Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Donald Trump's administration was attempting to pressure Kyiv into making concessions to Russia. He proposed a new arrangement with Washington under which Ukraine would stop striking Russian oil-refining infrastructure in exchange for additional Patriot interceptor missiles.
Zelenskyy made the remarks in an interview with Bloomberg published on October 18.
According to the Ukrainian president, Washington has been pushing for an end to attacks on Russian oil refineries because damage to fuel infrastructure has added upward pressure on global diesel prices.
Zelenskyy proposed linking any Ukrainian decision to suspend such attacks to deliveries of the interceptor missiles needed to protect Ukrainian cities and infrastructure from Russian strikes.
He also expressed frustration that additional missile deliveries had not been finalized, despite Ukraine and its partners being prepared to finance purchases of US-made weapons.
The Ukrainian president criticized Trump's decision to suspend certain sanctions restrictions against Russia and reach an agreement intended to increase supplies of Russian diesel fuel to the global market.
Zelenskyy believes these moves weaken pressure on Moscow and create the impression that Washington is seeking concessions primarily from Ukraine.
His characterization of US pressure as an attempt to push Kyiv toward capitulation is a political assessment of the administration's actions, not evidence of an official plan to force Ukraine to surrender.
At the time of the interview, neither side had announced an agreement exchanging a halt to Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for Patriot missile deliveries.
Original source: Bloomberg.