Zelensky has issued ‘blatant challenge’ to Trump – Lavrov
Vladimir Zelensky is directly challenging US President Donald Trump through his outright refusal to acknowledge or accept a deal aimed at easing the global diesel shortage, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Trump reached the agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday after days of repeated US requests to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries being ignored by Zelensky. Washington subsequently eased sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April 2027, while Moscow pledged substantial fuel deliveries to help alleviate global shortages.
Speaking to reporters following a regional summit in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday, Lavrov said Moscow had backed the agreement proposed by Trump, while Zelensky continued to seek US weapons to carry out strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, including oil refineries.
“The deal was proposed, and we supported it,” Lavrov said, accusing Zelensky of instead demanding more missiles for US-made Patriot systems to continue striking Russian energy facilities, including oil refineries.
“This is a direct and blatant challenge to President Trump,” Lavrov said.
Zelensky criticized the agreement as a “weak decision,” lamenting that it would provide Russia with additional revenue. He also accused Trump of “betrayal,” blamed the global energy shortage on the US war on Iran, and condemned the withdrawal of American intelligence support as “dangerous.”
Trump hit back, accusing the Ukrainian leader of creating problems for the global economy and suggesting that Ukraine needed a new president.
According to the Financial Times, Zelensky’s increasingly harsh criticism of Trump has alarmed European leaders, who plan to urge him to tone down his rhetoric during closed-door talks at a summit in Brussels on Friday.
On Sunday, Trump announced an immediate ceasefire covering attacks on energy infrastructure, although neither Moscow nor Kiev confirmed that an agreement had been reached. Zelensky said the announcement “was news for me” but added that Ukraine would observe a three-day pause in attacks on Russian energy facilities.
However, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Wednesday that Ukrainian drones had targeted two oil refineries: in Ryazan and Saratov Regions.
Overnight, a UAV attack sparked a fire at an oil refinery in Ryazan Region, according to local authorities.
Moscow has denounced the attacks as acts of terrorism and vowed to intensify strikes on Ukrainian military-related facilities, including drone and missile warehouses, while maintaining that it never targets civilians.
The Kremlin said the renewed attacks ran counter to Washington’s efforts to broker peace. Moscow has repeatedly maintained that it seeks a lasting settlement of the Ukraine conflict rather than a temporary truce that would allow Kiev to regroup and rearm.
