Trump allows Russian diesel imports after Ukraine refuses to halt refinery strikes

According to Axios, the Trump administration had asked Ukraine at least six times to halt attacks on Russian refineries, arguing that the strikes were driving up fuel prices in the United States.

Zelenskyy offered to stop the strikes if Russia also stopped attacking Ukraine's power plants. However, Trump wanted Ukraine to halt its attacks unilaterally, the US official said.

"Zelensky is misreading the room. By continuing to hit refineries, he is eroding the good will that he has built with Trump over the last six months," the official told Axios.

During eight hours of talks in Miami on October 9, Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner informed Ukrainian negotiators that the president intended to speak with Putin and lift restrictions on Russian diesel exports.

A Ukrainian official told Axios that the US envoys threatened to cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine if Kyiv continued its strikes. The US official denied that any such threat had been made.

Following his conversation with Putin, Trump announced an agreement to bring 4.8 million metric tons of Russian diesel to US and global markets.

The US Treasury subsequently issued General License No. 135, authorizing transactions involving Russian-origin diesel, including imports into the United States, through April 7, 2027. The license does not authorize certain transactions involving accounts held by Russia's central bank, National Wealth Fund or Finance Ministry.

Zelenskyy criticized the decision as "not fair and not honest," telling Axios that he had been blindsided by the agreement.

Meanwhile, Putin did not commit to resuming peace negotiations during his call with Trump, according to Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov.