In a move that reordered the geometry of the Western alliance, Donald Trump announced a diesel purchasing agreement with Vladimir Putin and publicly called for Ukraine's President Zelenskyy to be replaced — framing both acts as remedies for American fuel prices rather than geopolitical choices. The deal, revealed to blindsided Ukrainian negotiators mid-peace-talks in Miami, unraveled four years of coordinated financial pressure on Moscow within a single weekend. Hours after Zelenskyy warned the agreement would fund Russian bombs, Russian bombs fell on Zaporizhzhia, killing twenty civilians inc
Trump calls for Ukraine leadership change after striking Russian diesel deal
Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilians killed 20 people including three children in Zaporizhzhia; widespread power outages reported in Kyiv.
Any easing of pressure means Russia can keep dropping bombs on cities
Mark
So Trump made a diesel deal with Putin and then called for Ukraine to change leaders. Are those two things connected, or is that just coincidence?
Mimi
They're connected in Trump's mind. He says the deal is necessary to lower US fuel prices before the midterms, and he's blaming Zelenskyy for not negotiating an end to the war. He's treating them as part of the same problem.
Luke
But we should be clear about what actually happened. Trump made the deal on Friday. Zelenskyy found out while his negotiators were in Miami. That's not coincidence—that's a deliberate move.
Mimi
Right. And Zelenskyy immediately said the deal would give Russia money to keep fighting. Then, hours later, Russia struck civilian targets and killed twenty people, including three children.
Mark
Did Zelenskyy predict that would happen?
Mimi
He predicted Russia would interpret any easing of sanctions as permission to keep fighting. He didn't predict the specific strikes, but he said the pattern was clear.
Luke
That's important to separate. Zelenskyy made a logical argument about incentives. The strikes happened. But we can't say he knew they were coming.
Mark
What did Europe do?
Mimi
They pushed back hard. The EU said they're adding 1,600 new entities to their sanctions blacklist on Monday. Germany and Sweden both said they won't follow Trump's lead.
Luke
But here's the thing—Trump just broke four years of coordinated Western pressure on Russia. That's a massive shift. Europe can add sanctions, but if the US is buying Russian diesel, the pressure is already fractured.
Mark
So what happens next?
Mimi
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to de-escalate, but only if Russia does the same. But there's also this underlying dispute about whether Ukraine should bomb Russian refineries.
Luke
And that's where Trump's leverage comes in. According to reporting, his envoys told Ukraine that US intelligence sharing could be cut off if they don't stop the refinery strikes. That's a threat.
Mark
A threat from an ally.
Luke
Yes. And it's happening while Russia is actively killing Ukrainian civilians.
Le Pouls
- Trump's Russian diesel deal and his call for Zelenskyy's removal landed like twin detonations inside the Miami peace talks, leaving Ukrainian negotiators blindsided and the Western sanctions coalition suddenly fractured.
- Within hours of Zelenskyy warning the agreement would fund Russian warfare, Russian glide bombs struck residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, killing twenty people including three children and plunging Kyiv into widespread power outages.
- European allies moved urgently to contain the damage — the EU announced its largest sanctions package since the war began, adding 1,600 new entities to the blacklist, while Germany and Sweden publicly reaffirmed their commitment to existing measures.
- Trump's envoys reportedly threatened to cut US intelligence sharing with Kyiv if Ukraine did not stop striking Russian refineries, deepening the coercive pressure on Zelenskyy even as Russian forces actively targeted civilians.
- Zelenskyy signaled conditional willingness to de-escalate but insisted Russia must reciprocate, leaving the central question unanswered: whether Trump's new alignment with Putin hands Moscow the power to dictate any eventual settlement.
In a move that reordered the geometry of the Western alliance, Donald Trump announced a diesel purchasing agreement with Vladimir Putin and publicly called for Ukraine's President Zelenskyy to be replaced — framing both acts as remedies for American fuel prices rather than geopolitical choices. The deal, revealed to blindsided Ukrainian negotiators mid-peace-talks in Miami, unraveled four years of coordinated financial pressure on Moscow within a single weekend. Hours after Zelenskyy warned the agreement would fund Russian bombs, Russian bombs fell on Zaporizhzhia, killing twenty civilians including three children — a sequence that raises the oldest and most uncomfortable question in statecraft: when economic interest and human cost collide, which signal does power choose to send?
Donald Trump announced a large-scale Russian diesel purchasing agreement on Friday, then called the following day for Ukraine to find new leadership — suggesting Zelenskyy had failed to negotiate peace and bore responsibility for high American fuel prices ahead of November's midterms. The timing was not accidental. Ukrainian negotiators were in Miami for peace talks when Trump's team revealed the deal, catching Kyiv entirely off guard.
