Vladimir Putin is using the diesel agreement with Donald Trump to protect Russian oil refineries from Ukrainian attacks. This was stated by former US special representative for Ukraine General Keith Kellogg on Fox News.
According to him, Moscow may be trying to link the supply of Russian diesel fuel to a demand to stop the attacks on the refineries. Kellogg assumes that the topic will be raised during the talks with the American side in Miami.
„They will continue to strike, as is customary. This is a military operation. "This is a war and they are doing the right thing," Kellogg said, speaking about the Ukrainian attacks.The general stressed that in his opinion Ukraine and Russia are striking fundamentally different targets. He said that the Ukrainian side is mainly targeting the Russian military-industrial complex, while the Russian attacks are aimed at Ukrainian schools and churches.
Kellogg does not trust Putin and Dmitriev
In his speech, Kellogg said that he does not trust either Vladimir Putin or his special envoy Kirill Dmitriev. He did not present evidence of specific agreements by which Moscow would have committed to stopping the attacks on Ukrainian energy.
Donald Trump announced the agreement with Putin after a telephone conversation between the two. According to US media reports, the US president's goal is to increase the supply of diesel fuel and put pressure on market prices. The announcement came as a surprise to the Ukrainian delegation that arrived in the United States for negotiations, as well as to European representatives.
Ukrainian officials, quoted by the media, said that the deal had buried the idea of an energy truce between Russia and Ukraine. According to these claims, Moscow received political protection for its refineries, without a public commitment to stop attacks on Ukrainian energy.
Doubts about the Russian offensive in the Donetsk region
Kellogg also expressed doubt about the ability of Russian forces to capture the entire Donetsk region. He did not specify what timeframe or specific military scenarios he had in mind, but questioned the possibility of the Russian offensive achieving this goal.
His words come amid rising tensions between Washington and Kiev over Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and Trump's decision to negotiate supplies of Russian diesel fuel.
Sources: apnews.com, axios.com