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US President Donald Trump agreed to a diesel fuel deal with Russia after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy repeatedly ignored American requests to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, Axios reported, citing a US source familiar with the matter.

According to the report, Washington decided to act on the issue, and Trump moved ahead with the fuel agreement with Moscow. A US official quoted by Axios said Zelenskiy was "reading the situation wrong" and was damaging the goodwill he had built with Trump over the past six months by continuing to strike refineries. The official said Trump had asked Ukraine to stop the attacks unilaterally and did not view strikes on refineries as equivalent to Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid.

Zelenskiy told Axios the diesel agreement was "not fair and honest" and called it an unjust gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Axios reported that the deal could undermine the US administration's new push to secure an agreement ending the war. Speaking to reporters after the deal was announced, Trump described it as "a very important deal" bringing vast amounts of oil to the United States, and said his phone call with Putin had been "extremely successful" while stressing that Washington remains a strong partner of Ukraine.

Key Takeaways

• Axios reports Zelenskiy ignored repeated US requests to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries.
• A US official said Trump wanted the attacks halted and did not equate them with Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid.
• Zelenskiy called the diesel deal unfair and "an unjust gift" to Putin, while Trump hailed it as very important.