Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is accusing President Donald Trump of using peace talks in Florida as a “smokescreen” while the U.S. pursued a deal with Russia to temporarily lift diesel sanctions.
Zelenskyy, in a blistering statement released Friday after the White House announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, appeared to be caught off-guard by a deal intended to ease soaring diesel prices due in part to the war in Ukraine.
“At this very moment, while our team is talking with the American team in Florida, at this very moment, the President of the United States is talking with the leader of the Kremlin, the leader of this war, the leader of this aggression, and has an agreement under which America is allowing Russia to export diesel fuel,” Zelenskyy said. “That means more money for this war, more money to inflict suffering on us, without a doubt.”
The deal “only feeds Putin” and will enable him to prolong a grinding war that has led to an estimated 2 million battlefield casualties, the Ukrainian leader warned.
He accused the White House of using the Florida negotiations as a distraction from what he said were “backroom deals” with Russia.
“I believe our team is simply being used as a smokescreen, and that is certainly not fair,” he said. “It is certainly not how partners should treat each other. In my view, this is a weak decision, unfortunately, a weak decision by strong partners.”
In a post on X, the Ukrainian leader said his country was ready to take “symmetrical de-escalatory steps” to an energy ceasefire, and would stop targeting Russian oil refineries if Russia agreed to do the same for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy put the onus on the U.S. to engage in talks in good faith, saying that “the American team knows our position.”
Trump has long called for a stop to the fighting in Ukraine but has so far failed to facilitate a peace deal between both countries. Putin has shown few signs that he intends to slow down the full-scale war he started in 2022.
Russia has suspended diesel exports following attacks on refineries by Ukraine, which, along with the war in Iran, has caused prices to spike and caused ripple effects throughout the U.S. economy and danger for the Republicans in the midterms.
Zelenskyy, however, argued that allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is a way to prolong the war in Ukraine, not end it.
“We count on America’s fair support for our defense of life, for our defense of people in Ukraine – and on the United States having a correspondingly strong conversation with Russia,” he said. “A strong one, not a weak one.”
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