President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to a statement by his American counterpart Donald Trump regarding Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries – Kyiv is ready to stop the attacks if Moscow does the same. The head of state published the relevant post on social media X.
"From the very first moment, Ukraine has sought peace. We have already put forward dozens of diplomatic proposals on how to end this war with dignity, guarantee security, and prevent new Russian invasions. Currently, dialogue is ongoing with President Trump and America," Zelensky wrote.
According to him, ideas are also being considered on moving toward peace, starting with decisive de-escalation steps – reducing the intensity of hostilities.
"Ukrainian energy sector, critical infrastructure, and our food exports must stop being targets for Russia, and this will lead to corresponding de-escalation steps on our part. Solutions are possible," the president stated.
He added that Ukraine is ready to work on this and will discuss it with partners at the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. The high-level week of the General Assembly will begin on September 22, and on the eve of it, Zelensky announced that he would meet with Trump during it.
What preceded the statement
Earlier, Trump published a post in which he stated that Russia "unfortunately" lost control over its diesel industry due to the war with Ukraine. According to him, a significant portion of refineries was blown up and temporarily put out of commission.
According to Axios, during a phone call on May 20, Trump repeatedly asked Zelensky to stop striking Russian oil refineries, explaining this by rising global diesel prices. Earlier, the American president also claimed that fuel shortages in the world were caused, in part, by the Russian-Ukrainian war.
These statements came against the backdrop of rising oil prices due to the war with Iran and corresponding increases in fuel prices in the United States shortly before the midterm congressional elections.
Kyiv's position
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga reported that Ukraine is counting on a ceasefire in the energy sector and in the Black Sea as one of the main achievements of the upcoming meeting between Zelensky and Trump at the UN General Assembly.
Kyiv's condition is straightforward: mutual attacks on energy infrastructure stop together, or don't stop at all. The question is whether Moscow will agree to a symmetric step, or will continue to strike Ukrainian infrastructure, banking on Washington's pressure on Kyiv working in a one-sided manner.
