Zelenskyy Breaks Truce After Trump Diesel Deal With Putin

Aspen —Ukraine didn’t just break a truce; it broke the bank. On Thursday, Kyiv launched drone strikes against a Russian oil refinery in the Ryazan region, roughly 180 miles southeast of Moscow. The attack wasn’t a random skirmish. It was a direct financial and logistical counter-strike against a deal that Washington just signed with Moscow.

Let’s do the math on this diplomatic mess. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to a brief truce involving energy-related targets after U.S. President Donald Trump demanded both sides halt attacks on Sunday. Ukraine honored that agreement. In practice, Moscow did not. Russia continued its aerial bombardment of Ukrainian energy infrastructure. To make matters worse, the U.S. denied Ukraine its usual intelligence on Russian ballistic missile strikes and placed limits on the use of U.S.-made Starlink communication terminals. Both are vital for the Ukrainian military.

Zelenskyy told Piers Morgan in an interview late Wednesday that he felt betrayed by Trump’s deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel. The agreement allows Russia to keep selling fuel despite international sanctions meant to diplomatically isolate Putin for its invasion, which began more than 4½ years ago.

“Really, yes, between us,” Zelenskyy said when asked if he felt betrayed by the American president.

The Vail Daily reported that Zelenskyy’s patience had run out. In an interview published Thursday with the Financial Times, he declared Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries would resume. “We’re done,” he was quoted as saying.

The strike hit a refinery in Ryazan, starting a fire confirmed by Russian Defense Ministry and Ryazan Gov. Pavel Malkov. Russia’s Astra online news outlet posted a photograph of the blaze. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Ukraine never stopped its strikes on refineries, though it wasn’t possible to independently verify each side’s claims. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labeled the strikes a “direct and crude challenge to President Trump.”

For context, this isn’t just about oil. It’s about leverage. By restricting Starlink, the U.S. limited the use of Ukrainian drones that rely on those terminals for navigation and control. Zelenskyy called the U.S. behavior “really strange.” He emphasized that Ukraine counts on its strategic partners, specifically the United States and Trump, to survive.

The bottom line for neighbors here is simple: global energy markets are volatile when the biggest buyer and seller shake hands while one of them is still fighting. A deal to import Russian diesel stabilizes Putin’s revenue stream, which funds the war that has dragged on for more than four and a half years. Ukraine’s response — hitting the refinery that processes that fuel — is a blunt instrument. It signals that Kyiv will not accept economic relief for Moscow while its own grid is under constant attack.

Zelenskyy said the U.S. position isn’t “on the right side of history.” He didn’t mince words about the betrayal. The U.S. made a deal with Putin to buy diesel. Ukraine broke the truce to hit the refinery that makes it. The diplomatic cost is falling on a nation that is still fighting for its survival, relying on partners who are simultaneously selling the enemy’s product and restricting the tools needed to defend itself.