Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put forward the view that a fuel agreement between the United States and Russia opens a pathway toward broader commerce and the easing of economic penalties on Moscow, while also contending that Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no real commitment to reaching a negotiated end to the conflict.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, Zelenskyy put forward the view that allowing diesel trade arrangements with Russia could set a precedent for comparable deals spanning natural gas and other sectors — each category of agreement, he suggested, tending to pave the way for the next.
In a post on X recapping his exchange with media representatives in Brussels, Zelenskyy stated that Putin has no interest in negotiations at this time, regardless of the format, and expressed full confidence in that assessment. He described the other side's position as verbal manoeuvring — using the phrase "they're responding" to sidestep any real commitment to ending hostilities.
Zelenskyy added that relief on sanctions could gradually extend to other goods, the banking sector, named individuals, and the chemical industry. He also voiced concern about the fate of frozen Russian assets, noting that restrictions on other goods would likely follow once gas-related measures were lifted, with the scope potentially reaching across banking institutions, named individuals, and the chemicals sector. He identified exposure to potential losses tied to those immobilised holdings as a factor worth noting.
He went on to pose the question of who would take up that diplomatic responsibility if he did not. Zelenskyy argued that the arrangement would channel revenue toward Russia's military operations, while separately noting that the diesel agreement alone would fall short of counterbalancing the broader effect of Strait of Hormuz disruptions on worldwide energy markets.
Speaking at the summit, he argued that the arrangement would channel additional revenue directly to Putin, thereby helping to finance the ongoing conflict. Trump attributed a rise in energy costs to Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and voiced opposition to those attacks.
A ceasefire arrangement covering each side's power infrastructure — brokered with the involvement of the president — drew unease from European partners who had not been party to the talks. Zelenskyy maintained that Putin was not prepared to engage in talks under any format, characterising Moscow's stated openness to peace efforts as rhetorical manoeuvring. His delegation's communiqué portrayed Russia's stated position as theatrical rather than grounded in any genuine drive toward a negotiated end to the fighting.
Those remarks were delivered at a moment when European leaders were publicly renewing pledges of solidarity with Ukraine, against a backdrop of persistent aerial and ground assaults by Russia and mounting uncertainty over whether Washington would maintain its flow of military equipment and intelligence support.
At a meeting with European leaders, Zelenskyy pressed for expanded financial and military support, describing the situation in Ukraine as entering another testing stretch. He told EU leaders that at least €70 billion in combined defence, weapons, and resilience funding would be needed by Kyiv in the coming year.
Worries over potential interruptions to the Starshield satellite network — a system that underpins frontline military operations — have persisted on the Ukrainian side. EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas told reporters that rebuilding the lost capacity across Europe was not something that could happen quickly.
