Zelenskyy calls easing Russia sanctions on diesel without de-escalation agreement "obvious weakness"

His remarks come after US President Donald Trump had a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a post shared on X, Zelenskyy said peace could not be achieved through weakness and called for stronger sanctions against Russia, continued support for Ukraine and pressure on Moscow to end the war.

"Peace never comes through weakness. Today, representatives of the U.S. Congress were in Kyiv a bipartisan delegation and I am grateful to them for visiting Ukraine at such a difficult time. They asked: what is needed to end the war? The answer must be strong. There must be sanctions under the Lindsey Graham bill, there must be support for Ukraine in protecting lives, and there must be pressure on Russia for its war. And today, there was a conversation between the leaders of America and Russia. A conversation that leads to something different," he wrote.

"Recently, there was a European decision to lift sanctions on Russian oligarchs. Since then, Russian strikes and the torment of people have only increased," he added.

Citing recent attacks, Zelenskyy said, "This past week alone, there was a brutal Russian missile strike on a residential building in Pryluky, aerial bombs were dropped on Kramatorsk on ordinary city buses and there have been constant attacks on Kyivs energy infrastructure and on the life-sustaining infrastructure in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, and our other cities. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded."

"The Russians are compensating for their inability to achieve their objectives on the battlefield with this kind of terror. This year, Russia is weaker on the battlefield than at any other point in the war. That is why Putin is relying on terror. That is why he is relying on attempts to strike backroom deals to secure some form of pressure relief for Russia, in order to buy more time and more opportunities for war," he further said.

He warned that easing sanctions without a lasting agreement would benefit Moscow by allowing it to continue the war and inflict further damage.

Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious weakness. It plays into Russias hands allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world, he said.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to take reciprocal steps towards de-escalation and that the American team was aware of Kyiv's position.

"Ukraine is ready to take symmetrical de-escalatory steps, and the American team knows our position. Our strikes on Russian oil refineries and other oil facilities are a response to Russias years-long campaign of terror against Ukraines energy sector. Ukraine will not set Russian oil refineries on fire if Russia does not destroy our energy infrastructure. This is the kind of agreement we are proposing to America, and we believe the United States has enough power to achieve such a compromise," he said.

Referring to the diesel announcement, he said, Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world. Russia will repay the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged."

Calling for reciprocal de-escalation, he urged the United States to continue supporting Ukraine's defence and maintain pressure on Russia.

We count on Americas fair support for our defense of life, for our defense of people in Ukraine and on the United States having a correspondingly strong conversation with Russia. A strong one, not a weak one, he said.

https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/2108641177608069345

Zelenskyy's remarks came after Trump announced on Friday (local time) that Russia would immediately supply over 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to American and global markets following what he described as a highly successful discussion with Putin.

Trump said Russia would supply another 500,000 tonnes during November and 1 million tonnes immediately thereafter, followed by a further 3 million tonnes within a short period, depending on the condition of its diesel refineries.

In a phone interview with Axios on Friday (local time), Zelenskyy criticised Trump's decision to ease sanctions on Russia and allow it to export diesel, describing it as not fair and not honest.

You know, it looks like a happy birthday present for Putin. It looks absolutely terrible, Zelenskyy told Axios, referring to the Russian President's birthday earlier this week.

Trump's announcement came as his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were meeting the Ukrainian negotiating team in Miami, alongside senior diplomats from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO, to discuss new US proposals for ending the war, Axios reported.

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak recently said Russia's diesel fuel market was balanced and that Moscow would consider partially reopening exports only in the event of overproduction, according to the TASS news agency.

Novak said Russia had renewed its diesel export ban for October but would monitor domestic supply conditions. He also warned that excessive fuel accumulation could force refineries to reduce production, potentially affecting the output of other petroleum products.

This comes after the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Oil Market Report for September 2026, published on September 11, reported that diesel prices in the United States surpassed USD 200 per barrel in early September, marking a 94 per cent increase from pre-war levels.

The report attributed the tightening of global markets to supply disruptions linked to the war in West Asia and Russia's refining crisis. It also noted that net diesel and gasoil exports from Gulf countries and Russia fell by 1.6 million barrels per day in August compared with February, while global observed oil inventories declined by 507 million barrels since the start of the war. (ANI)