Zelenskyy responded with barely contained fury, calling the agreement a "gift" to Putin and warning that diesel revenues would flow directly into Russia's war machine. The prediction was borne out with brutal speed. Early Saturday, Russian forces launched a barrage of strikes across Ukraine's southeast, dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia. Twenty people were killed, among them three children. Power outages spread across Kyiv. Zelenskyy wrote on social media that Russia had expressed its gratitude for the sanctions relief by bombing civilians.
The contrast between the two leaders' accounts of the Trump-Putin call was telling. The Kremlin described it as "very substantive and friendly" — so warm, a Russian aide noted, that neither man wanted to hang up first. Zelenskyy has previously accused Putin of manipulating Trump.
Across Europe, the response was alarm. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the deal handed Moscow more revenue to wage war and announced that EU ministers would approve the bloc's largest sanctions package since the invasion began, targeting 1,600 new individuals and entities. Germany and Sweden reaffirmed their own commitments. But the damage to the four-year Western sanctions architecture was already real.
Beneath the immediate crisis lay a sharper strategic dispute. Trump has pressed Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, arguing the attacks worsen global fuel shortages. Zelenskyy has refused unless Russia halts its own attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. According to the Financial Times, Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner raised the possibility of cutting US intelligence sharing if Kyiv did not comply — a threat that, if carried out, would fundamentally alter Ukraine's battlefield position.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham called Zelenskyy to express solidarity and agreed to meet in person. But solidarity alone could not restore what had been dismantled. The question now hanging over the conflict was whether Trump's alignment with Moscow would allow Russia to set the terms of any eventual peace — and whether Ukraine, increasingly pressured from both east and west, retained any meaningful leverage to resist.
Donald Trump announced a deal with Vladimir Putin to purchase large quantities of Russian diesel on Friday, then called the next day for Ukraine to find new leadership. The timing was deliberate and the message unmistakable: Zelenskyy, Trump suggested, had failed to negotiate an end to the war and bore responsibility for high fuel prices affecting American voters ahead of November's midterm elections. "I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason he never does," Trump said.
The announcement blindsided Kyiv. Ukrainian negotiators were in Miami for peace talks when Trump's team revealed the agreement, which the US president framed as necessary to ease a global diesel shortage. Zelenskyy responded with fury, calling the deal a "gift" to Putin. He warned that the revenue Russia would earn from fuel sales would flow directly into its war machine, and that any easing of sanctions would signal to Moscow that it could continue fighting with impunity. Within hours, his prediction proved grimly accurate.
Early Saturday morning, Russian forces launched a barrage of strikes across Ukraine's southeast. Five glide bombs hit residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia. The toll was immediate: twenty people dead, including three children. Power outages cascaded across Kyiv, the country's largest private energy provider reported. Zelenskyy posted on social media that Russia had expressed its gratitude for the sanctions relief by dropping ordnance on civilians. "Last night confirmed once again that in Russia, they take any easing of pressure to mean they can keep fighting, to mean they can keep dropping bombs on cities," he wrote. "Different signals are needed."
The contrast between how Trump and Putin characterized their conversation was stark. The Kremlin released a glowing readout, with foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov telling Interfax that the call was "very substantive and friendly." Neither leader wanted to hang up first, Ushakov said—they disconnected simultaneously. Zelenskyy, by contrast, has previously suggested Putin is manipulating Trump.
The diesel deal fractured the Western alliance's four-year campaign of financial pressure on Russia. European leaders scrambled to respond. Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, said the agreement handed Moscow "more revenues to wage war" and vowed that Europe would not follow suit. On Monday, she announced, EU foreign ministers planned to approve the largest package of sanctions since the war began, adding 1,600 new individuals and entities to the blacklist. Germany's government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius stated that Berlin remained committed to existing sanctions and would work with European partners on further measures. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expressed "regret" at the US agreement, noting that energy revenues were vital to funding Russia's invasion.
Underlying the crisis was a deeper dispute over strategy. Trump has pressured Ukraine to stop bombing Russian refineries, arguing that such strikes worsen the global fuel shortage. Zelenskyy has refused unless Russia halts attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. According to the Financial Times, during the Miami talks, Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner raised the possibility that US intelligence sharing could be cut off if Kyiv did not comply.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham called Zelenskyy to express solidarity, acknowledging that the past day had been "difficult for Ukraine." The two agreed to meet in person soon to continue discussions. But the damage to the Western coalition was already evident. Trump's move had upended the sanctions architecture that had constrained Russia's economy for years, and it had done so at a moment when Russian forces were actively killing Ukrainian civilians. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was prepared to take de-escalatory steps, but only if Russia reciprocated. The question now was whether Trump's new alignment with Putin would allow Moscow to dictate the terms of any settlement.
Citations marquantes
I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason he never does— Donald Trump
Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia— Volodymyr Zelenskyy
This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won't— Kaja Kallas, EU top diplomat
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur The Guardian ↗
War & Conflict