Russia refused repeated Ukrainian proposals to halt attacks on energy sites, source tells 'Post'

The comments came in response to President Donald Trump’s claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had missed several opportunities to end the war.

Ukraine has repeatedly offered in recent weeks to halt attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, including oil facilities, on the condition that Moscow stop targeting Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure, a diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post.

The comments came in response to President Donald Trump’s claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had missed several opportunities to end the war.

“Ukrainian attacks are worsening diesel shortages and hurting farmers in the United States,” Trump said.

According to the source, Kyiv proposed a reciprocal arrangement under which both sides would refrain from attacking energy infrastructure. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin ultimately demanded the lifting of sanctions restricting Russian oil and diesel trade.

On Friday, Trump announced an agreement with Putin to increase Russian diesel supplies to the United States and global markets. Trump argued that the move would help lower fuel prices and portrayed Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries as an obstacle to achieving that goal.

“We told him: Do whatever you want, but don’t hit the refineries,” the president said.

Ukraine and European officials have warned that Russia would receive economic benefits without making any corresponding commitment to reduce its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.

The US president’s decision was announced on October 9, coinciding with a meeting in Miami led by US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The Ukrainian delegation included Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Rustem Umerov, the country’s intelligence chief; and David Arakhamia, a senior negotiator.

Advisors from E3 countries invited

National security advisors from the E3 countries—the United Kingdom, France, and Germany—were also invited to the talks and participated alongside representatives of NATO and the European Union.

During the meeting, Witkoff and Kushner informed the delegations that Trump would ease sanctions on Russian fuel, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

The announcement reportedly caught participants by surprise. “Those present could hardly believe their ears,” the source told the Post.

The source said participants discussed various ways to bring the conflict to an end and worked on draft documents outlining possible proposals. Witkoff and Kushner were expected to discuss the drafts with Russian representatives.