, ranchers, and truckers.

Zelensky, however, was considerably less enthusiastic about the arrangement, which would ease certain American sanctions against Russia.

“At this very moment, while our team is talking with the American team in Florida, at this very moment, the President of the United States is talking with the leader of the Kremlin, the leader of this war, the leader of this aggression, and has an agreement under which America is allowing Russia to export diesel fuel,” Zelensky said.

“That means more money for this war, more money to inflict suffering on us, without a doubt.”

He added, “I believe our team is simply being used as a smokescreen, and that is certainly not fair. It is certainly not how partners should treat each other. In my view, this is a weak decision, unfortunately, a weak decision by strong partners.”

Zelensky penned a much lengthier retort on X:

Peace never comes through weakness. Today, representatives of the U.S. Congress were in Kyiv – a bipartisan delegation – and I am grateful to them for visiting Ukraine at such a difficult time. They asked: what is needed to end the war? The answer must be strong. There must be sanctions under the Lindsey Graham bill, there must be support for Ukraine in protecting lives, and there must be pressure on Russia for its war. And today, there was a conversation between the leaders of America and Russia. A conversation that leads to something different.

Recently, there was a European decision to lift sanctions on Russian oligarchs. Since then, Russian strikes and the torment of people have only increased. This past week alone, there was a brutal Russian missile strike on a residential building in Pryluky, aerial bombs were dropped on Kramatorsk – on ordinary city buses – and there have been constant attacks on Kyiv’s energy infrastructure and on the life-sustaining infrastructure in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, and our other cities. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded.

The Russians are compensating for their inability to achieve their objectives on the battlefield with this kind of terror. This year, Russia is weaker on the battlefield than at any other point in the war. That is why Putin is relying on terror. That is why he is relying on attempts to strike backroom deals to secure some form of pressure relief for Russia, in order to buy more time and more opportunities for war.

Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious weakness. It plays into Russia’s hands – allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world.

Ukraine is ready to take symmetrical de-escalatory steps, and the American team knows our position. Our strikes on Russian oil refineries and other oil facilities are a response to Russia’s years-long campaign of terror against Ukraine’s energy sector. Ukraine will not set Russian oil refineries on fire if Russia does not destroy our energy infrastructure. This is the kind of agreement we are proposing to America, and we believe the United States has enough power to achieve such a compromise.

Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world. Russia will “repay” the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged. What is needed is real de-escalation with Russia on a reciprocal basis.

We count on America’s fair support for our defense of life, for our defense of people in Ukraine – and on the United States having a correspondingly strong conversation with Russia. A strong one, not a weak one.

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 9, 2026

Zelensky warned that allowing Russia to sell additional petroleum products would effectively help finance Moscow’s military operations against Ukraine.

But a subsequent Axios report revealed an important detail about what reportedly prompted Trump’s decision.

According to an unnamed U.S. official with direct knowledge of the discussions, Trump reached the agreement after Zelensky ignored approximately six American requests to stop attacking Russian oil refineries.

“Zelensky is misreading the room,” the official told Axios, warning that Ukraine’s continued attacks were damaging its relationship with Trump.

Ukraine’s strikes have significantly disrupted Russia’s refining capacity, contributing to an energy crisis that prompted Moscow to restrict diesel exports.

Those restrictions placed additional pressure on global fuel markets already struggling with disruptions stemming from the ongoing conflict involving Iran.

The American official said Trump wanted Ukraine to halt its refinery attacks because they were contributing to higher fuel prices for American consumers.

Zelensky had reportedly offered to stop targeting Russian refineries if Moscow reciprocated by ending attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure. Trump, however, wanted Ukraine to stop its attacks without that condition.

The report also revealed a disagreement over whether American officials threatened to suspend intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

A Ukrainian official alleged that such a warning was delivered, while the American official denied it.

For now, the disagreement threatens to complicate renewed peace negotiations, with American officials reportedly considering visits to both Moscow and Kyiv next week.

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