"Everyone sat there looking foolish": Ukrainian delegation learned of Trump’s decision on Russian diesel during talks in US – Kyiv Independent

Ukrainian negotiators learned about lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel during meeting in US

When U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, told the Ukrainian delegation on October 9 that President Trump was preparing to lift sanctions on Russian diesel fuel, the Ukrainians could hardly believe what they were hearing.

The Kyiv Independent reports this, citing several anonymous Ukrainian officials familiar with the negotiations, according to Censor.NET.

Decisions Without Warning

It is noted that the Ukrainian delegation traveled to the U.S. for talks on October 9–10 to discuss a possible energy ceasefire with Russia and a separate agreement to halt attacks in the Black Sea.

Instead of negotiating the terms of the agreements, they learned of a decision that, in their view, could provide Moscow with additional revenue to finance the war against Ukraine and weaken Kyiv’s position in the negotiations.

"It wasn't just our delegation there—there was a European one, too. Everyone was just sitting there like fools," one of the high-ranking officials told the Kyiv Independent.

Ukrainian officials stated that Kyiv had not been informed of this decision in advance. Although President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously confirmed that Washington was considering the possibility of an agreement with Moscow, the details of the deal became known only after the public announcement.

The publication notes that this raised questions among the Ukrainian delegation as to whether the U.S. had already coordinated some of the agreements with Russia before Ukraine and its European partners had defined the parameters of a possible energy truce.

"It was like a trap," said the high-ranking official.

"A Birthday Gift for Putin"

One Ukrainian official pointed to April 7—the date on which the easing of restrictions expires—as evidence that Washington had planned these measures.

"They lifted the sanctions until April 7... In other words, they were preparing this for October 7. It's a birthday gift for Putin. They're counting these six months," the official said.

Ukrainian officials told The Kyiv Independent that, during the meeting, U.S. negotiators accused Zelenskyy of creating a deadlock by refusing to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries.

In addition, U.S. officials threatened to completely halt the exchange of intelligence that had enabled Ukraine to carry out strikes on targets within Russian territory.

One of the high-ranking Ukrainian officials who participated in the negotiations responded to this with sarcasm.

"I hope the Americans won't provide them with Patriot systems to protect their oil refineries," the official said.

Kyiv's Firm Stance

Another high-ranking official stated that Ukraine had not agreed to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and would not make such a commitment without reciprocal steps from Russia.

What led up to this?

On October 9, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he had spoken with Russian dictator Putin, with whom he had agreed on the supply of diesel fuel from Russia to markets in the United States and around the world.
According to him, Russia will "immediately" supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the U.S. and global markets, another 500,000 metric tons in November, and another million metric tons "immediately afterward."
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that, at Trump's direction, the Office of Foreign Assets Control is immediately issuing a temporary general license to allow the supply of Russian diesel fuel to the global market.
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia's authorization to sell petroleum products "an investment in war" and urged the U.S. to have a firm conversation with Moscow and impose sanctions under the Lindsey Graham Act.
As a reminder, amid Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, Russian authorities have extended the ban on diesel fuel exports several times, at least through the end of October.
The U.S. president has publicly stated that Ukraine must stop its attacks on Russia’s energy sector because, he claims, this is leading to a diesel fuel shortage. According to him, the shortage is due specifically to the war in Ukraine, not to the U.S. war against Iran.
Similar statements have been made by other American politicians. For example, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy sector are leading to an energy crisis. He cited the war with Iran as the second cause of the crisis.