Trump’s Ukraine leadership demand and Russian diesel deal: what to know

A separate account came from an unnamed U.S. official with direct knowledge, who told Axios that Trump made the diesel decision after Ukrainian refinery strikes continued despite repeated U.S. requests to stop them. That account differs from Trump’s public explanation, which focused on Zelenskyy’s failure to reach a peace deal and refinery strikes’ effect on U.S. fuel prices.

The dispute also concerns whether attacks on energy infrastructure should stop together. Axios reported that Zelenskyy offered to halt strikes on Russian refineries if Russia stopped attacking Ukrainian power plants. The U.S. official said Trump wanted Ukraine to stop its strikes without making that demand reciprocal. The official also said the administration did not consider Ukrainian refinery attacks equivalent to Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid.

Zelenskyy condemned the diesel move as support for Russia’s war effort. “Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged,” he said in remarks reported by Euronews.

The decision came as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Ukrainian and European representatives in Miami on Friday to discuss proposals, including security guarantees, Axios reported. Zelenskyy said the diesel plan had not come up in his discussions with the envoys. A U.S. official told Axios that Ukrainian negotiators had been told Trump planned to speak with Putin and lift diesel sanctions.

An unnamed Ukrainian official also alleged to Axios that U.S. envoys threatened to cut off intelligence sharing if Ukraine continued ignoring requests. An unnamed U.S. official denied that a threat had been made. The accusation and denial add a separate dispute over the pressure applied to Ukraine during negotiations.

What does the U.S. diesel authorization allow?

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 on Friday. The license means U.S. sanctions will not apply to deliveries of Russian diesel loaded onto tankers as of Friday, with the exemption lasting until April 2027. The license does not permit debits from U.S. financial-institution accounts belonging to Russia’s Central Bank, National Wealth Fund or Finance Ministry.

A license authorizing transactions is not confirmation that cargoes have arrived or been purchased. Trump said Russia would supply more than 300,000 tons immediately and another 500,000 tons in November; those are announced quantities, not verified deliveries. The White House had not identified who would pay or when fuel would become available.

The new license covers specified diesel transactions for a limited period; it does not establish that all the fuel Trump described will be sold to U.S. buyers.

Could Russian diesel bring down prices?

The price pressure affects businesses that depend on fuel. The Associated Press reported a U.S. diesel average of $6.28 per gallon on Friday, as energy costs rose during the U.S.-Iran war and fuel supplies faced disruption. Trump singled out Ukrainian refinery strikes as a cause of high prices, but energy experts cited by AP questioned whether the arrangement would substantially lower costs in the United States or globally.

Michael Lynch, a distinguished fellow at the Energy Policy Research Foundation, said in the AP report republished by PBS News: “If we get diesel from Russia, basically it means that their existing customers are not going to get it and they’ll have to go somewhere else, and that will keep the price basically where it is now.” Russian fuel going to new buyers could displace shipments to existing customers rather than add to the total supply available to the market.

Another expert cited by AP said renewed Russian exports could help stabilize global diesel prices, while warning that prices would likely stay elevated because of disruptions to refining and shipping in the Middle East. Some added supply could steady markets, but rerouted cargoes may bring little relief to U.S. farmers, truckers and other fuel users.

The arrangement also carries consequences beyond the pump. Ukrainian and European officials warned that allowing Russian energy sales could help fund Moscow’s war effort, AP reported. Zelenskyy described the sale of petroleum products as support for a war that should end, not continue.

Who decides Ukraine’s leadership?

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha responded to Trump’s call by saying Ukrainians have the right to decide who leads their country, CBS News reported. His response put the question of political authority with Ukrainians, rather than treating a U.S. president’s demand as a solution to the war.

Kirill Dmitriev, a Kremlin special envoy on economic cooperation, welcomed Trump’s call for a new Ukrainian leader and presented it as support for leadership focused on peace, Euronews reported. The response from a Russian official made Zelenskyy’s leadership part of the dispute over the shape of any peace agreement.

The immediate diplomatic fault line is whether a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure would apply to both countries. Zelenskyy’s offer, as Axios reported it, tied Ukraine’s refinery strikes to Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian power plants; the U.S. official described Trump’s demand that Ukraine stop its attacks without a reciprocal Russian commitment.