President Donald Trump's efforts to reach a diesel agreement with Russia could provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with fresh revenue to fund his war against Ukraine while allowing Moscow to buy time through negotiations it has little intention of honoring, a former NATO commander warned Sunday. Philip Breedlove, former NATO supreme allied commander Europe and head of U.S. European Command, told Fox News Digital that Washington also risks undermining Ukraine's war effort by striking a deal with what he called "the enemy." "And so we are cutting a deal with the enemy," Breedlove said, warning that "all of this money will go into fueling Mr.
Putin's continued attacks in Ukraine." The Russian government said Saturday it had partially lifted a ban on diesel exports with immediate effect, following the new agreement between Putin and Trump for Russia to supply the U.S. and global markets, reported. As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Trump's package calls for the release of 300,000 tonnes of diesel "to the American and global marketplace," followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and another 1 million tonnes afterward. KATIE ZACHARIA HITS GROUND RUNNING, PROMISES TRUMP DIESEL DEAL DELIVERS CHEAPER GAS FOR AMERICANS The diesel agreement preceded Trump's announcement Sunday of what he called an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine, with the president saying both sides had agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure.
"Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, indicated that Ukraine had not been informed of a finalized ceasefire agreement but expressed willingness to halt attacks on Russian energy facilities if Moscow reciprocated. He also accused Putin of repeatedly rejecting peace proposals and continuing strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. "Ukraine has proposed many de-escalatory steps.
Putin had one answer to all of them – 'nyet,'" Zelenskyy wrote on X. "We do hope that he will finally say something to America, Ukraine, and the entire world that will lead to a real and dignified peace," he added. Zelenskyy also said Russian forces had carried out more than 200 strikes on Ukraine's electricity generation and transmission facilities over the past week, along with 17 strikes targeting gas and oil infrastructure.
He said the attacks had killed more than 150 people and wounded more than 700 over the past week. Trump's "energy ceasefire" announcement followed tension between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, a component of Ukraine's strategy to weaken Moscow's ability to finance its military campaign. UKRAINE TARGETS RUSSIA WITH OVER 1,000 DRONES, KILLING 2 AS MOSCOW HOLDS LAST DAY OF ELECTIONS Breedlove argued that Russia and Ukraine are pursuing different objectives, accusing Moscow of targeting Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure while describing Kyiv's attacks on Russian energy facilities as an effort to disrupt the revenue sustaining Putin's war.
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