Zelenskyy Accuses Trump of Smokescreen Oil Deal as Ukraine Offers Mutual Energy Truce
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Oct 9
Zelenskyy Accuses Trump of Smokescreen Oil Deal as Ukraine Offers Mutual Energy Truce
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Oct 9
Summary
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was being used as a “smokescreen” in Florida war talks, accusing the White House of masking what he called backroom oil arrangements with Russia.
On X, he said Kyiv would take “symmetrical de-escalatory steps” in an energy ceasefire and stop striking Russian refineries if Moscow halted attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The accusation sharpens pressure on Trump, who has pushed to end the war but has yet to broker a deal, while Putin has shown little sign of slowing the invasion launched in 2022.
Russian diesel export suspensions after Ukrainian refinery strikes, combined with the Iran war, have lifted fuel prices and created economic and political risks in the United States.
Zelenskyy argued that letting Russia keep selling petroleum products would finance and prolong the war, and called for a tougher U.S. line in talks with Moscow.