Trump diesel deal won’t stop Ukraine from hitting Russian refineries — FT
Ukraine will continue to strike Russian refineries, despite Donald Trump’s deal to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports, a senior Ukrainian official has told the Financial Times.
«We will be setting [Russian] refineries on fire,» the unnamed official told the newspaper. The warning exposes a practical obstacle to Trump’s promise of cheaper fuel: some of the additional supplies depend on the condition of facilities Ukraine intends to keep targeting.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately lashed out at the agreement as «not fair and not honest» in an interview with Axios. He said he could have supported easing energy sanctions if Russia had agreed to a reciprocal halt to attacks on energy infrastructure over winter.
🚨🇺🇦🇷🇺 Hours after Trump’s diesel deal with Putin, a Ukrainian drone reportedly set a Russian fuel export terminal ablaze A diesel deal announced, sanctions eased, Zelensky calling it a gift to Putin… and hours later, flames at a Russian fuel export site. A reported Ukrainian drone strike sparked a major fire at the NZNP petroleum products terminal in Russia’s Rostov region, a facility built to store and ship out about 3.5 million tons of refined fuel a year. Trump moved on the deal after, according to a US official, Zelensky ignored half a dozen requests to stop hitting Russian refineries. So is this Kyiv’s answer? If Ukraine keeps burning the plants that would supply that diesel, the deal delivers far less than promised, and the fight between Washington and Kyiv over refinery strikes is about to get a lot UGLIER. Source: DD Geopolitics on TG, Axios / Writer: Daniel
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 10, 2026
Close-up more: Trump’s diesel deal: How much fuel does Russia supply to the world?
Cheaper fuel, at a cost
A US official told Axios that Trump pursued the deal after Zelenskyy repeatedly rejected American requests to stop striking Russian refineries.
Trump announced the agreement with Vladimir Putin on October 9, promising more than 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel immediately, another 500,000 tonnes in November and 1 million tonnes shortly afterwards. A further 3 million tonnes would depend on refinery conditions. He said the supplies would help lower fuel prices.
The US Treasury’s licence allows transactions involving Russian diesel, including imports into the US, until April 2027. It provides relief for diesel trade rather than lifting all sanctions on Russia.
The announcement came while Ukrainian negotiators were meeting US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Florida. Zelenskyy told Axios his team had received only a brief warning that a sanctions announcement might be coming.
