US officials have stepped up pressure on Ukraine, demanding it halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, and have threatened to cut off the transfer of vital intelligence.
As the Financial Times reports, citing sources, Ukraine’s negotiating team met representatives of Trump in Miami for almost eight hours on Friday. The sides were expected to discuss ways to persuade Russia to end the war.
However, according to three people directly familiar with the talks, the meeting went off script when the Ukrainian delegation learned of Trump’s statement that he had reached an arrangement with Vladimir Putin on diesel fuel supplies.
According to sources familiar with the situation, during the meeting Trump’s representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner raised the possibility of suspending intelligence sharing if Kyiv failed to heed Washington’s warning and stop the strikes. Ukraine uses US intelligence to carry out these attacks, seeking to cut off a key source of revenue for Russia’s war economy.
After Trump’s statement, a senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv would continue the strikes. He also added that the delegation decided to cut the trip short and return early, rather than hold a second round of talks on Saturday.
In a post on the social network X, Witkoff called the Miami talks “productive”. He said the meeting helped identify issues the sides could work through in more detail. He also said participants had agreed to continue diplomatic efforts.
At the same time, according to another source cited by the newspaper who is familiar with the talks, on Friday Witkoff and Jared Kushner told their Ukrainian counterparts that the US is preparing to lift sanctions on Russian diesel fuel, and that Moscow intends to lift its ban on exporting it.
Ukrainian officials considered it unfair to demand that Kyiv unilaterally stop the strikes without similar pressure on Moscow. According to sources, they conveyed this position to the US side.
A year ago, Trump urged Ukraine to step up attacks on Russian oil refineries to weaken the Russian economy and force Putin to the negotiating table.
According to Ukrainian and Western officials, the Trump administration has already paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv and has repeatedly threatened to do so again if Zelenskyy does not agree with Washington’s position.
In March 2025, Washington halted intelligence co-operation with Kyiv for eight days after a heated dispute between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House.
In November of the same year, Zelenskyy said Trump had issued him an ultimatum: accept peace terms favourable to Moscow or lose US support for the war effort.
According to people briefed on the discussions, in April Trump threatened to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, seeking to force European allies to join a “coalition of the willing” to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
What Happened
- US President Donald Trump decided to strike a deal with Russia on diesel fuel after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused Washington’s demand that he unilaterally halt strikes on Russian refineries.
- He said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of fuel, a further 500,000 tonnes during November, and 1 million tonnes straight after that.
- Zelenskyy said any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement is an obvious sign of weakness, and that Russia would inflict even more damage and losses on the world.
- As Axios reported, Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries in recent months have been effective and have triggered an energy crisis in Russia. In response, Moscow banned diesel fuel exports, increasing pressure on global energy markets amid the war in Iran.