US Vice President J.D. Vance, President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have asked Volodymyr Zelensky to stop Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, the “New York Times“ reports. The pressure was part of Washington's efforts to limit attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
Kushner and Witkoff made the request during talks with Ukrainian officials in Miami on October 9. According to American sources cited in the publication, Washington has stated that it already provides significant support to Ukraine and does not believe it needs to offer additional concessions to stop the campaign against Russian refineries. According to a US official, such a request has been made about six times in recent months.
The Ukrainian delegation was also reminded of the US military and intelligence assistance. According to reports, Washington has made it clear that the exchange of intelligence information may be limited if Kiev does not comply with the insistence. Earlier, “Axios“ also reported that US officials have linked the continuation of the strikes to a possible suspension of intelligence support.
Kiev sets a condition for stopping the strikes
The Ukrainian position is that a unilateral cessation of the attacks is not acceptable. Zelensky told Trump and his envoys that Kiev would stop strikes on Russian refineries if Moscow stopped missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian power plants, heating plants and other energy infrastructure.
“This is certainly not fair. This is not how partners should treat each other,“ Zelensky said of Trump's decision to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin to export Russian diesel fuel. The Ukrainian president accused Moscow of continuing to attack Ukrainian energy facilities despite US calls to stop the strikes.
Ukraine resumes strikes on Russian facility
On October 15, Ukrainian forces attacked a Russian oil refinery. This came after Zelensky said that Russia was not complying with the agreed cessation of strikes on energy targets. “Associated Press“ described the attack as a de facto abandonment of a brief truce related to energy infrastructure.
The development deepens tensions between Kiev and the Trump administration. The US president has publicly urged Zelensky to stop the attacks, linking the strikes to the shortage and rise in the price of diesel fuel. Ukraine, for its part, argues that the strikes on Russian energy are one of the few tools it can use to limit Moscow's financing and military capabilities.
Representatives of the US and European countries continue to discuss options for ending the war, but there is currently no confirmed bilateral agreement to permanently stop the strikes on energy infrastructure.
Sources: axios.com, apnews.com, theguardian.com