Ukraine’s Zelenskyy defies Trump with Russian refinery strikes

Zelenskyy called the US-Russia diesel deal a 'weak decision'. Photo / Henry Nicholls, POOL, AFP

Ukraine will no longer abide by US President Donald Trump’s demands not to strike Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in remarks published Thursday, as tensions deepened between the two leaders over a US-Russia diesel agreement.

Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured since last week, when Trump eased sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow releasing large amounts of diesel on to global markets.

Zelenskyy described the deal as a “weak decision”, saying it would encourage Russia to prolong its four-and-a-half-year war with Ukraine, while several of Ukraine’s European allies criticised the agreement.

Addressing the criticism on Saturday, Trump claimed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries were to blame for rising diesel prices and said it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president”.

“The block [on attacking refineries] is out,” Zelenskyy told the Financial Times in an interview published on Thursday. “We’re done.”