Ukraine will no longer follow US President Donald Trump’s demand to stop striking Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks published on Thursday, as disagreement with Washington deepened over a recent US-Russia diesel arrangement.
Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured since last week, when Trump eased sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow releasing large amounts of diesel onto global markets. Zelensky labelled that arrangement a “weak decision”, arguing it would encourage Russia to drag out its four-and-a-half-year war with Ukraine. Several of Ukraine’s European allies also criticised the agreement.
What Zelensky said about the US demand
Zelensky’s published remarks make clear that Kyiv does not accept limits on targeting Russian refineries that Trump has pressed for. The Ukrainian leader tied that stance to his wider objection to the diesel-related sanctions relief, framing the US move as one that strengthens Moscow’s ability to keep fighting.
Oil refineries process crude into fuels such as diesel; sanctions are government restrictions meant to squeeze an economy or war effort. Zelensky’s position puts Ukrainian military targeting of those plants directly at odds with Trump’s stated preference, and places the dispute at the centre of how both sides talk about the war’s next phase.
Trump’s response and the diesel dispute
Addressing criticism on Saturday, Trump said Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries were to blame for rising diesel prices. He also said it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president”. That language sharpens a personal and political clash already visible in the sanctions-for-diesel bargain.
The sequence matters: first the US eased sanctions to unlock Russian diesel supply; then Trump criticised Ukrainian strikes and Ukraine’s leadership; then Zelensky’s Thursday remarks rejected the demand to halt refinery attacks. Criticism from several European allies of the diesel deal underscores that the argument is not limited to Kyiv and Washington alone.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Last week: Trump eased sanctions on Russia in exchange for large diesel releases onto global markets; Kyiv–Washington ties soured.
- Saturday: Trump blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries for rising diesel prices and said Ukraine needed a new president.
- Thursday: Zelensky’s remarks were published saying Ukraine will no longer abide by Trump’s demand not to strike Russian oil refineries; he called the diesel deal a “weak decision”.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Ukraine ke president Zelensky ne kaha hai ke wo Trump ki yeh demand nahi manenge ke Russia ke oil refineries par humle band kiye jayein. America ne pehle Russia par sanctions kam kiye the taake zyada diesel dunya ki market mein aaye. Zelensky ne is deal ko kamzor faisla kaha, kyunke unke mutabiq is se Russia jang lambi kheench sakta hai. Trump ne diesel mehnga hone ka ilzam Ukraine ke in humlon par lagaya aur naya Ukrainian president maanga.
